I've done a bit more digging of the jewel bed and weeded the round bed. At last I've found the new, unopened soil testing kit that I bought before the move, so I tested various bits of the garden. The flower beds are all 6 and the bit of the veg garden that I did was 7. When we moved to the last house it was between 8 and 9. After years of horse manure, leaf mould, compost it was 7.5. Not limestone here.
P came this afternoon. He and CB are going to do the cementing around the stones on the outside walls of the dining room extension, for which I will pay them. The sand and cement is being delivered next week.
Don't think I've mentioned, this weekend I'm going to Lourdes, in the Pyrenees, with Son 2 and family. Son wants to cycle on a mountain pass and DIL wants to see the shrine. DIL and I will look after the children when Son cycles. He's booked rather a grand looking hotel. Leaving tomorrow afternoon, 3 1/2 hour drive, have to be there in time for dinner.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Drizzle here, on and off. Must be drifting in from the NW and @Egrates is in the Dartmoor rain shadow. All your share is probably at Lyn's house
Certainly was 😀. Always rains more on the high ground. We have our own personal cloud, who remembers that cartoon I think it was the Adams family, they drove around in a camper van with a permanent cloud above them.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Hi everyone, volunteer day today, didn't have time to post this morning. More positive feedback from the Japanese ambassadors visit, apparently he wants to come back in spring to see the Cherry blossom and "our" garden again. I suspect double digging was more about Victorian work ethics than anything else. That said I recall Peter Thoday showing the huge depth of topsoil in a walled garden vs the shallow soil in the open land of the same estate. He maintained that this could only be achieved by deep digging and adding manure every year for decades. That is not a blinded trial, only a comparison of two sites, in the same location, and of course we have no way of knowing if they imported topsoil into the walled garden, but this was not general practice at the time.
And double digging was postponed @Hostafan1 ….. did semi - ripe cuttings instead. Will ask your question when we get to it 👍🏻
I'd genuinely be interested in their answer, especially with the whole " No dig " taking more of a hold and our understanding of soil structure and "life" evolving.
Hi everyone, volunteer day today, didn't have time to post this morning. More positive feedback from the Japanese ambassadors visit, apparently he wants to come back in spring to see the Cherry blossom and "our" garden again. I suspect double digging was more about Victorian work ethics than anything else. That said I recall Peter Thoday showing the huge depth of topsoil in a walled garden vs the shallow soil in the open land of the same estate. He maintained that this could only be achieved by deep digging and adding manure every year for decades. That is not a blinded trial, only a comparison of two sites, in the same location, and of course we have no way of knowing if they imported topsoil into the walled garden, but this was not general practice at the time.
I'd guess the big Victorian estate gardens had a steady supply of stable manure which, I suspect, had more to do with soil improvement than double digging. If I tried to double dig here, I'd either find solid clay, or solid rock.
Good morning all from a comfy bed near Okehampton, next to a field of contented brown cows munching the very lush grass. So much lusher and greener than in Norfolk. 😎
Coffee has been made ☕️ What were you doing up @Hostafan1 ? I know we said we might be early … but not that early 😃
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Posts
I've done a bit more digging of the jewel bed and weeded the round bed. At last I've found the new, unopened soil testing kit that I bought before the move, so I tested various bits of the garden. The flower beds are all 6 and the bit of the veg garden that I did was 7. When we moved to the last house it was between 8 and 9. After years of horse manure, leaf mould, compost it was 7.5. Not limestone here.
P came this afternoon. He and CB are going to do the cementing around the stones on the outside walls of the dining room extension, for which I will pay them. The sand and cement is being delivered next week.
Don't think I've mentioned, this weekend I'm going to Lourdes, in the Pyrenees, with Son 2 and family. Son wants to cycle on a mountain pass and DIL wants to see the shrine. DIL and I will look after the children when Son cycles. He's booked rather a grand looking hotel. Leaving tomorrow afternoon, 3 1/2 hour drive, have to be there in time for dinner.
I suspect double digging was more about Victorian work ethics than anything else. That said I recall Peter Thoday showing the huge depth of topsoil in a walled garden vs the shallow soil in the open land of the same estate. He maintained that this could only be achieved by deep digging and adding manure every year for decades. That is not a blinded trial, only a comparison of two sites, in the same location, and of course we have no way of knowing if they imported topsoil into the walled garden, but this was not general practice at the time.
If I tried to double dig here, I'd either find solid clay, or solid rock.
What were you doing up @Hostafan1 ? I know we said we might be early … but not that early 😃
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Awake again