View of the Orchard looking West along the mound to the left of the photo. You can see our first insect
hotel built from scrap materials to form a small building exclusively for birds and insects.
It has been a few months since our last post of the Blog as the weather has been somewhat atrocious and has halted any works we could do to the project. We first had weeks of rain every day which made going anywhere a muddy and sodden trip and made working in the fields a complete nightmare.
We could not even take materials up to the fields as our car would have sunk into the earth causing huge ruts and making the ground very uneven. As it practically rained each and every day it was impossible to get much done. When the weather did break, it turned windy and bitterly cold which also made working outside very uncomfortable for any period of time. Even our workshops were bitterly cold so we decided to just hang loose and wait for the weather to turn.
We have managed to get many plants in place between the bouts of inclement weather and we only have two left to place when the ground is ready to plant them.
This used to be the line of the fencing that was previously here to separate the fields into two. We removed the fence and
posts and they will be used in the hut to be built in the growing area. The line is now planted with Hazel trees which in time
will form a natural barrier and provide us with masses of Hazel and Cob nuts as well.
Without animals to graze the grass, it does tend to grow out of control so we are using nature to help us out on that point. Much of the area will be left to nature but we are also planting trees to make a small woodland area which in turn will cut down on the amount of grassland we have to think about. Our pond will be sited on the left of the above photo and will be around 30 feet in length and some 15 feet across. There will be a wet area for moisture loving plants and a run-off stream will be built on the West side to carry away any excess water from the pond.
We do have lots of grass snakes on the land so having a fair-sized pond will please them no doubt as they like to swim. It will also attract many other forms of wildlife in time, but we already have a huge population of toads and frogs in this area so a large pond will be heaven for them. We are hoping to get this in later this year when we can get a digger up into the field for a weekend to excavate the hole. Once that is done we can lay the pond liner and then wait for the rain to fill it up over time. Considering the amount of rain we get in this part of the world, it should not take too long.
Here you can see the layout of the new hut to be built on the corner of the growing area to shelter in, store our tools and
relax on the veranda to enjoy the views over the surrounding area.
The west wall is almost complete now with just the two rows of blocks which form part of the hut foundations left to install. All of the concrete foundations have now been laid and are ready to take the blocks to level off the hut foundation. Due to the inclement weather, the concrete foundation has only just been laid in the last week when it turned rather pleasant for a change. Now, this is complete, the blocks can be laid on top and the building of the hut may proceed in earnest. This will take some time as the hut will be fairly large at some 22 feet by 12 feet, but this will allow for having a sitting area inside to get away from any colder weather in the more challenging months. We hope to install a small firewood stove to heat the hut when working for longer periods of time so that we can warm up in between working outside.
The ground here is very uneven so the wall on the Northside which is where this photo was taken from, will only be one block high off the ground, about 10 inches. Whilst on the opposite side on the South wall, it will be two blocks high to maintain a level surface. Once the blocks are in place, the hut frame can be started and we should progress well during the spring and summer months in its construction. The four upright posts you can see in the photo above mark the corners of the hut and the outer walls will be made from either Shiplap cladding or tongue and groove cladding depending on pricing and availability. The inner walls will be clad in OSB Board and contain some insulation to cut down on draughts and cold. Windows will be constructed by hand and double-glazed glass will be used to keep the internal temperature higher. The main doors will probably be a ‘French door’ design and placed on the Eastside, left of the photo, away from the South-Westerly winds with access onto the proposed wooden veranda which shall be formed on the East and South sides of the hut. The roof will be constructed of 18mm plywood fixed to the frame and a rubber membrane on top to keep it weatherproof
This photo shows the wall of the cemetery on the Southside to the right and the new plants and shrubs we have planted
along it to give various additions. They will provide a windbreak when tall enough, also act as a privacy screen, and give
colour and form to this part of the gardens.
On the back wall of this photo where you can see the ivy growing, there is a Hydrangea planted to the left, a False-Castor oil plant next to that and in the right corner, there is a newly planted Mahonia tree which has beautiful yellow flowers over the winter period. We may well put another one or two Mahonias in the same spot to give depth to the planting. The two trees you can see along the wall here are fairly well established and consist of a Hawthorn tree and an Elder Tree which produces Elder-flowers and later on elderberries, either of which can be used in a culinary capacity.
This is the West wall of the walled garden area and we have now planted this with various different plants and flowers.
The above wall is about four feet in height and forms the western boundary of the walled garden which will eventually enclose the inner garden area and have three gated access points. In between the recent bad weather, there have been the odd spells of decent sunshine so we have planted out what plants we had in pots along with many bulbs which should give us a nice display of color and form during the spring and summer months. Here you will find Hollyhocks, Fruit bushes, Echinacea, Dicentra, and a False-castor oil plant amongst others. During this year, we shall take photographs of these plants when they are in full leaf and flower and post them on this blog so you can see the effects.
The South wall which has the gate in it has also been planted up with Climbing Fuschia, Lupins, Geraniums, Clematis, fruit bushes, St.Johns Wort, and Honeysuckle. This should provide a splendid display all year round with interest throughout the year.
This view shows the West aspect of the fields and the houses in the distance are our nearest neighbours so we are not
really over-looked as such. This is our Fruit field which is slowly being planted up as we go.
In this photo, you will see our fruit field which will house all of our soft fruits as we get them in place. In the foreground is the long bed are our freshly planted Raspberry canes, our second lot as the first lot died. These are now bursting with life and soon they will be growing well and hopefully produce fruits in the Autumn months. The next three holes consist of our Gooseberry bushes and we have placed them in three types to see which we like best. There are Invicta, Pax, and a Japanese type which I cannot recall at present. They are budding well and we look forward to what they may produce.
After the Gooseberries are our Blackcurrants of which we have three, followed by four Redcurrant bushes and we have placed two Blueberry bushes after them to experiment and test the ground to see if it is suitable for them. Blueberry bushes need acidic soil to fruit well and we believe our soil may be suitable for them, we hope so as we have more to plant if they do well.
Following the Blueberries are the giant Blackberries between the two posts you can see in the background. We brought these from our allotment in Sussex when we moved down to Cornwall a few years ago. They look settled now and we shall see what they will produce this year.
Our Asparagus beds of three different types of Asparagus to try out. We have not used these yet as they need to be left
alone for the first year and only lightly cropped in the second year of growth.
Our Asparagus beds were put in 2020 and will be ready for full cropping next year in 2022. They have been top dressed and should start producing their fruits in the next few months which we are eager to try We can only have a light crop due to their newly placed crowns being under-developed as yet, but even a few tastings will be glorious.
Behind the Asparagus beds, you can see the now completed compost area and we have the first water butt in place which will be followed by two others in time. All of the grass you see in this photo will eventually be gone and replaced with growing areas for further crops. This will be done over time after the walled garden is completed and we can then concentrate on developing the area to our requirements. Between the Asparagus and the compost area, we have now planted the Comfry plants, and our Rhubarb crowns which were purchased a while back and these are now coming through producing good-looking leaves and shoots.
On the orchard front, we have now replaced the dead trees with new ones and added a Greengage and a large Crab Apple to the mix. All of the trees are now budding and we look forward to the new year's growth and maybe even the odd bit of cropping? We shall see. The trees are now two and three-year-olds so what they will do this year remains to be seen. Paul has also knocked up our first Insect hotel as seen in the top photo on this post. There were many pieces of wood leftover from the various builds and this has been utilised for the wildlife. Over time there will be many of these units scattered about and this one has a hedgehog room in the bottom of it, fully insulated, and sections above for insects and birds such as robins if they wish.
So there you have it. A fairly long update with all the news we have for the present and as the works progress we shall post here with further updates. Our present tasks are as follows.
Loraine is busy bringing on the seedlings ready for planting out in the coming months. We are waiting for a delivery of compost to replenish the beds and to form new ones for further crops.
Paul will carry on with the building works for the new hut and will hopefully complete this by the Autumn weather permitting. The walled garden needs to be completed before moving on to the next projects of the duck and chicken run on the old sand-ring, the wall behind the stable block with inbuilt beds for Blueberry bushes and storage compartments. We also wish to build some raised beds from blocks outside of the kitchen for a herb garden and other plants.
The plans of mice and men are forever changing……..