Finally getting some planting done!

I know it's a dull picture but I like to document my time in the garden. click here for how the garden looked when I got it in the autumn.

I've been run down with the lurgy since Beltane but today seemed like the only day between now and my holiday that the weather would be ok for me to get out and get some work done in the garden.

To conserve my energy for the digging, I hopped on a bus up to my garden. I contemplated clearing the final section of ground but decided it was more important to get some plants in before it was too late for them to produce a good crop. When I took on the garden, I had good intentions of getting lots of work done. I was going to dig all the ground, riddle out the roots and stones, mix in compost and fertiliser and make the ground good. Unfortunately I ran out of time.

I began by digging my potato trenches, the first one I dug out the soil, popped them in and then started riddling the soil back on top. It soon became very clear that the main component of my soil is tiny little pebbles and stones. As such I was taking out more than I was putting in and with no compost to back fill with, I gave up and just broke the soil up with my hands to fill in the trenches. Maybe over time I'll get the soil improved. Unfortunately I also had no fertiliser so I'll need to find one that can be added post-planting to get some nutrients in to the soil.

After the potatoes were planted I filled the garden waste bin with leftover debris from the last session and moved the remaining pile further up the patch. It was then on to the onions and garlic, perhaps a little late in the season but better late than never. These were a little easier to plant as I only had to fork, dig and turn the soil rather than remove it. By the end of 3 hours of digging and planting I was exhausted. Just time to sweep up, water in some nematodes to hopefully kill any slugs and then spray the path with weedkiller as I left.