We began the Kitchen Garden project in 2009 by making and installing raised beds. We wanted a four-bed rotational system plus separate beds for asparagus, soft fruits and a narrow bed the length of the garden just for strawberries!
After a year of over-grown paths (poppies and rocket were our main competitors!), we decided to sacrifice a long bank holiday to install brick pathways!
We started by digging out two tons of earth creating the depth for hardcore and foundation.
We used leftover roof tiles as hardcore, laid out neatly, then levelled with a heavy-duty compactor. Over two tons of sand were mixed, by hand (well spade!) with cement to back-fill the path trenches to a depth of 75mm before laying on the brick pavers.
What we thought would be a 4 day job with 500 bricks turned out to be a 10 day job, over a whole month, for two of us using 1400 bricks!
It was hard work, but seeing it come into being was the encouragement we needed to persevere. Now that it’s finished and we’ve got seeds and sets planted, we can weed, water, and watch it all grow whilst enjoying a glass of wine! Now for the grapevine……
To see this year’s planting schedule click below
Your thoughts...