Compost delivery, Hügelkultur, and a new Axe
As the temperature drops and the days become shorter our attention is turning to preparing the garden for the winter. Having had a really successful first growing season we are lucky to still have quite a few crops doing well and remaining in the ground. Mostly the root veg, namely a few beetroot, celeriac, celery and some monster parsips! There are plenty of greens still going strong and we have planted up the greenhouse with winter salads and spinach. We have cleared most of the remaining beds and its time to get them covered with a good layer of organic material and tucked up for the winter months. We are following a no dig approach and have found it thus far to be easier and more productive than previosu methods.
Despite having three large compost bins and a huge heap on the go we have not yet produced any of our own compost that is good enough to use. Next year should be amazing so we hope this will be the last time we have to buy it in. We chose a good local supplier of peat free compost and had 4 x 1 cubic metre bags delivered earlier this week. That's a lot of compost! Unfortunately there's currently no vehicle access to or near the vegetable garden, something we're hoping to rectify in the future. For now we'll be shovelling and barrowing it all over by hand over the next couple of weeks. Last year we covered the beds with black plastic but have been looking for a better solution. We have come across some biodegradable film which does a similar job but can be left in situ or composted so we are doing some further research in that area.
Planning a Hügelkultur
We've been reading a lot about permaculture and forest gardens recently. This has provided lots of inspiration for future plans. I'd highly recommend The Vegan Book of Permaculuture, it's a good starter guide packed with advice, and seasonal recipes. It's one of those books I can see that we'll go back to time and time again.
We're also thinking of making a Hügelkultur as we have so much spare wood due to a few trees being blown down. We have also cleared a large area of woody, but dead looking bushes. We've not yet decided on a size, site or what specifically we would grow on it, but it's something we're trying to plan for.
Hügelkultur is a horticultural technique where a mound constructed from decaying wood debris and other compostable biomass plant materials is later (or immediately) planted as a raised bed. Adopted by permaculture advocates, it is suggested the technique helps to improve soil fertility, water retention, and soil warming, thus benefiting plants grown on or near such mounds. Via Wikipedia.
A new Axe
Now that we're settling into Mill House and winter is just around the corner, it was time we got an axe to chop up some of the logs that were cut and stored from this time last year. After a little bit of research we purchased a small splitting axe made by Gransfors Bruk in Sweden along with a ceramic axe stone to keep it sharp. Gransfors Bruk seem like a good choice and produce hand made axes that are built to last.
The novelty will surely wear off, but right now it's very satisfying to chop up a bunch of logs ready to be burnt in the woodburners in the house. The wood burns beautifully, much better than when we used to buy sacks of wood from the local garage!
We read a book called "Playing with Fire" and as well as covering the art of making fires it also covers, storing, and chopping wood safely. Just to be extra safe we watched a bunch on YouTube videos on looking after and using an axe.
There's such a lot to learn about all aspects of setting up a small holding but we are loving it all and each step towards being more self sufficiant is a huge boost.