A useful afternoon's work

Still tidying the kitchen garden. I put grass mowings all over the asparagus bed (cleared the previous years tops and weeded the bed thoroughly yesterday)to mulch it and to supress the annual weeds. I'm still getting bulbs come up in this bed from when it was part of the flower garden prior to us coming here. I like them.....and anyway they are inpossible to get rid of.
The further bed is also much tidier now. The rhubarb at the far end, by the forcer, is coming up nicely from below the soil. I'm not going to force this year. Last year's crown died after forcing....so I only have this one now.

 

 

The strawberrry plants in grow bags on the tabletop planter were not a success last year....so I have rescued the plants that were still alive and potted them up in the tunnel. If they thrive I'll put them in the beds for next year.
I had a big bonfire of all the woody waste from my clear-up. It blazed merrily....then went out because the Brussels plants were very green still. (I hooked them out and burnt them because all the sprouts were "blown".....useless. I should have staked them...but last year everything got away from me.)

Back to it!

After a very bad time with my back I am feeling a bit more as though I can cope with the kitchen garden again. It has been a long time since I did any real work outside, and although they do say that beds should not be left bare in winter I was ashamed of the state of it.
So as yesterday was promising to be warm I got out there, with my back support on(!), and got on with it. Here is the before picture......

 

And here is the after picture....

 

Rather than move the bean arbour I am going to put them in the same place again this year as it is supposed to be possible to grow runners indefinitely in one spot. I shall put a good load of home-made compost into the middle strip of each bed to make sure they can have their roots in a wet place as they need.

I also cleared up the asparagus bed near the tunnel,and did a bit of tidying in the tunnel.

Lots left to do......but I am glad to have made a start!