Tree planting

My first task was to start with the planting of seedlings. I read the instructions, which suggested I till the soil to keep weed competition down, so I went into the shed and got out the mini tiller. I was gratified to find that it started right up! I’m getting better at this overwintering business

Then I got out one bundle of cedars, which is a ten count, dug holes with the spade, and placed them into the first two gaps in the cedar row where they had died out. Then added some water to start them off. 6L deep watering once a week, they said. But I have to do this by hand for now,¹⁾Meaning using a watering can rather than a hose. so I’ll have to adapt.

While I had the mini tiller out, I ran it up and down the garlic rows and so on to get rid of weeds.

Levelling the raised bed

The other day, the farmer’s wife told me he was planning to come and fill the raised bed box he’d given me, so I hurried over to the menure pile he’d put for me behind our property while I still could (once he’s planted, it’s much harder), and put some in the bottom. That night, he came with his tractor and put a bucket load of topsoil into it.

Today I decided to try to level it. Sure enough, it was several inches down over 10 feet, and I imagine it works best in terms of rainfall when it’s level, so I got my little tractor and used the bucket to raise the two low corners, backfilling the run-off with the spade.

Then it was no longer all that full, so I took two bucket loads (my buckets being of course much smaller) of topsoil from a pile I had left over from putting in a second driveway in front of my shed, and levelled it off.

When I’d done that, I ran the tractor tiller a last time over the area the farmer had had his tractor over, then went to the back of the yard and took it off.

First plantings

I took a look at the seeds I’d bought the other day, and decided on parsnips, celeriac, and lettuce, which I planted as follows:

• parsnips (Hollow Crown Improved), first row in the triangle east of the raised bed and south of the driveway, along it
• another half row south of that with the remaining parsnip seeds
• celeriac (Giant Prague) in the remaining half row
• leaf lettuce (Grand Rapids), one package spread over two east/west rows on either side of the garlic rows behind the house
• leaf lettuce (Outrageous Red), southernmost row in the raised bed, one half packet²⁾Leaving the rest to plant later.
• leaf lettuce (Lollo Biondi), one row north of the previous, again one half packet.

Bagpipe practice!

And in-between all this, I think three times in all, I practiced the Leicestershire bagpipe for the second time this year!

I’d have done it sooner, but the weather wasn’t cooperating, and once it did, I had my left index finger bandaged due to the silly mitre saw wound.

The tune was Dorset Four Hand Reel, by the way. I almost know it now!

Seed packet images