Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Back to the Garden
Finally having some free time to myself, I have been waiting all week for the winds to die down or the rain to stop so I could get out to the garden. Today looked like my best bet so I donned my new wellies and wandered up the canal.
I had a really nice couple of hours in the garden. E, the garden owner popped out to say hello and give me access to the basement for the tools. She seemed happy for me to be there and pleased that it was getting tidied up and organised. Got more grass pulled out of the border and dug out about half of the overgrown plants. It was really nice to see some progress. The brambles proved very difficult, I think I'll be battling them for a while as I ended up having to get the secatuers out and snip the roots as no matter how deep I dug, how much I wiggled or how hard I pulled, I couldn't get them out.
This time I remembered to take a plastic bag out with me and collect some soil to test for pH and nutrients. It seems that my soil that initially I thought was really good, is actually quite poor. It's neutral to slightly acid pH (7-6.5) but there is almost no nitrogen, potassium or phosphorus in the soil. I think my first attempt to increase these will be to source some well rotted manure and dig this in before the winter. Feeling the soil damp I also now think it may be quite clay based as it feels very sticky and clumps very easily. Not sure how to improve this though.
Next good weather day I hope to get the rest of the plants dug out. I'll then need to arrange for any of the cuttings that won't fit in the recycling to be uplifted. Hopefully before the ground freezes for winter I'll get chance to properly dig the plot, hopefully work in some manure and then cover it all over with card to help suppress weeds until the Spring.
I had a really nice couple of hours in the garden. E, the garden owner popped out to say hello and give me access to the basement for the tools. She seemed happy for me to be there and pleased that it was getting tidied up and organised. Got more grass pulled out of the border and dug out about half of the overgrown plants. It was really nice to see some progress. The brambles proved very difficult, I think I'll be battling them for a while as I ended up having to get the secatuers out and snip the roots as no matter how deep I dug, how much I wiggled or how hard I pulled, I couldn't get them out.
This time I remembered to take a plastic bag out with me and collect some soil to test for pH and nutrients. It seems that my soil that initially I thought was really good, is actually quite poor. It's neutral to slightly acid pH (7-6.5) but there is almost no nitrogen, potassium or phosphorus in the soil. I think my first attempt to increase these will be to source some well rotted manure and dig this in before the winter. Feeling the soil damp I also now think it may be quite clay based as it feels very sticky and clumps very easily. Not sure how to improve this though.
Next good weather day I hope to get the rest of the plants dug out. I'll then need to arrange for any of the cuttings that won't fit in the recycling to be uplifted. Hopefully before the ground freezes for winter I'll get chance to properly dig the plot, hopefully work in some manure and then cover it all over with card to help suppress weeds until the Spring.
Monday, 7 November 2011
Health and Safety
Unfortunately my busy uni schedule has delayed me doing much of my voluntary work.
I had to head to Gilmerton for a Health and Safety meeting today with Edinburgh Garden Partners. I'd decided that given my impending weight loss deadline , I should probably have a final push at loosing the last few pounds needed to reach my target. As such, I decided to cycle to my meeting. 5 miles, shouldn't be too hard. Little did I know that it's almost completely uphill to Gilmerton.
I nearly died (or at least came off my bike in a wheezing, quivering heep)! The gear cables have slackened off since they were fitted and so I only have the option of 3 gears. This is hard enough without dragging the extra weight of a downhill frame.
The meeting was interesting and I got to meet the new coordinator who will be covering our area from now on.
The ride home was lots of fun, especially when I realised that if I upped the gear to the highest I could get, I could still pedal and go even faster downhill!
I had to head to Gilmerton for a Health and Safety meeting today with Edinburgh Garden Partners. I'd decided that given my impending weight loss deadline , I should probably have a final push at loosing the last few pounds needed to reach my target. As such, I decided to cycle to my meeting. 5 miles, shouldn't be too hard. Little did I know that it's almost completely uphill to Gilmerton.
I nearly died (or at least came off my bike in a wheezing, quivering heep)! The gear cables have slackened off since they were fitted and so I only have the option of 3 gears. This is hard enough without dragging the extra weight of a downhill frame.
The meeting was interesting and I got to meet the new coordinator who will be covering our area from now on.
The ride home was lots of fun, especially when I realised that if I upped the gear to the highest I could get, I could still pedal and go even faster downhill!
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