Getting Laid

The path that is...what else to do when the rain descends. After some breaking up of the hard, compacted and somewhat stony path, we scraped off the top layer, put down a bed of sharp sand and laid the slabs directly. This means I have a hard surface upon which I can water, in order to damp down. What a pity we didn't start operations until the start of Autumn...oh well!

In Which I Get A Path To Pursue

Mr VVG made my day today when he gave me this...

I have boards and can now hold back the mulch that I have been heaping on. It has given me a pathway that will be wide enough to take pots, but not so wide that it "steals" my growing area. Hopefully by the weekend I will have a finished pathway of slabs laid onto sharp sand. I feel the polytunnel is settling in rather well now. Notice the celeriac, which is growing away quite happily in there.

Clearing and Cleansing

Well Autumn has arrived with the month of September. We are seeing misty mornings and the start of turning leaves. I have cleared the tomato plants which to be honest have not faired particular well in the poly, but I'm putting this down to a peculiar 2012. We have had enough tomatoes to make a few bags of passata plus provide some seed saving so I'm fairly ambivalent over the shortened season. It was, if you remember my year to grow heritage varieties for seed saving and trialling, so it is somewhat frustrating that I picked the one year when everyone has reported problems in GYO. The peas and beans are over too.
Anyhow it has created an early start on soil conditioning and cleaning of the polytunnel.  So yesterday saw me add the seaweed out of my water butt to the top of my beds as a cleansing mulch. It was extremely pungent and so it necessitated chopping in and turning under. This has now been finished and compost has been added atop, ready for Winter sowings.  Today was a biodynamic root day, which meant that I could sow my overwintering onions and shallots. Two module trays of Radar Onion have been sown, the remainder have been pushed direct into the poly soil. Same with Shakespeare Onion and Golden Gourmet Shallot.  As per pictures below.
The next step is to clean the outer cover with Citrox. Let's hope for at least one warm day with which to get this messy job done.

Compost Gets Added

 Radar Onion Sets

Shallot Golden Gourmet 

 

Do you like my new hanging shelf made for me by Mr VVG? I like it so much, I want another one...