Earthworks at home
Now, you can't beat slopes for tobogganing down but in a garden a terrace is much more useful. Tables and chairs will happily sit without falling over, plants are easier to water and best of all they create space. Terracing is the gardening equivalent of pulling a rabbit from a hat magically transforming a difficult-to-sit-walk-and-plant ramp into a place you want to be.
When tackling earthworks some kit is essential - a good barrow with a well-pumped tyre, a spade, a shovel and most importantly planks. These protect the lawn and ramp between the levels. To bring soil up to my new terrace I have four separate ramps teetering on piles of bricks like something out of a Dr Seuss book.
Although a little wobbly they were doing fine, until the kids and friends discovered how good they were for bouncing up and jumping over. Since their offer of 'help' I'm now having to check they're safe between every barrow and carefully move them back into position - so progress has slowed to say the least. Still, playing on the planks stops them pestering me about my next (long-promised and overdue) project - the ultimate terrace in the sky, the tree-house. But hey at least I've got the planks.
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~03~RS~)
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This is a tenuous link to your earthworks project, Toby, but... I put in a couple of raised veg beds this year - I'm new to veg growing - and instead of skipping the turf I removed, which I would have done in the past, I piled it behind the shed and covered it. It's broken down quite nicely but is there anything I should do to it to improve it further as I intend to put in another couple of raised veg beds this year and thought I might use this recycled "loam" in them ? I've scrounged a couple of pallets too to make the raised beds, but my garden's too wet to work on this time of year - thought I might knock up some wooden seed trays out of them to give me an excuse to get outside - they look good on GW but are wooden seeds trays practical? All the best.
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Its the first time I have read the blog and I'm very interested in this project. I did the same kind of thing last year, heaving loads of soil and creating a flat area at the bottom of our very sloping garden. Now it is a 6 metre wide football pitch which gets periodically attacked by moles.
I've been trying to find books or even online tips about gardening on a slope but it is pretty difficult. Anyone got any ideas out there?
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