First we all gathered in the fruit cage so that we could help Dan, Danny and Jason revise fruit bush pruning, finishing off the last of the bushes in the process.
After that we all moved on to smaller jobs. Hassan potted up the red and yellow willow cuttings that we grew in a bag bed last year, whilst Vanessa and Rachel bravely tackled the bindweed roots. The Dans and Jason went off to plant up some gooseberries that had grown when we layered the plants last year, and Joyce went to clear the hazel coppice in the orchard. The Dans and co joined her and we coppiced the older hazels for the first time. It seems strange to just cut a tree down almost to the ground, but we know it will respond by sending up lots of new growth. We can burn the wood we cut down as well, and apparently Hazel has more calories for weight than Willow, so it should be really useful for the clay oven once it's seasoned.
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| Vanessa beats the renegade rasps into submission |
The Dans and Jason got a lesson in how to use a flint and steel to light the Kelly kettle, and soon managed to make this wonderfully efficient gadget provide enough hot water for everyone to enjoy a well earned cuppa. The break got even more interesting when Hassan produced a box of chocolates! It may not have earned us the healthy eating points, but the chocs definitely boosted morale and productivity, giving the Dan's enough energy to tackle planting some onion sets in the polytunnel, whilst Vanessa and Rachel moved the Autumn raspberries that have invaded the fruit cage. The pruning gave us some nice cuttings, so Hassan and Joyce set those up in the bag bed.
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| Joyce and Hassan set up the cuttings |
All in all, a very good morning!
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