Progress in the Veggie Field.

It's been two years now since we restarted growing vegetables in the veggie field. Those of us who see the field every day don't always notice how much progress has been made over time, but looking back through our catalogue of photos reveals how much has been achieved. 

The southernmost of the four veg strips, 24th August 2010.

The above photo shows one strip looking towards our single polytunnel, two years ago. The strip is a mass of weeds, mainly black nightshade and couch grass. This strip was 2012's potato strip, yielding 20 beds of maris peer and pink fir apple spuds, as well as salads, chard, and beetroot, and has already begun its role as 2013's onion strip, with eight beds of leeks planted, as well as spinach, and more salads, chard and beetroot.

The same view, 28th August 2012.

This photo is of the same, taken last week. The beds are now either prepared and sown with crops, or covered in black plastic mulch to kill weeds. At the end of the strip you can see our second longer polytunnel erected next to the original, almost doubling our protected cropping area.

Volunteers hoeing between leeks and beetroot.

And this is the other end of the same strip, with Louise, Lucy and Ellie weeding the beetroot and leek beds inside their rabbit fencing. Quite an improvement!