The Great Veggie Plot indeed! It's history pre-dates my first kiss and possibly my first vegetable... ok not that far back but I didn't really used to eat veg as a kid (or fruit for that matter). I have very vivid memories of helping my mum harvest our rhubarb plant but then passionately refusing to eat any. Rhubarb crumble with custard was her dish of choice but it just wasn't for me really. I'm sure there are other fruits and veg we grew at the time but that's the one I remember the most as it grew back every year ...to my dismay.
It was sad to see the once bountiful plot as an overgrown bramble monster so today was the day to finally rectify that and restore it to its former glory. After digging and removing most of the complex root systems that had developed over the years under ground, I was ready to apply new fertile soil. The process shouldn't be new to you by this point; newspaper, water, compost, repeat. I think I also threw down some garden lime to help break down that tough clay.
As you can see from the pictures above our garden table didn't quite make it (R.I.P.) and it will become a fun game of find the garden table round the garden. However I do find a handy little way to upcycle it later on in the story so watch this space. Back to my veggie plot I had neatened up the edges using a garden hoe and sectioned it off using spare bricks we had lying around ..as you do. As I built my plot I was thinking about the practicality of actually sowing and harvesting veg. Most veggie plots are raised or accessible from all 4 sides and I only had one side to sow from realistically . So I decided to split the plot giving me more angles to plant from using a pathway of plum slate rocks I had bought from B&M for £5 each. They looked nice but weren't the most practical as they were irregular shapes and I have dreams of my mum growing her own produce in here older age. The path way being flat would hopefully make it safe for all so I went to B&Q and got some grey/ slate effect paving slabs instead. The one thing missing from my veggie plot was some actual veg, so an easy beginners vegetable is a potato. You can literally stick an old potato in the ground and it will eventually grow. However if you want to be even more efficient cut up one old potato into several pieces, each with the little stems shooting out. Let them dry out a little so the skin heal and stick it in the ground. One potato can equal 20 potatoes... quick maths.
