Can You Dig It?

I started digging out the fruit tree bed to be way back on May 2nd.

I have lost track of how many hours, bucket loads of stones, aches and pains this job has entailed. My spreadsheet has fallen by the wayside.

I would guess at least 120 hours of my time.

But today, at about 4.30 p.m., I finished.

Thanks are due to Penny for her help - she certainly got me off to a good start. My nephew Daniel also gave up one afternoon of his time in preference to be dragged around the shops yet again by my sister. Paul also aided in the removal of a particularly large rock (see previous post) and remembering to bring me out coffee some days...

The soil level has dropped about 15 centimetres.

This works out to about 4 cubic metres of unwanted materials removed. This included large slabs of concrete in the last few metres where our builders had obviously been working.

Now I need to go back to where I started and re-weed it.

And then weed the cow muck left over from the veggie patch before forking it in. And begging Margaret for some more.

And then weed and sift the remaining topsoil and fill the bed. I am not sure I have enough but I have a back-up plan.

And then, maybe just maybe, I can order my fruit trees...

Day 11 In The Big Brother Veggie Patch

And I was joined for the second day running by Penny. I dug and Penny helped in removing the stones.

I am now on the homeward run, on a roundabout route around the muck heap...

I am estimating about another week's work left.

Excluding relocating the excess muck heap down to the fruit tree bed to be.

I am on to the third raised bed for stone disposal. Not sure what I will do when that one reaches my desired drainage level.

Veggie Patch To Be - Eventually

Well, metcheck got it wrong. The weekend has been glorious here. It is meant to continue for another couple of days so no doubt it will be wet and windy tomorrow...

Six hours digging on Saturday and I completed the side of the steps to nowhere and then back up to the wall again. Paul brought me out a coffee at about 6 p.m. I had obviously overdone it with the heat and having not eaten - a sudden bout of nausea as I was sitting drinking my coffee...

Back out there today at around 11.15 a.m., but I took more breaks today. And when I wanted a coffee I drank it in the house out of the sun.

I decided I would work my way across the front today - the muck heap is a bit in the way to keep working my way from front to back and vice versa. So, six and a half hours out there today and I didn't even make it all the way across.

The problem is that the majority of the new back garden used to be a barn. And I am guessing that when it got muddy stones got laid down...and now I am having to undo years of damage.

Ten bucket loads of stones today from that tiny strip.

And that is not including the rocks and cobble stones...

<--Rock pile start and end of Day 3-->

Extension Part 17

Well, another week has gone by so it is time to report the latest on the extension.

Tom (joiner) was on holiday this week so the sunroom remains as it was.

However, progress has been made by Alan and Mark.

We heard a lot of loud bangs one day - Alan was digging a big hole for the rumble drain. 'You're on solid rock'. 'Yes - we thought you knew. The porosity test failed - that's why we need a rumble drain rather than a soakaway.' When we went back out in the afternoon Alan was filling it back up again. We have no lack of stones that could be used in its construction. Apparently the council didn't want to come out and inspect it - Alan has taken a photograph of it just in case.

Mark has started on the external wall. When we took the dogs out one lunchtime there it was. We thought it looked a little too high as we are planning to have a metre high railing on top. Mark said it

wouldn't be a problem removing one layer of bricks, and that has now been done.

We had a little discussion regarding where the wall 'bends' around - the wall is in three sections of 3.6 metres long, stepping down. We had thought of columns at each change of direction/height for the railings to be attached to. But Alan was not convinced that the angle of the columns would make this easy. So Paul phoned David. He will come round early next week to have another chat with Alan and Mark. He can sink the poles into the wall and angle the hooks to hang the rails.

Thursday/Friday the paving and planting beds around the path were pegged out. A delivery of 'type 1 gravel' arrived. It has now started to be laid where the paving and patio will be. I saw Mark with a boys-toy steam roller type machine flattening and levelling it.

I have continued with LB clearance most days this week.

I had a bit of a break yesterday. I decided to try to remove the nettles and more importantly their roots from the raised bed to be alongside Margaret's wall. This was hard work. The 'soil' there is mainly slimy, wet, cold, smelly clay. Not for the faint hearted. Still, I got a load out - some of the roots stretched for several feet...

I was going to continue this endeavour for the new veggie patch but decided to call it a day after my foot sunk into the mud. I still have this joy to look forward to, but we are due a few dry sunny days so I will wait to see if it dries out. If not it will be out with the wellies.

Today was a major milestone - I finished the big weed section. Hurrah!

So half way there.

The next quarter should be easier - I had cleared this section earlier in the year. It is covered in weeds again but hopefully I got most of the stones out last time round.

The council was out and about yesterday verge cutting. I saved them a short stretch over the other side of the road. And this is only a small selection of what I dug out...