Shifting Focus

So far, 2022 has been mostly about the polytunnel. But over the months since June, I have been gradually looking at what can be done in the area immediately outside of it.

Away from the south facing front tunnel entrance is an open area that seemed ripe for a variety of experiments. The result was a small raised hugel kultur style bed – as logs and brash are abundant around the garden, most especially from the fallen, now processed, poplar tree that storm Arwen blew down over the garden in November 2021. Close to this, three small raised beds were constructed. Two using a no-dig method, and one (on the site of an old ossified raised bed or compost heap) that was mostly de-weeded. Into these a great variety of seeds, seedlings and small plants went. Various beetroots, chards, swede, turnips, miners lettuce, minutina, cornflowers, carrots, onions, cabbages, mustard greens, yet more Aztec broccoli, dwarf beans, yet more nasturtium, more fennel, wild pansy, parsley, dill and coriander – plus some lettuce. They weren’t exactly huge beds, so the planting was somewhat cramped…
Additionally, the first ever compost bin was constructed, for “lazy composting”. Discarded wood from a previous gardening regime was used to construct it.

Rabbits have increasingly become a problem, both inside and outside the tunnel, and elsewhere in the walled garden. Measures were taken to protect plants – mainly by netting over the raised beds, and some discarded old Perspex to block the lower part of the back tunnel door, plus a discarded small gate that helps to block half of the front entrance, whilst allowing both doors to remain open for ventilation.

Immediately outside the tunnel, on the left (west) south facing end, a trusty “raised bed” narrow container, brought with us from London, is placed, enjoying the radiant heat from the tunnel. Into this went apple-mint (from London), Moroccan mint, mammoth leaf basil, hyssop (bought as a plug plant), chives (from London), a dwarf bean plant, Aztec broccoli, nasturtium, and wild pansy.
To the right of the entrance is a large terracotta pot with a maturing rosemary plant (again, from London).

A small area immediately on the front (south) and east facing edges of the tunnel was planted with parsley, coriander, dill and fennel seeds, plus a few small plants that were started off in the tunnel – some dwarf beans, Aztec broccoli and wild pansy. Added to this is a variety of comfrey (boking 14) grown from a piece of root (which seemed somehow miraculous) some apple mint (from London) some salad burnet (from London) and some oregano (a gift). I decided to forgo the no-dig method here and instead pull out as many weed roots as possible. Partly because I felt I was running out of compost, but also as I wanted to try a different method here, in a relatively small area.

The area immediately outside the tunnel lent itself naturally to a socialising environment. Aside from producing food, I always saw the tunnel as somewhere that could also be used for relaxing and reading, and dining too – foraging food all around. Old rotting garden furniture, discarded in the nearby junkyard area, was restored to an acceptable degree using up-cycled wood previously used by bunk beds in an old closed down hostel in Sterling, stacked in the nearby Bamff shed.
Wood bark – discarded scraps from the frequent Bamff House woodchip log delivery – was laid down as a surface that helped to also even out a rutted area – yet another relic from an ancient gardening endeavour.

Relaxing here (when the intense summer sun wasn’t unbearable) was so lovely. And a number of lunch and dinners parties using produce from the garden have been hosted here.