Confession time, I didn’t get as much done last week as I wanted to, but I did get a lot done and the green waste bin is completely full and there are three and a half compost bags of weeds too!

I started weeding the gooseberry area. There was a lot of grass from the path and I worked up and around to the sweet potato bed and the middle area where the asparagus and sweet peas were planted. I will tackle the stuff growing through the gooseberries later (with long sleeves). I’m also going to g to weed fabric this area because I don’t want to keep weeding it!

There was a lot of weeding to do in the sweet potato bed which I did, I took up the sweet peas, and counted how many asparagus had survived of the 10 I planted earlier in the summer. Five are definitely alive and one is maybe alive. I planted another 10, so there are 15/16 in altogether. I also topped up with compost. Asparagus are heavy feeders so these will also get a top up of manure when the rhubarb does from now on. If I can keep that area, weeded and mulched and the asparagus alive, in just three years and a half years’ time, I could be eating home grown asparagus. I’ve wanted asparagus ever since I got the plot, it’s taken me 8 years to plant them but I’m glad to have finally done it.

There is now a path from the side path down beside the sweet potato bed into that area and I’ve bought some heath pearlwort and I’m going to grow it to make bigger pots and plant it on this path. If I need to I’ll also buy more for a nice lawny path that doesn’t need mowing. I’m enjoying having another way into the plot!

I cut back the mint bath and pulled up some more random weeds, but there is loads more to do there. I also harvested all the potatoes and watered everything.

It’s beginning to look a lot better. On Friday, I need to go and harvest for Mum, who wants tree spinach, tomatoes, mint, raspberries, and summer squash (if we have any). I also think I’ll give the tree spinach a big chop and work out which ones I’m leaving for seeds.

This weekend, my priorities are:

• Move the compost.
• Top up the ex-potato bed with compost and planting out the kale.
• Compost top up for the alpine strawberry bed.
• Weeding the area between the blueberries and the blackcurrants to get the worse of it sorted
• Planting out the echinacea.
• If there is time, finishing the weeding under the plum tree.
• If there is even more time, start cutting back the rosemary and clear the two ‘hot boxes’ next to that.

Most of that is achievable, if I pull my finger out!