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From the Library Shelf:
Proud Co-Founders of Transition Town High Wycombe
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Food on our Doorstep
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A New Beginning - May 2010
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Picture 1
Picture3 |
By May 2010 the next phase of
development started at our post-carbon home. (We had
moved there in May 2008 and the final major eco-upgrade
came with the Solar Panels in April 2010. From this
point on there is not much left to do other than to start work on the reduction in food miles.) This
requires the redevelopment of that area of land to the
rear of the house that. so far, has only served to
entertain the children. When we chose this house it was
based upon several factors including the ample garden.
So it fell time to put it to use.
Now we always had grown our own fruit
and veg. However it was only a limited affair with a few
strawberries, tomatoes, aubergines and peppers in pots.
The next phase involve expanding this limited production
into the western end of the garden.
The initial plan was to dig one
experimental plot for the first year. Add another in the
second year with a third after that. In the photos here
you can see the first small plot has been dug. Our soil
is very stony and compacted so this took more work than
it seems! Once broken up we emptied our compost heap and
dug in some organic matter. The area was once lawn so
the turf was then laid upside down on top and the area
left for a few weeks to kill the grass.
Potash from the wood pellet boiler was
added then the rest of the contents of the compost heap
were used as mulch and mark out the area of the second
plot (see here adjacent to the first). The magnolia bush
here was only left in place for a few weeks as it was
holding up the fence. Which leads us neatly to the next
major project.... |
Picture 2
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Tree Removal and New Fence in place - June
2010
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Picture 4
Picture 6
Picture 8
Picture 10 |
We have a south-facing garden but it
received very little sun. The entire southern border had
been planted with 23 leylandii many years ago by some
previous owner. It may have been a good idea at the time
if the intention was to have kept it neatly trimmed as a
hedge. However, by the time we moved there in May 2008
it was an impossible and impenetrable row of twenty-foot
trees. Even worse the previous occupiers had nailed a
row of fence panels to the tree trunks. In fact it was
only the leylandii that was holding up five fence panels that you can see in the photo's above (held
up by magnolia bush and a yellow washing line).
In the centre of the garden there was
a wonderful weeping ash. Quite unusual. Once again, this
may have seemed like a wonderful idea twenty years ago
when it a sapling. However, today, its thick canopy
served only to block the sun through the summer months.
It had also spread dangerously close to the house. If
only they had planted ten feet further back rather than
those leylandii we might have had no problem!
As we are no tree-huggers in this
house we decided that all the trees had to go... The
decision about the ash was not so easy because it was a
marvelous tree so we decided to save some seeds and
give it offspring a new home elsewhere. Its woody parts
would also be recycled as firewood to be seasoned on
site. So in 2009 we got permission from the Council to
have the trees removed (as they are in a Conservation
Area). The Council raised no objections.
Starting in the half-term holidays
early June 2010 we called in a team of trees surgeons to
remove the trees and grind out the stumps. Next day a
fencer came in a put up a sturdy closed-board fence. The
garden is now open and gets good sun from early morning
to late evening in the summer months. This was necessary
as the next major phase of work involves bringing in the
fruit trees. These trees will not only yield food but
will also shade the garden through the summer months.
Leylandii can only do the latter - and all year round as
they do not drop their needles in winter. Once gone the
rear garden was bathed in light and the benefit extends
to the house where we will probably be switching the
lights on a little later in the evening from now on. We
should have a greater solar-gain too - keeping us warmer
in winter.
The pictures in this section (left & right) pretty
accurately reflect the changes. The column on the left
actually shows the garden in the summer of 2008. These
photo's predate the work from 2010 shown at the head of
this page. The photo's in the right-hand column show,
like-for-like, the view from the same position after the
tree and fencing work in June 2010. You can see how it
pretty much looks like we started from a blank canvas.
Not far from the truth! |
Picture 5
Picture 7
Picture 9
Picture 11 |
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June to July 2010 - update
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To monitor developments going forward we will use this standard
90o photo-montage. Above we have the view from the
north-west corner of the garden behind the garage. This view
faces south and east. This is much the same view as "Picture
2" at the top of this page. The photo montage above is from
June 2010 after the fence was finished and the trees removed.
Note how the wooden compost box on the right of the picture is
upside down and awaiting some wood preserver. Next to it are all
the old fence panels awaiting recycling into firewood. To the
extreme-left of the photo, next to the garage rear door, there
is a log pile supported by a water butt. As the water butt
emptied, the wood pile slumped and the water butt started to
lean over. Next to the door there is a roll of old metal wire
fencing that used to be the original rear boundary of the
property. It was ripped out when the new fence was installed.
Look at the vegetable patch in the foreground. It is bare and in
need of a dig.
The next photo-montage above is taken on July 25th 2010. It is
difficult to spot obvious differences but there are many. See
that the fence is now painted green although is in need of it
second coat. The compost box has been painted and is in its
final resting place - the extreme-right-hand corner. All the old
fencing has been recycled into firewood. The right-hand side of
the garden has now been dug flat exposing three main vegetable
patches. The patch closest to the camera has been dug out and
planted with cucumber, sunflowers, spring onions, broccoli,
radishes, beetroot, carrots and dill. The other two patches will
be dug out in future years. The area is highly compacted with a
large percentage of stones - especially flint. It takes a lot of
time and hard work to dig this out. Note how dry the lawn is in
the foreground. It is brown whilst next to the fence it is nice
and green - entirely the opposite of the appearence in the June
photo. The reason is that the greener area has been flattened
and seeded with grass. This has been watered and is growing
well. The unwatered lawn has suffered in comparison. The wood
pile to the left, beside the garage door, has been placed inside
a home-made "book end" that stops the pile leaning on the water
butt. |
December 2010 - an update with Fruit Trees
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December 15th 2010: after two weeks delay due
to heavy and persistent frosts we finally got our fruit trees
from Ashridge Trees. There are six freshly planted trees in this
photo in the middle at the back of the garden near the fence.
They form an "L" shape with five in a row, along the fence, and
the sixth at right-angles. Left to right they are a Plum
(Czar), Apple (Discovery), Apple (Red Falstaff), Apple
(Bramley), Pear (Conference) and Pear (Buerre Hardy). All were
carefully chosen for the best yield when grown organically, ie,
most hardy and pest resistant. The combinations of varieties
were chosen for their cross-fertilisation groups, spread of
yield through the year and for their keeping qualities. Spacing
is slightly less than recommended for an orchard because they
will also serve as shade for the rest of the garden. What looks
like lumps of coal at the base of the trees is actually frozen
lumps of peat from some grow-bags that got left outside.
Hopefully in warmer weather this will defrost and crumble away.
| Czar (Plum)
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Discovery
(Apple)
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Red Falstaff
(Apple)
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Bramley (Apple)
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Conference
(Pear)
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Buerre Hardy (Pear)
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