Last week saw a return to normal activities. It gave us a chance to catch up on the week before - we actually managed to do 2 days work in a single day - not that I want to repeat this too often as we were totally knackered after this feat.
We also finished off a really nice job in West Ilsley just outside Newbury, which has been ongoing in phases over the last 6 weeks or so. The final bit of this job was to create a raised veg garden where once there was nothing.
The most effective way of creating a raised bed is by using treated softwood sleepers. In days gone by, people used old creosoted sleepers but I would not recommend this as there are too many toxic chemicals which could get into your food.
This particular veg garden was to be built on a slopping bank, so we staggered the beds one above the other, fixing with cemented posts and then securing the sleepers with Timberlok screws to form the raised bed. Once done, several tonnes of blended loam, compost and soil are added to ensure the veg patch has a great start.
On this particular job we also cleared the front garden of old and overgrown shrubs and turfed an old area which had been used as a builders store area. As normal, when working in a village , just about everybody walks past to see what you are doing, passing judgement on your work and enquiring about the plans etc - this always works well for us and generates several further enquiries.
We also cleared out the middle garden to give the owners a blank sheet to start a new planting scheme in the spring - this involves removing old shrubs, digging over borders and generally getting it all sorted out.
We love these types of jobs as they are interesting and very rewarding to all parties - its a shame I didn't take the before pictures....note to self - make sure camera is in van before starting job!
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