Bean tunnel

I've been very slow to make a start on the bean tunnel as I've had other important jobs keeping me busy on the plot. With yesterday's heavy winds, I was glad not to have a finished structure built as I would have probably had to start from scratch again.

This is an exciting project that makes me think about warm weather, French beans, sweet peas and squashes!

Today I dug the main 'posts' (aka thick branches) in. I had 12 last year but this year I decided to add an extra 2 on each side so there's a total of 16 posts.

The next stages are attaching bamboo canes all along the structure, followed by the trellis 'roof'. 

To enrich the soil (to keep the soon-to-be-planted bunch of hungry feeders happy!), I'll dig a trench in the middle which will be filled with home compost and eventually covered with a mulch of cardboard and grass clippings. I'll also be growing a green manure that's good for beans as companion planting. Lots to do still!