All in a Day's Work

Saturday was a lovely sunny day.  A bit windy, but full of bird song and the smell of fresh earth.  I worked on the front raised bed garden, which always seems to slide into decreptitude right at the end of summer.  It's rather crummy soil under the rich compost-filled beds that I've put in--chock full of chunks of concrete, stones, and a bare inch of diggable dirt.  So, the raised beds are a necessity.  Sadly, the invasive roots of persistent weeds like quack grass seem to wheedle their way in at a moment's notice.  It needed a good dig-out, and then a new four-inch thick deep layer of mulch around them.  The mulch will squish down (it's so nice and fluffy now), and hopefully deter any new weeds from settling in.

I took the opportunity to plant in some of the brassicas I've been hardening off in the cold frame for a few weeks.  It's a tad early, I suppose, but they've been doing really well and I can always pop a bit of fleece over them if it gets frosty some night.  Brassicas don't seem very bothered by the cold, once they get going, and frankly, I needed the space.  There's a few semi-hardy seedlings which really need to get moving outdoors in protection...so I can free up some spots under the indoor lights!