The start

I first moved into the house in 1971

The garden was bigger then and in 1982/3 I excavated the land and built a garage on the bottom bit, which we now use as the main entrance as the other is onto the main road.

Originally the veg plot was on the left as you look from the house, and the lawn was on the right.
This changed when "management" said that there should be a change, this would have been about 1992,erish. The original veg plot had been worked since the house was built in about 1905, so the soil was very good. I managed through a fair bit of moving the soil around to keep it for my , I will say raised beds, but they are sunken beds.

What was the lawn, is where the old house used to stand, and builders have not really changed very much in the last 100 years, and the lawn was about 6 inches of basic top soil, then builders rubble.

It was, I made the decision this time, to put in the suncken beds, but first to get rid of the rubble. Saw a local farmer, borrowed a trailer (big one) and made 8' by 4' beds, taking all the rubble out down to proper sub soil. This was to a depth of about 2feet. Had to have a couple of trips with the trailer. Interestingly in the rubble were all the normal, lime motar, slates, but best were a fair amout of 1'by1' by1" thick floor tiles.... in good condition.. but not a lot of them were whole.

Having got all that lot out, I had comments from across the road...... well everybody else has a shed at the bottom of the garden.... I have a pub!!.... thinking that I was taking over from the local graveyard. I then saw a local farmer, and for a couple of quid, filled the holes with cow muck, and covered with the soil I had saved.

Phweee, that lot done set out about planting things, and had no problem, good soil, nice and easy plots to sow and weed, and all was tweekerty boo in the land of Yorkie.

The problems then started when the grass at the side of the plots sort of started to slip away, and there was no actuall boundry between lawn and plot. So what to do??

A mate works making up, and renewing pallets, so for a couple of pints aquired a stack of runners from the old pallets. Once again dug out the plots put in the bits of wood, and sat back once again, cos all was tweekerty boo.

As we all know, that situation never lasts for long.

The wood was not a good option and soon started to rot, and got alsorts of fugus appearing around the wood.

So at the time I was driving a lorry and a load of plastic down pipe, and some other plastic pipe fell off the back of said lorry, without being damaged. This has been very good... but the slugs and snails love it, and set up home as cosy,as could be.

Not only that but we had a problem with the sewer.... don't ask!!... but they had to dig a 6'to7' hole to get to the pipe in the garden... and knocked out a couple of the plots with the mini digger they brought in. (not worth sorting with the insurance as I just wanted the pipe sorting out... you would too!)

Now to what I hope to be the last in the line of sorting out the plots.

Concete blocks.
Yes they look 'orrible, but with that bit of cement to keep them apart, or is it stick them together!! I never know, and a bit of 4"by4" on the top..... all will be tweekerty boo again shortly.

So that is where I am at the moment...... in a trench about 2' deep laying blocks to keep the sides up. I have also made them slightly proud of the grass so as it is easer to cut around them.