Panic! Now what?

[1Bee]

The willow den has emerged as the priority! Collected these beauties from a woodsman/basket weaver old friend who also supplied my Hazel bean poles.



We've laid out a rough base and if the rain holds off enough tomorrow we'll try and get the main framework up.

[veggiechicken]

[Bluenowhere]

Looking good. Definitely no need for panic

[Mark_Riga]

As an aside regarding your potato varieties, looks like going for blight resistance. I was very impressed last year with Carolus. Grew well and cooks well boiled/roast/wedges and mash. Tried Sarpo mira and axona previously, they grew well but the Axona were mainly hollow centred and I was very disappointed with both in the kitchen.

[1Bee]

Thanks Mark, good to know. I had a few hollow hearted blue danube, and although they tended to fall apart in cooking the flavour was good and they were excellent in dauphinoise. They really made the grade for me, though, by storing well and not seeming to succumb to slug, when I lost a lot of the Albert Bartlett Rooster harvest to the blighters. I haven't tried the Axona before.

[1Bee]

We've had the most fun today...

I took the boys down to the plot in shifts, 4yo in the morning, 7yo in the afternoon. In the morning, we laid out some rope in a circle, made holes for the key uprights of willow and pushed them in. Then we put in two minor uprights between each major one, following the line of the circle.





In the afternoon we added the secondary willow withies and tied them over and down, and weaved them in. Then we created a tunnel entrance, two 'windows' and tidied up the weed matting that makes the floor.



Then the 7yo and I sat inside, indulging ourselves by peeling a willow twig.

I have to recommend this activity, folks, it was VERY soothing and absorbing.

And the site manager came by and was very impressed...

[SarrissUK]

I am very impressed too! Well done! It looks lovely

[bikermike]

a wigloo!

[1Bee]

A bit of progress : two of four raised beds made (two are going to be stacked for a deeper bed) and membrane down.

[1Bee]

[1Bee]

The plan is to cut out the membrane inside the raised bed, but first I need to buy a lighter to melt and seal the edges...

[veggiechicken]

Well done 1Bee.
In only 3 weeks you've gone from Panic to Looking Good.

[1Bee]

It's a good job I didn't do the panning shot of the rest of the new half...

Thank you. I've got the timber to cut for the other two raised beds and I'm hunting down some woodchip to cover the membrane. Then apart from digging some holes here and there for sunflowers and maybe some other flowers, that's it for cultivating on the new patch. It'll just be keeping it under control and letting the kids play for the rest of the season. And maybe digging a mud wallow.

As you do.

[muck lover]

The plan is to cut out the membrane inside the raised bed, but first I need to buy a lighter to melt and seal the edges...

You could keep the bit you cut out to cover the bed in winter, over a mulch.

[Penellype]

Looking great 1Bee.