It's been two weeks since Henry and I moved into our plot. Although Henry used the last week of British Summertime to make a good start at evening digging and I managed to get an hour or two in last weekend, it was only this week we really got going.
I had Friday off work and Henry had just gotten back from holiday so we decided to get to work with our forks that afternoon. We managed to dig about a third of one side over by the time it got dark.
Our progress was slowed by continually picking over the earth to pull out the tough, long, white and yellow roots of stinging nettles and couch grass. We've been told by the guy opposite, Clive, that we can't leave any race of these in the ground or they will grow straight back. We're also told that they won't compost so have been piling them up to dry out and burn.
We're also not helped by the plot next to us, which is overgrown with nettles along the fence that borders our plot. I ended up reaching over to tug out all adjoining roots as well.
Another issue is the carpet that has been used to cover all the paths in between the existing beds. We've decided to rip all of this up because it's infested with weed roots - but this leaves us with the dilema of what to do with it.
As dusk settled, we got a small bonfire going and piled some of our roots on top to burn and smoulder, hopefully leaving us with some nutrient rich ash in their place.
A hard days work done, we headed down The Running Mare for a pint or two too many.
Red Cross