The Sanctuary Garden

Bryan, a friend who is also a carer and diagnosed with MND, came over today. He’s my idea’s man and we are able to bounce ideas off each other and have done since we first met.

He walks with the aid of two sticks and can’t stand for long so is limited to what he can do. BUT, he can plant seeds, having had a garden that outshone the neighbourhood. Today he planted four trays of seed; Two of the Brunswick Cabbage a monster variety that can be bottled as sauerkraut for the food bank. The the other two are parsnip seeds, Bryan was given when he bought his greenhouse from an old dear.

I built more beds and did some of the legwork all the while was gentle banter or ideas on the next phase of the project. When he left to go home, he was buoyed up. “I felt like I’ve done something useful today” “good day” to record a few sound bytes. It’s not just me that feels good after working in the garden.

A lovely couple in Kinglassie had some blocks going free. “I’m here for the exercise” I said “you’re at the right place” and I was. These blocks are called grunters, they are twice the thickness of a normal breeze block and feel about four times as heavy. They are perfect for a raised bed. The Kia, not really designed to take huge loads, managed 10 blocks before I thought it was a bit low on the suspension. It took three loads. On the final load, driving through a nearby village, I noticed a wall had been knocked down, and I was told I can have as many of the bricks as I can carry.

Good news, the mushroom compost man is alive and may send me a date of when he can deliver, I was getting nervous.

Two generous families have donated turf to the project. It took two loads in the Sportage loaded to the gunnels. Incorporating some horse manure and covering it up in black plastic to bake for six months will turn it into delicious soil to grow vegetables.

If you know anyone who is about to start a project removing grass, I’ll supply large plastic bags for them to load it into and I’ll take the sod away. Just send me a note. It’s a win-win.

When I was about 10, I learned to drive a half tonne Mazda pickup that had a steering shift. We called open pickups ‘bakkies’ and with my accent it’s pronounced “buck-ies” which probably has a different meaning here with an association to buckfast, a fortified drink. I’ve yet to try but have several bottles dumped at the road end.

Building beds with blocks is quicker and easier. I need about twelve block per bed or nearly seventy bricks.

In Zimbabwe, some of the white farmers were affectionately dubbed ama-pointer. With an outstretched finger “you do this, you do that.” The dining room chairs saved from landfill are for the ama-pointer members to sit and do their thing.

In the corner of the poly tunnel, Rory built a pallet compost pit and both he and I filled it with a cube of horse manure. Rain water was added. A week later I was interested to see if the temperature inside the middle of the pile had started to climb. The probe was pushed into the middle of the pile.

The ambient temperature is 23.5C / 74f with a humidity of 58% The manure is cooking at 55.3C / 131.5f
When I finished this evening, the ambient temperature had dropped to 15C and the manure was unchanged at 55C. It will be interesting to see if it climbs any higher

While potting up plants that I can’t plant because I’ve run out of compost, the thought hit me: A new tact. The Garden will have an open day in June or July and have a plant sale. Hence the ‘plant the whole packet’ mentality. My super vigorous mung beans will be available in individual pots. I may even sell the buckets of potatoes and shallots that are growing well in tunnel.

The gutter population has just jumped; cauliflowers, celery, loads of swedes and ASDA’s parsley have all been planted.

These are cracking beans, black turtle yinyang and brown orca beans, all planted this morning.

After three load in my carpet lined boot of the Kia Sportage, has resulted in 200 bricks, all made by local brickworks now defunct. I ran out of steam, but I’ll get some more next week.

The topsoil here is about a spade deep, and then it’s shiny clay. Korean Natural farming have suggested that pouring potato water to feed and promote indigenous microbes will help break down the clay but I’ll need to find more research. The method is simple, fill a 44 gallon drum (55 gal in the US and 210 l in Eu) with water, heating it and adding some potatoes and boil. When soft use a paint stirrer and mush the lot up. Strain and spray onto the soil.

This huge box of potatoes was delivered by DPD, I could barely lift it into the house. When Matthew said he was sending seed potatoes, I expected a bag or two. He send twenty one!

My guesstimate is I’ll need the area of another poly tunnel to plant them all. The plan is to plant through a hole in the cardboard and covering the cardboard with organic straw. The straw needs to be organic as many of the farmers use roundup weed killer to stop the barley over ripening and giving them time to harvest it.

Earlies – Sarpo Kilfi, Sarpo Blue Danube, Pink Gypsy

2nd Earlies -Sarpo Una, Carlingford

Main – Rooster, Vlor, Setanta, Sunset, Red King Edward

Visit www.brighterblooms.co.uk and support their business.

Before I started this project, I weighed 110kg, about 17 stone. I’m six foot but my t-shirts were now getting a bit short because my “Rhodesian Front” was the biggest it’s ever been.

Building beds, filling, lifting and raking meant lots and lots of small movements, hence the Jane Fonda Workout. A shovel full of manure is not particularly heavy when compared to a concrete block, but fill a cubic yard of compost bin or a bed with compost and it’s a real work out. Technically I can lift a big bucket of water but I’ll knacker my back, so filling a water butt with watering cans is a workout. I’m drinking significantly more water as a result of the additional effort. With no scientific backup, I have a ‘gut feeling’ that water does something to shift weight. For this reason, is why I think it’s important if you have depression, it’s worth coming along. It’s not the dread of a gym, it’s not boring and there is no need for lycra and weights. You will feel so much better.

About two weeks ago I weighed myself again and I’d lost 10kg/ 1.5 stone. I’ve cut back on raiding the cupboards at night and drink less alcohol. Both significantly easier to do now I’m doing something positive.

Today I have a real workout, I’m collecting secondhand bricks. I’m lining the boot of the car with carpet and visiting a local building site where they have knocked down a wall. I’ll need to count how many ‘reps’ I do.

At the supermarket my folks noticed some vegetable seedlings for sale. My mother wanted a butternut squash, saw this label and bought it; there were two seedlings as well.

When they got home and looked up the translation. It’s a giant squash, the size you grow on a pallet need a forklift to move. They gave it to me.