Student plots 2009

As part of the first year of the HND Plantsmanship course the students are given a plot to cultivate; to sow and grow through 2010, producing a selection of vegetables and flowers.

The majority have now double dug their area, adding compost from the green waste the garden produces to the trench. An ideal way to build up the humus content of the soil; this in turn aids moisture retention and increases the soil life population. Feed the soil for it is the soil that feeds us.

A green manure and seaweed top dressing show alternative ways of improving soil structure, texture and fertility. The plot in the foreground, roughly dug will benefit from the frosts experienced in the past week. The alternate freezing and thawing action breaks down the clods, followed by a light rake in spring will produce a friable seed bed.