First crop of the year

I cut some asparagus this week banishing the hungry period.Everybody goes on about how satisfying it is to grow your own vegetables and how we are doing our bit for the environment but even after all these years nothing beats the first crop of the year. I have been growing salad crops in the polytunnel which will be ready soon but outside seasonal crops are better.The books always tell you the quicker you can get sweetcorn to the pot the better but I have never been a great fan of it but asparagus falls into the same category.Way back before I grew my own I thought this was a tasteless overhyped vegetable, but fresh is altogether another experience.I often look at the limp bundles in the supermarket and note in the last instance the country of orgin is Peru and wonder why people waste their money, all that time out of the ground plus the travelling must affect the taste - although I have never tried it ,the price being a deterrant.Asparagus must be one of the easiest crops to grow,most of the work going into the initial preparation of the bed.After that all that is involved, is keeping it weed free and watered and a light top dressing of compost each winter.Not too taxing especially as if left to grow on the fine foliage is excellent for flower arranging.

It has been a strange week as most planting has had to be followed by quite a bit of watering,this being critical to the survival of young plants.As I am writing this though it has started to rain which is a bit of a blessing.This will give the emerging carrots and parsnips a good start.The vegetable plot is looking very good now with the help of Vern who has been constructing the paths between the raised beds and the addition of the new pond in the background will make this a very attractive area.

Creating a wildlife pond

Last week I went on a course run by habitataid on how to create a wildlife pond. This was a revelation to me. Apart from the diverse and fascinating people that I met, the technique for creating a pond has changed radically. The old days of the expensive and temperamental butyl liners have gone. I remember years ago a similar course where once the area had been dug out we all spent ages flattening the inside of the pond to eradicate sharp stones then a layer of sand was spread and then the dreaded liner was dragged into place. At this stage everyone had to take their boots off to walk over the liner smoothing out wrinkles. The whole thing was a nightmare followed a few weeks later by a leak caused by an over exuberant heron puncturing it, which meant the whole thing had to be started again with a new liner which was expensive and soul destroying. No wonder people with experience of this discouraged anyone from creating a wildlife pond that had to use one of these liners.
A new product developed to create an economical barrier to protect against seepage in landfill sites is now being used.Called Bentomat it is a fabric with a dry clay filling which forms the barrier. It looks like a carpet or a floppy type of plasterboard and is rolled into place over a dug pond and then filled over with a 300mm layer of soil - and that's it. Water acts with the clay filling and seals the pond similar to lining it with clay.The lining will self seal after small punctures or in serious cases can be repaired by putting another piece of bentonite over the hole like a patch. The liner is much cheaper than butyl does not need all the preparation and looks more natural insitu as it is all covered over.
This opens up so many possibilities that I am only just beginning to get my head round them.Small ponds in gardens linked with wildlife areas are now a distinct and exciting prospect.The hardest part was dragging it into place but that was because we were making quite a large pond.The fact we had a mechanical digger for the hole meant you also had the horsepower to move the bentonite roll .In smaller ponds perhaps hand dug the handling wold be much easier.
I was surprised by just how many people are now involved in environmental and green projects.People creating micro hydro power which I must try and find out more about.A company using willow for river bank erosion and filtration.The government needs to take these more seriously and help them to develop.
I came away from the course excited about new techniques in pond building but also motivated by the people I met.

Springtime and the weeding is easy

There is nothing better than a beautiful spring afternoon with the gentle sun on your back weeding a border.The ground is soft and fragrant and none of the larger herbaceous plants have taken off yet giving loads of room for manoeuvre and the weeds are small and easy to move.The bittercress are neat  and soft and come out in one small clump and even the creeping buttercup is soft and pliable.The dreaded docks come out in one go and not with the sickening snap that means you will be revisiting this area again in a few weeks. In one garden I work on they have one area that has a small amount of ground elder that I have a constant battle with under a patch of three Cotoneasters.The only course of action is glyphosate and I have always found this is the best time of year to apply it effectively.I do take the precaution of covering the shrubs and plants nearby so that I can concentrate the spray on the young green shoots. This week appears to be the best opportunity as there is no rain forecast for a couple of days.I used to mix the weedkiller with washing up liquid and put it on with a glove but I still find spraying the most effective and efficient way of dealing with the weeds.
On a more creative note now is a good time to sow grass seed. The patch left by the old apple tree with its glorious climber 'Rambling Rector' now has to be filled.Last year we had a beautiful gnarled old apple tree with I had planted with various climbers and perennial sweet peas - it was a glorious sight in the summer.It has ,however succumbed to the weather and age and had to be removed.There is much debate on what to replace it with - another tree? or a shrub?

Mostly birds and frogs

I noticed on Tuesday quite a large flock of swallows over the lake. I have never seen them arrive this early in the year. Normally they are here about the middle of April but sometimes we get a couple a few days earlier but this time there were at least twenty. This is heartening because there were not many last year and when they started breeding they were decimated by a Hobby that must have come over with them.This was the first time I have seen one, and I had to dive indoors for my trusted RSPB book to ensure I had identified it correctly. I got a really good look at him ( or her, strangely I only ever saw one) as he went to dispose of his catch in the wood shed and would fly right past me when I went to investigate the noise, and oh boy was there a commotion.The swallows are very much loved here even when they are dive bombing you in the yard because you are too close to their nest,being follically challenged I often feel they are trying to plough a furrow in the old napper.One of my favourite sights is them criss crossing in front of me skimming the lawn when I am mowing seeing how close they can get to the machine.When you get that close you appreciate what smooth almost fluid movements they make.
The other interesting event this week has been the frogs annual 'get together'. The edges of the pond have been boiling with activity with clusters of dozens of frogs the size of footballs mixed in with the weeds oblivious of us watching them - they surely must be easy pickings for predators. It's a shame so many of them don't survive as in those quantities we would surely be slug free enabling me to grow hostas  - mmm hostas!The battle to keep the delphinium shoots intact would be easier too.