King Alfred's Cake

Years ago I collected some Ash logs, I was going to to use them for something or other, anyway they've just been placed around the plot strategically. They seem to have sprouted knobbly black balls otherwise known as King Alfred's Cake or Daldinia concentrica. Nice.

Fire and maintenance

Cut back scrub along some of the stream banks below.

Pond one year on

It was about this time last year that I put in a pond in the boggy end of E7 - actually mid march but hey. Needs a bit of attention around the edges but otherwise a complete success. Even fed us with copious amounts of watercress so you could call it an edible pond.

Weeded and tidied

On 11th Feb the front of plot E8a got a bit of a tidy. All the black tulips are coming up, some of the wallflowers are flowering and irises are on their way.

Pallet fence and windbreak

I've had a pile of pallets sitting a the back of the plot since 2006 and with 2 dogs, a serious need to keep them out of the polluted stream and in their own little area, I've been putting them around the paddock - a strip of land which was previously unworked and overgrown with brambles and hogweed. There are three gorgeous fruit trees which run down the middle of the paddock causing shade on both sides, you can't really grow any crops, so its just grass and dogs and in need of a parameter.

Early to mid February up the plot

Lots of jobs to do at the moment, when the ground isn't frozen of course. I've got tidying up to do in the polytunnel and around the shed but in the meantime I mulched the rhubarb and asparagus with well-rotted manure, cut back the Autumn raspberries and did a bit of fruit tree pruning.