A Greenhouse for free!

When we moved into the house in Hayle we immediately noticed that the house next door was empty but had clearly been occupied by a gardener, he died apparently, two greenhouses stood abandoned in the yard. It took awhile but we finally met the new owners and they are more than happy to have us take them both, and the composter, and any pots we could find. So the first one is ready to be cleaned up and refitted with its glass while the second one awaits in the overgrown yard next door. The compost has gone to the allotment and the composter is ready for filling in our back yard. We both feel happy to be rescuing these greenhouses and think the previous owner would be pleased as well to see them saved from the dump. They will be invaluable for getting plants started while the soil prep is taking hold in the allotment.

My work bike

Now that we are car free again we have decided to get some bikes. I've made mine into a work bike. Here is the first use of the trailer. I picked up about 10 pounds of veggie clippings from a commercial kitchen to add to our compost. I've got about £150 or so into this bike, so far so good. Now if I can just learn to navigate roundabouts!

Episode IV: A New Garden

At long last I've returned to the blog. Much has changed since my last post but for now, just to keep it simple, we have moved back to the UK, to Hayle in Cornwall.
We are renting but we have an allotment. It is 40 X 40 and is a mere block from the house.

The fence supports blackberry brambles and sloe. It is currently the only planting on the site and as such is receiving our attention first.
The weather this winter has been exceptionally wet and we are reluctant to dig until the soil dries out. The plot has been tilled to keep weeds under control, not by us, so it desperately needs covering up with some mulch, of which we have none, nor a car to procure any. Our first task has been to design a path and beds layout. We decided to put an initial path along the fence to access the perennials there as well the trash and such in the brambles and on the far side. You can see I've set up the composter, temporarily, while i've also bagged up some trash. The holly bush has been trimmed by the same fellow who tilled the site. As that is the only available material I have used it to layer the path and delineate the path for now. Our plan is to use paths as fertility building areas. As the mulch breaks down it will encourage earthworms and add organic matter to the soil.

I'm on the hunt for sources of mulch. We don't plan on getting a car but we have procured bicycles and a trailer to haul scavenged materials. I'll post more as we progress as well as the story of how and why the move came about.