Bedtime.

The gift of a few hours to myself today was gratefully received and I took on the long promised task of constructing a raised bed for my crop of winter cabbages. My January kings are doing well in pots at the moment but I hope to have them settled in their new abode by the middle of next month at the latest. Being a winter cabbage these plants are very hardy but they need to be well established to see out the winter and also the plague of pests that will advance in summer.

Aahhh yes to the bed .... not literally !! This bed I made from construction grade 9x2, Two lengths were used costing about a tenner each. Now these beds can be made with anything from recycled scaffold planks to bricks but I use these guys due to ease of supply. I simply cut two lengths, twelve feet long and two more, four feet long and nailed them together at the corners. Make sure it's square ( by measuring the diagonals, that's corner to corner ) and Bob's your auntie !



Lugging it down to the end of the lawn was the hardest part of this task, maybe I should have put it together in situ.... aahh well, too late now. Nearly there, fill with topsoil.



A quick wallop of a rake and away we go, ready for a bit of manure to be dug in and then the planting shall commence. I prefer raised beds for the simple reason of being able to garden in the wet, you're not destroying the soil structure because the bed is never walked on. It's easier on the back and the soil is usually warmer which is an aid to germination and growing. The beds must be well watered in dry weather as they tend to dry out faster but in my opinion this is a small price to pay.



Only five more beds to make !

Now where did I put that pillow ?

A recession coldframe.

As the song goes " Money's too tight to mention " so a bit of lateral thinking goes a long way. Here's a cold frame I made recently from some scrap bits of timber and some 500 gauge clear plastic. It ain't pretty folks but it should give shelter to some of the vulnerables around here.



The whole thing took about four hours to make and the total cost of material were it to be bought, would definitely come in under the thirty euro mark. You don't have to be a carpenter to make this , just be willing to have a crack off of it, mistakes are a great way of learning ! Ask any government minister ....... actually don't !



Here's a two storey version I made last year, patent pending !!!