Wednesday 22 February 2017

New path, more topsoil, planting has started!

A lot has happened in a short time this week!


  The main entrance path has been started...

...so the slabs are now flat and level.

We had an enormous delivery of soil - 5 tonnes approximately!

Two were put over the double gates ready to wheelbarrow into the poly-tunnel and long herbaceous border.


Three were put over the fence into the raised bed area so we can shovel and rake straight into the growing spaces saving time and effort!  A HUGE thank you to David Reid for this delivery!

Euan got busy finishing the raised bed along the back fence ready for topsoil.  This is where we hope to plant our special fruit trees when they arrive.

EAGer bunch got planting too on Friday.  This is them putting garlic into the first raised bed.

It was a lovely sunny afternoon, so we chatted as we planted ☺☺☺
Meanwhile the S2 horticulture class were clearing the previous topsoil delivery ready for the new one...


...and they sowed more peas and beans into paper pots in the poly-tunnel.


The RIDAN storage cupboard has also now been moved to its new home.  This was tricky - Michael helped by giving directions and strapping it/unstrapping with the ratchet straps.
The crocus bulbs are well on the way, but in the ground they have been ravaged by something (Squirrel?  Mouse?  Bird?) that has been lifting the bulbs and carrying them away.
We managed to protect some just in time, using the old tree guards pinned to the ground.

The RIDAN area is now almost paved - just a few more to go and it will be finished at last.

A little visitor helps with watering in the poly-tunnel!

Tuesday 21 February 2017

Youth Action Group raises £70 for the garden

You might have noticed an article in the local paper last week - showing members of Ellon Academy's Youth Action Group presenting Miss Swallow with a cheque for £70.
They raised the money with a bake sale.  We hope to spend it on some specialist fruit trees - espaliers, cordons and "step-overs".  These are specially trained to grow into patterns against a fence and mean we can optimise fruit production in a small space.  We look forward to apples, pears, plums and cherries so there will be spring blossom in the garden too.  Watch this space...and a HUGE thank you to the Youth Action Group!!
In other news, we collected some well rotted manure last month to dig into the beds in the poly-tunnel.
We also managed to pave more of the area for our RIDAN hot composter...
...and move it over the fence - a logistical test as it is very heavy!
There is still some work to be done, but the RIDAN can now be used again which means we can recycle most of our canteen waste into lovely compost for the garden.