Over the years we have had various veggie gardens. Our first was detached from the main house garden and then we extended the house garden to include the veggies. After that we extended out again and into raised beds. For years this was successful and then suddenly, it wasn’t. Thirsty nearby trees invaded, making the soil rock hard and difficult to work with.

Apart from a handful of herbs I haven’t grown much food for a year or two. But, in that time we have made modifications to our main house garden and lawn area so perhaps these things are meant to go in cycles. I have missed my vegetables though. I have missed the creativity and daily growth that only vegetables can provide.

So, here is our new patch. Hopefully this will be a long term part of our lives. At the moment it is looking very new and shiny and quite empty but that won’t be for long. Terry has lovingly built this massive enclosed structure using his engineering skills and never ending practicality. He has made everything, including the beautiful wooden door.

The best part about our new patch is that we have all contributed to creating this space.  During the more serious time of lock down and home schooling Annabelle and George painted this enormous mural on one wall.  This artwork will always remind me of them, and this particular moment in time.

The old concrete laundry trough was part of our property long before we arrived and I am pleased to get it out and give it a new life. I dream of the day that I can rinse my harvest off in the generous sinks.

In the building process I held the tape measure, smoothed a little concrete, held wire, moved ladders and offered the occasional cold beer to the builder. Now my time has come to get planting and add the finishing touches.

For those who are interested in the details, I have already added a lot of old hay and horse manure to the soil and will continue to do so. We haven’t put in any drip irrigation systems yet but we will prior to summer. I am planting everything directly into the soil with no raised beds at this stage. I feel that it is simpler to improve the soil we have, without the extra work of building and filling raised beds.

I am very grateful to have this space and I look forward to sharing more with you as I embrace veggie gardening once again.

Happy Friday, friends x