Wednesday 31st January, 2018

Raised Beds, in the allotment garden of Nowhere

in particular,

31st January 2018.

Mud, sweat and fears...

21st-31st January 2018

Very wet (and windy) weather in the latter part of January saw some of ‘the allotment garden of Nowhere in particular’ dissolve into a state of muddiness, especially the paths, as they softened and sullied under the weight of every well intended muddy boot-step.

The garden is far from being a slobland, as many parts of it rarely, if ever, experience the brute weight of repeated wellington boot falls. The gardeners do not (and should not) step or walk on the soil of the raised beds and in winter we try and restrict our movements about the site to the more resilient paths. There are a lot of trees, shrubs, bushes and over-wintering crops, alongside various mulches, to stop the whole place from becoming a quagmire that might start sliding down the slippery slope of its river valley-side home.

In late January, the paths endured the delivery of dozens of large wooden pallets to be dismantled and used to make panels to repair and rebuild the raised beds. Scaffolding boards have mostly been used for helping raise the soil/beds until now. There are so many raised beds (50) that the cost of replacing the rotten scaffolding boards is prohibitive. The pallet panels may not last as long however time and the elements will tell of just how much of an economy this initiative is.

Pulling away the rotten scaffolding boards exposed a multitude of hibernating slugs and snails - a portent of grim, glistening and slimy times to come - a garden stripped bare by her molluscs even. Suggestions were made to me that using boards to create raised beds encourages slugs, snails and other pests and diseases. I think this is true however I also see the raised beds as a form of terracing that prevents erosion - that helps maintain the soil stability and its structure and fertility. This is a good example of a cognitive difference between what I think I am doing and what I am doing - and how I have not yet really tested the theory, practice and effects of raised bedding. Good works and good meanings may not share the same consequences in ‘the allotment garden of Nowhere in particular'.

Having some control over drainage in the garden continues to be a challenge, due to what seems like increasingly wet winters, and poor maintenance of the mains water supply to the allotment site.