leaves!

 Today, the first day back after the Welsh Firebreaker lockdown. The clocks have gone back and the nights are setting in early. I finish work at 4.30pm, and it's already getting dark.

Previously, I sorted out all the residual builders rubbish into the plastic bags left behind by their sand use. I put these all kinda out of sight round the back of the greenhouse. Broken glass was carefully cleared from the site, and I've sieved half of the large pile of soil.

I've found the soil to be heavy clay. It kinda sieves ok, but it's probably almost a 50/50 mix of soil and stones. The hardest part is deciding whether to push through the lumps of clay or bunch them in with the stones - they're very nearly impossible to distinguish from each other. There is also really odd PINK clay in amongst everything, and I definitely try to throw that in with the stones. The upside of all the clay is that there is probably scope in the future for making cob furniture or pizza ovens...

I've also started digging out some beds in the greenhouse proper. The risk of a flying stone cracking a pane of glass is super high, so I use a large broken down cardboard box as a protective screen. The weeks that the greenhouse has been up as cooked the ground into hard concrete. digging here is hard work.

I've brought some bulbs for planting soon (I'm a little late on this, but lockdown has messed up everyone's timing)! There's seeds also for the new year. I've brought a few bags of all purpose compost and some chicken manure in an effort to help the soil. I imagine I'll need quite a few bags of sharp sand to try and help drainage.

I'd brought a few plants - some herbs and wallflowers, and also a quince tree (which does need to be repotted into a much larger pot!)

Anyway, that's us roughly up to date. 

Today, I went out and collected fallen leaves from within Insole's grounds. I've managed to collect a builders ton bag full, which is great, but due to the weather they're all wet. I'm thinking of moving all the soil in the mound outside, because it's all sat on top of a tarp. I could use that tarp to spread out the leaves inside the greenhouse, and fingers crossed, that'll dry them out nicely ready to bag up and leave for a year or so....