A bit late but the garlic started showing signs of shooting and we hadn’t really planned to plant much this year given the building projects taking up so much time. But the awful virus arrived and we realized what bad timing. We had seeds but hadn’t really prepped the beds. A long slog in the hot sun removing weeds and clover emptied the barns raised beds and my year old compost was almost ready for use and was lightly dug into the surface.

I use a no dig method to preserve the fragile top soil. It works well. A few inches down the soil is deep brown, full of worms and moist. It also saves my fragile back. Ok the trapped nerve was sorted by manipulation but my discs rub like mad and I have little cushioning left. It’s painful generally.

But we push on and might get some tomatoes in and runner beans into those beds. A few stragglers from last years lettuces had appeared again and these were carefully weeded round. The geese go mad for these, especially the mauve varieties or crispier ones. Back at the farmhouse it was time to plant those sprouting garlics.

We had a old timber box in the garden used for storing sand. Great that will do placed under the pine tree on the newly dug bed. Perfect spot. Partial shade and moist. Potting compost, soil and chicken poop from the compost pile scooped in and…oh what’s this?

Seems we have hound dogs! Do we need to water these in or do they just grow? I think they might just need too much attention and won’t really be productive. And Sake, that’s my new gloves! Obviously have holes in now and no good if I have to use in water.

We struggled to mix the soil and compost with the added dogs. Jasper our ginger cat also popped over to investigate. Good grief I need some space!

Finally Bella and Sake got tired. I planted up the bulbs, stretched chicken wire over to prevent my menagerie from kicking everything out and cut my thumb in the process, rushing to cut wood for the wire frame. Ouch. Into the kitchen for alcohol and a plaster and then back out to give the bed a quick water. Achievement! Bella and Sake? In bed. Exhausting this gardening. Mmm don’t I know it.