Transition to Spring? - 19th February 2009

- updated 7th/11th/13th/16th/23rd/29th March/11th April/1st/27th May/
    6th July/2nd August/4th December 2009

Theme: Peak Oil, the Transition Movement....

- and how to turn a bramble-infested wilderness into a vegetable garden!

PART 2: The Clearance

23rd March: I've now split this up into several pages as there are so many images!

Quick links to the other parts:

1. Peak Oil & the Transition Movement 2. Garden Clearance 3. Garden Rebuilding

4. Garden Planting  5. Garden growing 6. The Harvest

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BEGINNINGS: 1st FEBRUARY 2009

This was the view up the garden from the entrance, on February 1st. It was all like this, with years of bramble growth intermixed with scattered Leylandii and two cotoneaster hedges that had sprawled out on a massive scale....









....we found the shed though!!


First bonfire


On the 1st we simply cut our way in for a look around, burning what we had cut to make the way clear. It had, we decided, er..... potential???


During second session


....on the evening of the 12th, the next chance to do something there, and the Leylandii are felled and brashed....



Start of 3rd session


...on the start of the third visit on the 14th. This was to be a burning session as we would need to avoid being overwhelmed in debris!


Second bonfire


The fire on the 14th - the green cuttings burnt fine with a good hot fire from dead wood beneath, and soon they were gone....


Fourth session


...on the 15th the left-hand side is cut clear almost to the shed....


Fifth session


...the start of the next session on the 18th. Plenty to burn again!


Third bonfire


Good fire going and the RHS cleared too - really making progress here!


Mega bramble roots!


The bramble-roots had to be dug out one by one next. Some were enormous!



End of 5th session


By the end of the 18th a garden has emerged!


On March 27th I had a change from other jobs and trimmed/wove the hedge by the shed down from 12ft to half that height. The rhododendrons belong to next-door. The job has radically improved the light in this corner of the garden. The large tree (L) had been felled years ago and was very dead indeed; test-cuts revealed the wood was pretty rotten and useless, but I'll leave it there for now. Another good bonfire - probably the last big one - followed!


Hedge trimming


Next part: The Great Rebuilding - making veg-beds on a steep slope with (mostly) the materials available on-site! Read more....

1. Peak Oil & the Transition Movement 2. Garden Clearance 3. Garden Rebuilding

4. Garden Planting  5. Garden growing 6. The Harvest


BACK TO WEATHER-BLOG MENU

New! Fine Art Prints & digital images for sale-
Welsh Weather & Dyfi Valley landscapes Slide-Library - Click
HERE