Monday 21 May 2012

Time for Plan B?


The dismal weather that made April a wash out has continued well into May forcing a revision of my plans for my vegetable plot. 

The location of the plot seems almost ideal placed besides an old barn and bordered by two walls with the opening facing south. However appearances can be deceptive and judging from the amount of broken tiles and masonry in the soil it was mainly used as a rubbish tip. Part of the reason for this is the soil is naturally stony and in parts thick clay.





I started this year with two beds fully cleared and planned to clear two more this Spring. With four beds I could then start a crop rotation system and start on improving the soil. Although I have dug the two beds over and raked out some of the debris and larger stones the soil has been too wet to sieve. The temptation is to simply plant them with non-root vegetables and wait until next year. The other option is to take a longer view and concentrate less on growing and more on working on improving my plot.


It will be the weather over the next few weeks that will make the decision for me. If it does not improve and I am faced with a short growing season my efforts will turn towards to improving the soil and to finalise a layout for the plot.