Hazel Grove – Project

[Magrathea]

Thankyou darling

Now if everyone would care to gather round , there's some allotmenteering to be gettin on with and the very very very slow building of a grove.


A little hover fly (I think) at work on some pennyroyal mint



Very naughty pumpkins taking over the whole place. These have since been cut back to allow the beans to grow. Poor things. The beans, not the pumpkins, they're just silly



Sweetcorn, behaving itself and growing happily



Gourds. I had been thinking of letting them grow along the ground, but they are in the same bed as the pumpkins. Birdhouse and apple gourds are growing here



I love this, I'll definitly grow chilis upside down again next year. It would take a ninja snail to get to these. There is also an upside down tomato, which isn't coping as well as it grows too big. It actually tore its stem but is still plodding on with a little support from some string



Can't remember what these flowers are in front of the lavendar, but hey, there's my bike



Birdhouse gourd, hurry up and grow and dry and get pyrograped all over


So there' s my first installment of our humble little grove, where nature just does whatever she wants to a certain extent, and I constantly grumble about slugs and snails. The overgrown chaos at the back I can live with, but those silver trail leaving little beasts, STOP EATING EVERYTHING!

From Hazel Grove with love

[Dryadia2]

Thank you for the update, Magrathea!
Keep up the good work!

/|\

[Magrathea]

Trimming a hedge and building a fence...in this heat, and I forgot to take drinking water with me


I'm assuming these fiends have all passed away as none of them moved when left in the sun


the clearing of grass to reveal the hazel and beech, baby hegerow


After plenty of digging, chopping and quite a bit of resting in the shade, the skeleton of the fence is up. I would like to point out that the ground is made up of mainly stones under that grass!


The highly entertaning pumpkins, as long as the gourds have got above them, they can go play where they want

[Ade Sundog]

Keep up the good work!

Those pumkins look smashing .

Soz , I'll get my coat.

[Dathi]

Hey Magrathea and Romelia,
This thread is my green conscience. Every time I see it I'm inspired (prompted by guilt) to go and do some hard work outdoors. That upside-down chillie plant is a brilliant idea. Slugs have demolished hundreds of my chillie seedlings. They ignore everything else.
Well done.

CFN,
Dathi

[Magrathea]

Those pumkins look smashing .

Soz , I'll get my coat.

They were having a siamese dream about a spaceboy, oh back in 1979...

Hey Magrathea and Romelia,
This thread is my green conscience. Every time I see it I'm inspired (prompted by guilt) to go and do some hard work outdoors. That upside-down chillie plant is a brilliant idea. Slugs have demolished hundreds of my chillie seedlings. They ignore everything else.

Hey you can't be up the side of a mountain and dig the garden. We got the idea for the upside down plants from an advert for Topsy Turvy planters, but they were about £12 each I think. But amazingly, an empty plastic bottle with the bottom cut off does the trick, and it's free. I may post a how to guide, but it really is that simple... four holes, bit of string, seedling and compost. Just add water, which comes flowing out the bottom and waters whatever is underneath.

[Magrathea]

RIGHT, the darkness and the melancholy have subsided, pity the cold hasn't. Anyway, next week I am hoping to get stuck in to the grove, wage all out war on "some" of the weeds and nettles, preparing her to look and grow beautiful.
Any words of encouragement are greatly welcomed

[Ade Sundog]

Get Stuck in!!!

[Mika]

So, how is itgoing this year?! I love checking this thread to see your pictures.
I've planted some tomatoes and courgettes in my new and recycled seed bed, will post some pictures in another thread.

[Magrathea]

Alas, progress is slow, excuses and excuses, a list as long as my arm.

This year I'd like to experiment with planting by the moon. I've started a little experiment right here next to my computer with some peppers and chilli.
Using info from this web site: http://www.the-gardeners-calendar.co.uk ... anting.asp
The synodic, biodynamic and sidereal all seem to contradict each other though so I'm gonna stick with synodic for now as it seems the most basic.
Also today, I had a little accident and tried to plant the house...

One of the seeds had sprouted and the soil was beautiful and warm. It felt strange clawing through the soil to find the seeds. Well it makes the experiment that bit more exciting anyway.


Tidying up us very much the order of procession





The white metal framed polytunnel is getting moved and some fresh plastic pulled over and secured properly this time, as the last one got destroyed by our charming north east weather.



So after spending an a lot of time tidying and getting motivated...I get some work till the end of the month, 10 hour days. So I apologise hazel Grove, your makeover is coming soon.


Out of pure determination to stop the weeds growing back where I have just dug over, I returned on my way back home from work to lay some black plastic down.
Hazel Grove by night

[butterfly watcher]

Good luck with the weeds, it`s never ending....I`m just going to check out the link. Might come in handy for insomniacs

[merryb]

It is a wonderful feeling to have an allotment.

The demand for allotments where I live is so great that plot size has been reduced to 3 Rods about twenty feet by 10 Feet ( I think). I was lucky and I have a good size allotment..

I love mine it is my retreat. I keep an allotment journal which has been very useful and interesting to look back on.

Good digging!
MerryB

[morgane_snowy_owl]

what a WONDERFUL thread, I've spent the last hour reading it from beginning to now. What a journey! You guys have done an amazing job, and I teared up looking at some of the pictures, just because they were so beautiful, and because they tap right into my life's dream.

You guys are truly an inspiration. My husband doesn't care about spirituality or druidry, but he does love gardening and shares my love for country living. I'm going to show him your thread, and talk about your project. And see if, together, we can do something like that in our backyard. We've already started and done a great job, but some of your ideas will be a wonderful inspiration.

Can't wait to get home tonight! Please keep posting, it's an amazing read!

Morgane

[Romelia]

I am delighted you feel inspired by our grove! I hope that you excel in your own project and come back here and tell us how you are getting along.

We haven’t been exactly regular in attending Hazel grove for some time, due to other commitments. However I am slowly but surly regaining momentum and will be back showing progress at the grove.

BB

R

[Huathe]

Romelia,

I am a bit late in on this, but I congratulate you on your project. The progress you have made is great! It is nice to have your own little natural place to " get away ". I always find a local forest to visit but making your own is fine too!

[Zylah]

I haven't been back to look in a while, but your grove is as inspiring as ever. And I know how it is, not having the time you wish you had for it!

I hope it encourages you both that so many people here (including myself) have been inspired and motivated to begin our own projects! The slowness of progress can be frustrating, at least for me, but it's part of getting away from the instamatic society with its impatient urgency to get instant gratification and move to the next thing. You guys have really made a difference, not just in your own place, but all over the world by sharing this. Please continue!

If those of us who have been inspired actually do post our own photos of projects, perhaps the encouragement will be mutual and synergistic! All I have are 'before' pics, so I've been withholding until some discernible progress is made. I think I'll maybe start a thread, though; you've got me thinking again.

Thank you again, so much, Romelia & Magrathea.

[Magrathea]

Well I'm glad we've managed to inspire others.
Due to unforseen circumstances Hazel Grove was allowed to return to her natural state, that is to say...overgrown. I'm personally hiring Slaribartfarst to rebuild it. He'll be paying particular attention to the fjords around the herb wheel

The chaos that has niggled away at me for some time is gently ebbing away now

Welcome back friends, bring a spade.

[Orion313]

Certainly congratulations are in order, Romelia. I can sense your excitement, and I am excited for you. I wish we had that kind of thing here in Kentucky in the small towns.

I just started the Bardic grade, and in the packet there was a booklet for the tree planting program. In my small little town (I just moved back here, after growing up here and being away for 30 years), there is one public park. It's mostly used for sporting activities, and that's a good thing, of course. After reading about grove planting, though, I decided to get some seedlings from the Arbor Day Foundation and have them planted in a small grove at the park. The place is nearly bare of trees, for all the sports fields. It won't be a proper sacred grove, though, because it's on public land. it's just something I want to do. We are having this year our 40th year class high school reunion, and out of 68 who graduated, nine have died. I thought to make the grove in honor and memory of my old friends, given by all of us still living. I think that's appropriate, and it is a nice first act as a beginning Bard. Later, I'd like to plant other ones around in the county, though where I live is very close to the Daniel Boone National Forest. I am very glad that I have taken this spiritual path.

[Romelia]

Thank you Orion,
It is excellent news that you are planting a grove. A wonderful legacy to leave for future generations. It has been my wish to plant a grove too. I have some oak saplings that I would love to plant out. I hope you continue your good work, and thanks for your support.

BB

R

[Magrathea]

Good morning, if you all cast your mind back to the japanese knotweed dilemma.... the council have brought a contractor in to poison it. Once a year for five years ( throughout the whole of our council borough ). We are going to try and find out what has been used, because, as you know knotweed is rather resistant to pretty much anything. This stuff has pretty much laid waste to it. So if any of you might have an idea, give us a shout.