I haven't been posting because of the half done jobs, and the jungle growth, and realising that I cannot get as much done as I wanted.

One early job was establishing a herb bed. There's a lot of slabs in my garden, and between the patio and the main area was a line of soil one slab wide. Also, the path across this was in a low part of the garden where water collects after rain. I made a new path with secure steps at the midpoint across the garden, and took up a couple of slabs to make a square. The visible soil in the garden is compacted clay with flints, but under the slabs was good, if clayey soil, which, mixed with the sand from beneath the slabs, and some spent mushroom compost is looking pretty good. The herbs have taken to it really well, things which were just marking time at the old place, or in pots, have shot up lushly and are doing really well.

In the damp bit, I have started a hole which will take the old cold water tank as a reservoir, but this is currently occupied by two courgette (zucchini) plants in pots and an angelica in pot, waiting to be planted out elsewhere. I'm toying with the idea of putting the courgettes on the mushroon compost heap before I go away, and not putting that into the ground until much later in the year.

Today I worked on about a square metre of the compacted clay, digging it over, putting the compost under it, and buidling it up with the spoil from the hole, as well as a bag of bought topsoil (there was a hole at the spot, for some reason, partly because of digging out a flowering currant, but that can't have left the size hole there.) I've planted out some celery pplants in it, and tomorrow they will be joined by some leeks.

I've three bags of potatoes, two growbags of tomatoes, and a tower of pots of strawberries. Already eaten the firts of those - one plant needs identifying though - it was too tart.

I'm not going to grow from seed this year, but will buy plants in for other crops. Getting the soil right will take too long. The plants already here are all a bit thuggy and takeover merchants. Comfrey, periwinkle, London Pride, forgetmenot, and a geranium. All doing so well that the ground elder from next door isn't getting a look in. I'm rehoming as much as I can, and converting the comfrey to fertiliser. Though the bumble bees are busy on it at the moment.

Penny