No dig diary, 17th February 2024

I got up early (for me) this morning and visited a friend who had offered me a load of waste cardboard when I mentioned last night that I’d run out whilst making some new beds in the veg plot. That enabled me to finish them off this morning and to make a start on covering the ground next to the raspberries, which is probably the most important part to get done after the beds themselves. I think I have enough to finish but the weather forecast was not encouraging so I concentrated on spreading compost.

Fortunately the rain held off and after lunch I was able to get my own compost spread on two of the four beds (the brown ones). I was intending to mix the green waste compost with my own, but time is of the essence to having spread green waste compost over the cardboard, I just dumped wheelbarrows of my own compost on top and raked it over. I was surprised that despite being under cover all the time and the hot Spring and early Summer last year, my own compost is still quite moist. The green waste compost is sadly out in the open at the moment and absolutely sodden. When I was shovelling it out of the trailer it kept sticking to the shovel.

I did managed to get the other two beds done, but by the time I finished it was properly raining, so no photo.

The paths don’t have woodchip on yet, but I am now at last in a position to plant these lovely things out (plus a few more):

I have twelve plants each of Honeoye (early), Cambridge Favourite (mid-season) and Florence (late), plus hiding at the back left some alpine strawberries from saved seed.

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