Digging for Gold

Last year the men in my life spent a lot of time and energy transforming my clay bound garden into a manageable raised bed area. Gone were the days of spending two hour to dig through half a foot of ground. Gone are the days of sour earth and struggling plants. When the time came to plant up my raised beds it was amazing. No longer having to break my back to sow a few seeds I was faced with the dilemma of deciding what to plant.

I have a few golden rules that I live by when gardening - two are non-negotiable

1) My garden MUST have Runner beans
2) My garden MUST have Sweet Peas
3) Birds are welcome so no nasties are used in the garden if possible

Two other choice vegetables that I enjoy growing are carrots and beetroots....that almost took care of the larger of the two raised beds....Then my mum appeared with a bag full of potatoes to plant. The job was done the bed was full.

Time passed and the inevitable happened a huge spell of dry weather,m busy weekends and a lack of water saw half the potatoes yellow and flop. I Chalked it up as a disaster. I decided to forget about growing potatoes again. The dedication of frequent watering was not fitting in with my gardening approach of "fling em in the earth and see"

This weekend the garden got a haircut and a general tidy up. During which I had to look and see; and my what a find!! The sheer joy of digging and picking and piling up all the potatoes is unbelievable.

I also harvested some Mooli, two whole runner beans (there are more maturing on the plant) some beetroot and a sizable courgette!

Here's a wider shot of the harvest

Next year I shall employ slightly more restraint when scattering seeds and go for more order and less chaos. 

Well.....I can dream can't I!?!