78. Rhubarb, rhubarb...

I have finally dug the new rhubarb bed. Not a casual undertaking as it is a new bed, and involved double-digging and wheelbarrowing copious amounts of manure from the local farm.



For those not familiar with double-digging, here is my method:-

1. remove turfs from a section (I did about 0.5 m squared at a time)
2. dig out subsoil (about 30cms) and put to one side
3. remove about 5-10 cms of regolith (I looked this term up but it is very distinct - rocks and pebbles, no humus at all); dispose (using 'penguin' trousers as used in the film The Great Escape)
4. invert turfs and lay at bottom of hole
5. fill with 10-15cms of manure
6. back fill with subsoil (mixing in more manure)


I have had a massive problem with slugs living in the ever-encroaching grass, so my latest plan is to use inverted carpet to surround my beds, and cover it with chipping. This can be seen in the photos.

This is quite hard work, but regularly punctuated by almost getting stuck in the next-door manure mountain (in a daydream I wrote a blog about it).

Footnote
I never did get stuck, so don't think you have missed that blog. (In fact, if you have read that blog, then perhaps you are living in a parallel universe).

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