Preparing the ground for the nursery garden

Today we started work on zone 1 or what I call the nursery garden. It was entirely covered in brambles and brush from the young trees we cut down in the area a few months ago.

This is where I plan to do most of the plant propagation and where I intend to hold my stock of medicinal herbs. All the things I do most frequently will be done here. 

When Danny turns up with the mini digger we'll double dig beds all the way down this area. 

This is how the area looked this morning.

As you can see with Bam Bam's help and a strimmer we made short work of clearing it.

No planting today but I think you can see we had a productive day.

Saturday's planting and musings on forest gardens

Today's planting was all for the forest garden. A forest garden is planted so that the structure of a natural forest is emulated as much as possible but where all the species used have a use. Most of the tree planting so far here at Brickhurst has been in the form of orchards and coppice. My approach to the forest garden I intend here is a little different. 








The forest has 7 distinct layers. 
1 The canopy
2 Secondaries
3 Shrubs
4 Herbaceous
5 Rhizosphere (Roots)
6 Soil surface (creepers and strawberry type plants)
7 Vertical (Climbers)

If you get the balance of plants right a forest garden will provide you with food, materials such as dyes and fibres, medicines and a host of other things.

Here's what I planted today

Betula Lenta, Sweet or cherry birch http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Betula+lenta PC4-6 used as a sweetener and for it's sweet sap. It's also a good medicinal plant.

Caragana Arborescens, Siberian pea shrub http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Caragana+arborescens Code L Requires scarrification I usually rub the seeds on a brick until the membrane around the seed just wears through. This plant fixes nitrogen and produces edible seeds and shoots

Humulus Lupulus, Common Hop  http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Humulus+lupulus

Needs a period of cold to germinate used in beer and as a mild sedative This will be part of layer 7

Liquidambar Styraciflua, Sweet gum http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Liquidambar+styraciflua PC 8 Mostly medicinal can be used to make gum. Canopy tree.

Mahonia Aquifolium, Oregon Grape http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Mahonia+aquifolium MD 16 Shrub layer edible berries and some medicinal uses

Phellodendron amurense Amur cork tree http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Phellodendron+amurense MD 12 One of the 50 main Chinese medicinal plants

Punica Granatum Pomegranate http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Punica+granatum MD14 Not sure how well this will do here, it's frost tender but I'll try it in some sheltered corners and see what happens.

Pyrus Communis, Wild pear http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Pyrus+communis MD16 Canopy fruit edible cooked or bletted, can be used as rootstock for large trees some medicinal uses.

Tsuga Heterophylla, Western Hemlock http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Tsuga+heterophylla 

PC canopy tree has a number of uses see the link.

I'll leave it there for today but back tomorrow and if the weather is sunny as promised by the Met Office I'll be clearing brambles for the medicinal herb garden.

Today's planting

Sharon Astyk http://sharonastyk.com/ says that you should plant something every day, harvest something every day and preserve something every day. As my kitchen isn't built yet preserving will have to wait but the planting needs to happen now.

I finally managed to get a barrow load of compost through a couple of hundred metres of slush so the planting has begun.

I'm focussing on two main types of thing that need to go in now. One are the seeds that need a period of cold and the others are members of the tomato family that need a long season.My bender stays quite warm as long as the fire keeps going and from now on the fire won't be allowed to go out until the weather warms up.

Here's what I planted today. Information about the plants comes from the Plants for a Future website. I use them a lot for information.

As I don't have a refrigerator I'll have to put seeds that need stratifying outside in pots and hope for the best.

Stratifying seeds:
Elaeagnus Angustifolia http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Elaeagnus+angustifolia 
MD12 (Moderately Dormant needs 12 weeks at 2-5 C)

Arbutus Unedo, Strawberry tree http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Arbutus+unedo
(Pre Chill min 3 max 10 weeks We'll bring these indoors at the end of February)


Celtis Australis, Nettle tree http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Celtis+australis
MD12


Zizyphus Jujuba, Chinese date http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Ziziphus+jujuba
MD12


Acer Saccharum, Sugar Maple http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Acer+saccharum 
MD12


Seeds planted in the warm

Araucaria araucana, Monkey puzzle http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Araucaria+araucana



Quercus Ilex, Holme Oak http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Quercus+ilex 

Pinus Pinea Italian Stone Pine http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Pinus+pinea



Carica Papaya (No plants for a future reference this plant cannot live outdoors here in the UK  but I thought I'd have a go at keeping a couple in pots indoors http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaya )


Aubergine Rosa Bianca http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Solanum+melongena

Chillis Bhavnagari long, Black Hungarian,  G-4 Cobra, Yellow Scotch Bonnet http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Capsicum+frutescens 


Peppers Chinese Giant, Italian pepperoncini, Sweet Chocolate http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Capsicum+annuum 

Tomatillo Da Milpa, Physalis Ixocarpa http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Physalis+ixocarpa



Tomatoes Black from Tulsa, Black Krim, Black Pinapple, Bloody butcher, Carbon, Cherokee Purple http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Lycopersicon+esculentum


So there we are, the first seeds are in, not that it's made much of a dent in the seeds I bought this year let alone the other several hundred varieties from previous years that really could do with going in this year. Well, what is possible will be done.

Waiting for a thaw

The compost heaps are still covered with snow but it's now thawing fast. 

While we wait I thought I'd tell you some of the things we did last autumn.

The first few trees in the forest garden were planted in September. It was a bit early to move them and we may have some losses but they were dug up with as much of the root ball intact as possible. For now there are a couple of pears, a couple of cider apples some cherry plums and a bunch of fruit bushes. In the next couple of weeks I'll start producing the planting diagrams and I'll list the varieties. All around the polytunnel garden we've planted redurrants, gooseberries, blackcurrants, a couple of holm oaks, some chocolate vines and a large bed of Apios Americana, the American ground nut which is one of the species I hope eventually to use to produce vegetable oil. Another 10 simple mulch beds have been made with a couple of proper wood sided beds in that area so far. 2 beds contain strawberries, 3 others contain a mix of plants brought up with me from my last project in Wales, I intent to propagate them for the forest garden. I'll list them when I put up my first proper design document. There are two beds of garlic and all the other beds contain winter onions.

Mulch beds are the quickest and easiest way of making beds. You start by clearing whatever is growing there at present to the ground. You then cover the area of your bed with a layer of cardboard (Preferably without too much coloured ink on it) then depending on what you want to plant in it you sprinkle an amount of well rotted manure onto the cardboard and then a few inches of properly rotted down compost. to keep down weeds you keep mulching it as they appear with more compost or you can cover the bed with straw or haylege to suppress unwanted plants.

The bulk of the beds we're going to make we intend to double dig with a mini digger and lined with planks made here at the farm by Danny. I have double dug beds by hand before but it is back breaking work and the planned 150 beds would take me a couple of years to dig if I had the stamina.

To double dig a bed you mark out the area of the bed, then you dig to a spades depth a few feet putting the earth you dig out to one side. You then dig down another spade depth and mix that earth with the first earth you dug out and you work back along the bed until you have mixed up the earth to two spades depth all along the bed. You fill the bed to ground level, put in your restraining planks then mix the remaining earth with whatever mix of compost and manure you want for what you intend to grow in it and fill up the box made by the planks. (The stakes to hold the planks are better on the outside in my opinion but some prefer putting them inside for appearances. You never dig or stand on a raised bed once it's made. From now on maintenance will mostly be mulching as you put back the organic matter your plants will use up.


I'll document the process in pictures once we get started in earnest.


The photograph is of a chicken hut on tall legs to prevent the fox taking the chickens. It isn't occupied at the moment but that will change in a few weeks after we visit the agricultural auction.

Detailed notes

I use Nicky's nursery quite a lot http://nickysnursery.co.uk/ and so far I've spent about £350 on seeds this year. We're only up to the C's in the herbs but I have a lot of older seeds from previous years and a proportion of those will germinate. They were stored in plastic tupperware type boxes with some silica gel in the fridge before I came here but refrigeration is not yet accomplished here yet although I have some thoughts on a solar ammonia-water adsorbtion freezer.

I intend to show as clearly as possible what things cost as I intend this blog to be as complete a record of the process of becoming self sufficient as possible. When I can afford it we'll get the rest of the alphabet of herbs. These will be for the medicinal garden. Where possible the seeds are organic, if not they are heritage (Any F1 hybrids are accidental).

We will be taking the seeds of these plants in due course and they will be separated as necessary to maintain the strain.

Here is the list of seeds:

SPR001 Sprouting Seeds Alfalfa 50g.       1.60

VEG536 Vegetable Organic Sourced Artichoke Imperial Star Organic Sourced 25 seeds.       2.35

VEG349 Vegetable Artichoke Violet de Provence 50 seeds.       1.35

VEG464 Vegetable Cardoon Gobbo di Nizzia 20 seeds.       1.60

FS-ZZ001 Free Offer FREE WILDFLOWER MIX SEED PKT.       0.00

VEG001 Vegetable Asparagus Connovers Colossal 100 seeds.       1.20

VEG156 Vegetable Aubergine Snowy Eggplant 20 seeds.       2.45

VEG321 Vegetable Organic Sourced Aubergine Rosa Bianca Eggplant 50 seeds Organic Sourced.       2.70

VEG739 Vegetable Beans Organic Sourced Broad Bean Super Aquadulce Organic Sourced 50 gram.       6.50

VEG204 Baby Vegetable Beans Climbing French Bean Hunter 50g.       2.00

VEG872 Vegetable Beans Pea Bean 20 gram.       1.50

VEG698 Vegetable Organic Sourced Runner Bean White Emergo Organic Sourced 100g.       3.25

VEG647 Vegetable Organic Sourced Runner Bean Enorma Organic Sourced 100g.       3.75

VEG937 Vegetable Kale Borecole Hungry Gap 1 gram.       0.69

VEG416 Vegetable Kale Palm Tree or Dinosaur Kale 50 Seeds.       1.20

VEG032S Vegetable Cabbage Black Nero De Toscana SMALL 75 seeds.       0.75

VEG019 Vegetable Broccoli White Sprouting 400 seeds.       1.20

VEG300S Vegetable Broccoli Purple Sprouting Late SMALL 150 seeds.       0.59

VEG018 Vegetable Broccoli Purple Sprouting Early 400 seeds.       1.20

VEG933 Vegetable Brussels Sprouts Red Bull 150 seeds.       1.25

VEG717 Vegetable Organic Sourced Cabbage Winnigstatd av 250 seeds Organic Sourced.       1.25

VEG658 Vegetable Organic Sourced Cabbage Derby Day Av 100 seeds  Organic Sourced.       2.45

VEG660 Vegetable Organic Sourced Cabbage Marner Large Red 100 seeds Organic Sourced.       2.45

VEG659 Vegetable Organic Sourced Cabbage Advantage Av 100 seeds Organic Sourced.       2.45

VEG340 Vegetable Calabrese Green Sprouting 500 Seeds.       1.10

ALT055S Oriental Veg Chinese Cabbage Yukina Savoy SMALL 150 seeds.       0.59

ALT060 Oriental Veg Chinese Cabbage Wong Bok Mandarin Cabbage 250 seeds.       1.10

FS-PH012 Physalis Peruviana Cape Gooseberry Golden Berry 100 seeds.       2.80

FS-PH016 Physalis pruinosa Dwarf Cape Gooseberry Ground Cherry 100 seeds.       2.80

VEG532 Vegetable Carrot Cosmic Purple 500 seeds.       1.25

VEG438 Vegetable Carrot Lunar White 400 seeds.       1.65

VEG437 Vegetable Carrot Oxheart 400 seeds.       1.65

VEG359 Vegetable Carrot Purple Dragon 500 seeds.       1.35

VEG751 Vegetable Carrot Solar Yellow 2g pkt.       1.50

VEG750 Vegetable Organic Sourced Carrot Bambino Organic Sourced av 500 seeds.       1.35

VEG748 Vegetable Organic Sourced Carrots  Napoli Organic Sourced  300 seeds.       1.55

VEG696 Vegetable Organic Sourced Carrot Flakkee Organic Sourced 500 seeds.       1.35

VEG648 Vegetable Organic Sourced Carrots  Nantes 2  Av 2000 seeds Organic Sourced.       1.35

VEG490 Vegetable Carrots  Royal Chantenay  Av 700 seeds.       1.10

H222 Herb Carrot Edible Leaf av 1000 seeds.       0.95

H050 Herb Sage English av 70 seeds.       1.15

VEG754 Vegetable Organic Sourced Cauliflower Medallion Organic Sourced 30 seeds.       2.75

VEG419 Vegetable Cauliflower All The Year Round 300 seeds.       1.35

VEG420 Vegetable Cauliflower Autumn Giant 300 Seeds.       1.25

VEG041 Vegetable Cauliflower Purple Cape 200 Seeds.       1.65

VEG270 Vegetable Cauliflower Snowball 100 Seeds.       1.10

VEG716 Vegetable Organic Sourced Celeriac Prinz 50  seeds Organic Sourced.       1.45

VEG549 Vegetable Celery Leaf Dark Green Soup Av 1000 seeds.       0.95

VEG672 Vegetable Celery Leaf Red Soup Av 1000 seeds.       0.95

VEG653 Vegetable Organic Sourced Celery Tall Utah Av 1000 seeds Organic Sourced.       1.20

ALT003S Oriental Veg Celtuce SMALL 300 seeds.       0.59

VEG615 Vegetable Chicory Pain De Sucre 1g pkt.       1.35

Wf234 Wild Flower Chicory 550 seeds.       1.35

ALT068 Oriental Veg Shungiku Greens 600 seeds.       1.10

ALT058 Oriental Veg Tokyo Bekana 250 seeds.       1.65

ALT037S Oriental Veg Chinese Chives New Belt SMALL 80 seeds.       0.59

H018 Herb Chives Garlic 200 seeds.       1.15

H021 Herb Corn salad Lambs Lettuce 1g pkt.       1.15

VEG600 Vegetable Courgette Green Bush 20 seeds.       1.30

VEG587 Vegetable Organic Sourced Courgette Nero di Milano Organic Sourced 15 seeds.       1.25

SPR028 Sprouting Seeds Cress Selection 74 Organic Sourced 35g.       1.60

ALT040 Oriental Veg Greek Cress 2000 seeds.       1.00

ALT024S Oriental Veg Cress American Uplands or Land SMALL 750 seeds.       0.59

VEG350 Vegetable Cucumber Cucumber Gherkin National 40 seeds.       1.50

VEG551 Vegetable Organic Sourced Cucumber Marketmore Organic Sourced Av 35 seeds.       1.35

VEG133 Vegetable Cucumber Long Green Ridge 40 seeds.       1.65

VEG871 Vegetable Dandelion Pissenlit 1g pkt.       0.95

H221 Herb Italian Dandelion red rib 500 seeds.       0.95

H251 Herb Organic Sourced Dill Hera Organic Sourced 400 seeds.       1.25

VEG552 Vegetable Organic Sourced Endive Blond Full Heart 1g pkt Organic Sourced.       1.35

VEG586 Vegetable Organic Sourced Fennel Romanesco Organic Sourced 175 seeds.       1.35

VEG938 Vegetable Fennel Florence Mixed 0.5 gram.       0.95

VEG249UK Vegetable Green Manure Winter field bean 250g.       4.25

VEG722UK Vegetable Green Manure Winter Mix 250g pkt.       4.25

VEG634UK Vegetable Green Manure Spring Mix 250g pkt.       4.25

BV020 Baby Vegetable Organic Sourced Kohl Robi Logo Organic Sourced 75 seeds.       1.65

VEG585 Vegetable Organic Sourced Leek Carentan Organic Sourced 225 seeds.       1.55

VEG650 Vegetable Organic Sourced Leek Blauwgroene Herfst Tadorna Av 250 seeds Organic Sourced.       1.80

VEG391 Vegetable Organic Sourced Leek Blauwgroene Herfst ARDEA Organic Sourced 250 seeds.       1.80

H162 Herb Lemon Grass West Indian C citratus 0.25 gram.       1.95

H091 Herb Lemon Grass East Indian C flexuosus 500 seeds.       1.65

VEG535 Vegetable Melon Tigger 6 seeds.       1.50

ALT052 Oriental Veg Mustard green in snow 1 gram.       1.00

ALT064 Oriental Veg Chinese Mustard Southern Giant 800 seeds.       1.00

ALT010 Oriental Veg Mustard Spinach Tendergreen 400 seeds.       1.00

VEG470 Vegetable Okra Hill Country Heirloom Red 20 seeds.       1.45

VEG760 Vegetable Organic Sourced Lettuce Arianna Organic Sourced 300 seeds.       1.95

VEG525 Vegetable Organic Sourced Lettuce Marvel of Four Seasons Organic Sourced 1000 seeds.       1.20

VEG666 Vegetable Organic Sourced Turnip Purple Top Milan 2000 seeds Organic SOurced.       1.35

VEG487S Vegetable Tomatillo De Milpa  SMALL 20 seeds.       0.79

VEG213S Vegetable Tomatillo Verde SMALL 100 seeds.       0.69

VEG214S Vegetable Tomatillo Purple SMALL 50 seeds.       0.69

VEG076SP Vegetable Turnip Snowball x 2 packets.       1.75

H084S Herb Watercress SMALL PKT 1000 seeds.       0.75

VEG936 Vegetable Onion Borettana 1 gram.       0.95

VEG934 Vegetable Onion Kosma 1 gram.       1.05

VEG657 Vegetable Organic Sourced Onion Sturon 200 seeds Organic Sourced.       2.70

VEG057 Vegetable Onion Red Baron 250 seeds.       1.55

VEG088 Vegetable Onion Senshyu 500 seeds.       1.75

VEG941 Vegetable Salad Onion Shimonita 500 seeds.       1.05

VEG382 Vegetable Salad Onion Ishikura 400 seeds.       1.45

VEG272 Vegetable Salad onion Paris Silverskin 2 gram pkt.       1.45

VEG697 Vegetable Organic Sourced Salad Onion White Lisbon 2 gram Organic Sourced.       1.25

H170 Herb Par Cel Zwolsche krul 400 seeds.       1.00

H042 Herb Parsley Hamburg Rooted av 500 seeds.       1.05

H043 Herb Parsley Plain or French 500 seeds.       0.95

VEG618 Vegetable Organic Sourced Parsley Italian giant Organic Sourced 300 seeds.       1.29

VEG768 Vegetable Parsnip Guernsey 2 gram.       1.10

VEG061 Vegetable Parsnip White Gem 500 Seeds.       1.10

VEG511 Vegetable Peas Pea Delikett sugar snap 50g.       2.25

VEG367S Vegetable Peas Pea Oregon Sugar Pod 50g.       1.30

VEG064L Vegetable Peas Peas Hurst Greenshaft 250 gram.       8.75

VEG510L Vegetable Peas Peas Jaguar 500g.       8.75

VEG063L Vegetable Peas Peas Early Onward 500g.       8.75

VEG130L Vegetable Peas Pea Mange tout Carouby de Mausanne 500g.       8.25

VEG723 Vegetable Peas Organic Sourced Pea Norli organic sourced 50g.       2.45

VEG268 Vegetable Pumpkin Atlantic Giant 10 seeds.       1.75

VEG705 Vegetable Pumpkin Full Moon 10 seeds.       2.05

VEG656 Vegetable Organic Sourced Pumpkin Jack o Lantern 10 seeds Organic Sourced.       1.75

VEG443 Vegetable Peppers Sweet Chinese Giant 20 seeds.       1.55

VEG447 Vegetable Peppers Sweet Italian Pepperoncini 25 seeds.       2.90

VEG880 Vegetable Peppers Sweet D Asti Giallo 25 seeds.       0.95

VEG217 Vegetable Peppers Sweet Chocolate 15 seeds.       1.85

VEG445 Vegetable Peppers Sweet Red Cheese Pepper 15 seeds.       2.20

VEG813 Vegetable Peppers Chilli Indian Bhavnagari Long 25 seeds.       1.35

VEG850 Vegetable Chilli Collection Chilli Starter Collection 1 av 10 seeds per pkt  Anaheim TMR Black Hungarian Navaho NuMex Bailey Piquin NuMex Big Jim Santa Fe Grande.       2.99

VEG851 Vegetable Chilli Collection Chilli Starter Collection 2 av 10 seeds per pkt   Scotch Bonnet Yellow Indian Cobra Delhi HOT  Pot Chilli Numex Espanhola Serrano Tampequino.       2.99

VEG351S Vegetable Tomato Ailsa Craig SMALL 30 seeds.       0.65

VEG709 Vegetable Tomato Ananas Noire or Black Pineapple 15 seeds.       1.55

VEG789 Vegetable Tomato Black from Tula 15 seeds.       1.15

VEG790 Vegetable Tomato Black Krim 15 seeds.       1.15

VEG379 Vegetable Tomato Black Russian 25 seeds.       1.25

VEG280 Vegetable Tomato Bloody Butcher 30 seeds.       1.35

VEG836 Vegetable Tomato Box Car Willie 15 seeds.       1.25

VEG707 Vegetable Tomato Carbon 10 seeds.       1.90

VEG706 Vegetable Tomato Cherokee Purple 30 seeds.       1.40

BZ113 Tree Seed Acer Saccharum Sugar Maple 15 seeds.       1.90

BZ036 Tree Seed Araucaria araucana Monkey Puzzle 5 seeds.       3.95

BZ165 Tree Seed Juniperus communis 25 seeds.       2.25

BZ201 Tree Seed Pinus pinea Pine Nut 5 seeds.       3.00

BZ098 Tree Seed Tsuga Heterophylla Western Hemlock 25 seeds.       1.25

BZ205 Tree Seed Betula Lenta 50 seeds.       1.25

BZ073 Tree Seed Caragana Arborescens 25 seeds.       1.15

BZ161 Tree Seed Carica Papaya 20 seeds.       1.50

BZ007 Tree Seed Celtis australis 25 seeds.       1.25

BZ008 Tree Seed Ceratonia siliqua 25 seeds.       1.25

BZ155 Tree Seed Cinnamomum camphora 12 seeds.       1.75

BZ011 Tree Seed Elaeagnus angustifolia 30 seeds.       1.50

BZ014 Tree Seed Liquidambor styraciflua 25 seeds.       1.25

BZ156 Tree Seed Lycium chinensis Chinese Wolfberry 30 seeds.       1.25

BZ215 Tree Seed Mahonia Aquifolia 1g pkt.       1.55

BZ030 Tree Seed Morus Alba 200 seeds.       1.45

BZ049 Tree Seed Morus nigra 200 seeds.       1.45

BZ109 Tree Seed Olea europea 10 seeds.       1.75

BZ116 Tree Seed Phellodendron amurensis 25 seeds.       1.35

BZ081UK Tree Seed Prunus avium Wild Cherry 20 seeds.       1.65

BZ062 Tree Seed Prunus Mahaleb 20 seeds.       1.65

BZ024 Tree Seed Punica granatum nana 15 seeds.       1.50

BZ139 Tree Seed Pyrus Communis 20 seeds.       2.25

BZ169 Tree Seed Quercus Ilex Holm Oak 10 seeds.       2.75

BZ193 Tree Seed Rosa Rugosa Alba 20 seeds.       1.65

H240 Herb Vitex negundo heterophylla 50 seeds.       1.25

BZ108 Tree Seed Zizyphus Jujuba 5 seeds.       2.15

BZ063 Tree Seed Arbutus Unedo Strawberry Tree 50 seeds.       1.65

H077 Herb Hop Common av 50 seeds.       1.50

H177 Herb Madder.       2.75

FS-PA040S Passiflora Caerulea 28 seeds.       1.58

BZ206 Tree Seed Schisandra chinensis 30 seeds.       1.95

VEG-FREE1 Free Offer Peppers Chilli BHUT JOLOKIA 5 seeds FREE PKT.       0.00

            ==================

  Goods Total : GBP  289.15

     Shipping : GBP  8.17

    TOTAL VAT : GBP  9.79

            ==================

Invoice TOTAL : GBP  307.11

            ==================

 VAT Analysis :

    VAT Goods : GBP  8.56

 VAT Shipping : GBP  1.23

                ------------------

    VAT TOTAL : GBP  9.79

Order_Currency: Sterling (UK) (GBP)

H003 Herb Balm 750 seeds.       1.15

H002 Herb Anise Pimpinella anisum 280 seeds.       1.05

H206 Herb Alexanders Black Lovage 20 seeds.       1.65

H001R Herb Angelica 1 gram pkt.       1.20

H145R Herb Agrimony Common 40 seeds.       1.25

H122 Herb Anise Hyssop 500 seeds.       1.10

H199 Herb Balm of Gilead 160 seeds.       1.25

H118 Herb Greenweed Dyers 50 seeds.       1.25

H116 Herb Goats Rue French Lilac 50 seeds.       1.05

H115 Herb Gipsywort 400 seeds.       1.25

H029 Herb Feverfew 800 seeds.       1.35

H073 Herb False Saffron Kinko 10 seeds.       1.00

H028 Herb Fennel Sweet 260 seeds.       1.05

H150 Herb Eschscholzia Californica Orange av 300 seeds.       1.10

H253 Herb Echinacea angustifolia Coneflower 50 seeds.       1.85

H022 Herb Cumin av 300 seeds.       0.95

HERB002 Herbs Collection Culinary Herb Garden Collection  Thyme Sage English Tarragon Russian Basil Sweet Parsley plain or French Coriander Chervil plain Dill Mint peppermint Chives Lovage Sorrel large french  Fennel sweet.       11.25

H225 Herb Coriander Lemon av 200 seeds.       0.95

H020 Herb Coriander 250 seeds.       1.15

H210 Herb Clary Painted Sage Mixed S Viridis syn S Horminum 80 seeds.       0.90

H229 Herb Chinese Motherwort Leonurus sibiricus 350 seeds.       0.95

H197 Herb Chinese Milkvetch 50 seeds.       1.25

H242 Herb Chinese Licorice Glycyrrhiza uralensis 80 seeds.       1.25

H016 Herb Chervil Plain 800 seeds.       1.00

H014 Herb Chamomile Matricaria chamomilla 3250 seeds.       1.00

H110 Herb Centaury Av 1000 seeds.       1.00

H212 Herb Catnip Japanese 300 seeds.       1.20

H126 Herb Catmint Garden Nepeta mussinii 100 seeds.       0.95

H010 Herb Caraway 280 seeds.       0.95

H009 Herb Burnet Salad 300 seeds.       1.10

H008R Herb Borage 100 seeds.       1.00

H108 Herb Basil Holy Green 500 seeds.       1.45

H105 Herb Basil Lemon 1 gram pkt.       1.35

H161 Herb Birthwort  Aristolochia  clematitis 2g pkt av 35 seeds.       1.50

FS-ZZ001 Free Offer FREE WILDFLOWER MIX SEED PKT.       0.00

            ==================

  Goods Total : GBP  46.55

     Shipping : GBP  6.13

    TOTAL VAT : GBP  4.07

            ==================

Invoice TOTAL : GBP  56.75

            ==================

 VAT Analysis :

    VAT Goods : GBP  3.15

 VAT Shipping : GBP  0.92

                ------------------

    VAT TOTAL : GBP  4.07

Composting toilets

We compost all our waste. At it's most complex a composting toilet can be an edifice with seperate chambers for composting in situ with fans and so on but at it's most simple it's a comfortable plastic bucket, sawdust and a compost heap (Ventilated with a layer of brush to allow it to get hot enough to kill anything nasty) We feed the result to our trees as it may be unsafe to use it directly on crops but the cycle is closed. The ashes from the chestnut we burn in winter ends up on the vegetable beds, we eat the vegetables and feed our composted waste to the chestnut.

Coppicing extends the life of trees. The oldest coppices here are over 1600 years old. You can tell how old a coppice is by the diameter of the ring the tree forms. Some of ours are 15-20 feet across. They used to power brick kilns made from the clay here hence the name Brickhurst.

One of the things I would like to do with the beds is to incorporate charcoal as it acts as a massive surface area for microorganisms and helps create soil but you need to do it during a fallow year as it sucks nitrogen out of the soil at first. Could be ok for an annual medicinal herb crop during that year. We're also going to be using mycorrhizal fungi all over the place.

If I can find the money I'll get some rock dust and remineralise all the beds too. Rock dust +  mycorrhizal fungi = astonishing effects.


The fungi feed the plants minerals from the rock dust and the plants feed the fungi sugars and the result is extra large veg.


If you can't afford the fungi incorporate some woodland soil in your beds. Just a little should do it.

Rain at last

It started raining last night so it looks like I'll be able to get started soon.

As soon as the compost heaps are accessible it'll be time to start planting. One of the first things to go in will be the solinaceae. Peppers, tomatoes, tobacco and those first few first early potatoes under cover. In a few weeks when the weather has moderated a little we'll be looking at putting plants, (dormant under cover in pots for their first year) like honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), grape vines bay trees and an assortment of other things into their final positions.

The gardens will be in several zones. Zone 0 is my bender and it's immediate surrondings. I'll describe that in another post. Zone 1 is the area immediately around my bender and it's where I'll put the things that I use most often and it will also house my high attention nursery. To the west of that are two fenced off areas that once held the pigs. There is a small pond in one corner and we also have access to a water supply powered by a solar powered pump from another pond which irrigates the polytunnel. In the summer water is in short supply here so we make a lot of ponds around the place. One of the side effects of this has been an explosion in the variety of wildlife around the place. This will be where the bulk of the raised beds will be. They will be about 3 feet wide by 20 or 30 feet long. Double dug with wooden surrounds. Once dug once they will never be dug or stood on again. Management will be done by continual mulching.


Companion planting will be done throughout and rotation on a 4 year rotation will be done and in breaks in production green manures will be grown in the beds. Eventually we will install an irrigation system from the ponds.

Another important job to do now is to plant those seeds that need a period of cold to germinate. In an ideal world one would refrigerate the seed in damp sharp sand for a specific length of time but I've found that frequently just a few weeks of exposure to freezing weather outside does the trick.

The year turns, we should be through the worst of the cold for this year, although there will certainly be a few more cold snaps. 

Come on thaw, I've had enough snow.