Cosy Cob Cottage

Starting the No-Dig Beds

I stopped to talk to a cow farmer nearby and asked if he had any manure for sale. He thought about it and then said he had some. If I followed him up the the monte he would show me. And sure enough there was a small pile of left over very well composted manure, probably two years old. He said I could have it! So I went over there first thing Sunday morning to dig it up and take it home. He described it like this: Melhor do que isso nao e. Better stuff than this doesn't exist.

So I've been barrowing it down to the vege garden. That's the hard bit of this gardening on a steep hillside. I managed to do two loads and have started to do no-dig beds. See how that works. I need more cardboard, but am using black plastic for the moment, to black out the soil and kill off the dreaded couch grass.

It's windy and we have had some rain off and on for the last few days. Soft rain that encourages growth and softens the soil, but it is still dry when you dig below 20 cm.

One of the little guava bushes has fruit on it. A good dose of vitamin c in each fruit. I grew these from seeds. They are no bother and don't need lots of watering in the summer.

I have planted a cheery red bougainvillea on the south west corner of the cob house. Let's see how it fairs. I've put it in a big pot as I don't want the roots to interfere with the drainage below the foundations.