I decided to have a look at that old raised bed that was in need of some TLC.

I’d already cleared the rubbish out of it which consisted of glass, old boots, rotten wood and grass and weeds.

I cleared the remainder of the grass in and around the bed and moved the big pile of weeds & grass from the clearing up job on the other side which i’m going to compost.

The metal sheet on one end was missing and the rest was all bent where people had dumped rubbish and trod all over it. Luckily whilst i was clearing the grass and weeds i found a piece of metal sheet partly buried in the ground so i dug that up, cleaned it off and knocked it into shape to make an end.

I also found some long strips of wood which must have been pre-treated because they were in good nick and obviously bought for some project that never took off. I used these to add support around the top to hold the bed together when the soil goes in and retain its shape. Now it was starting to look like something.

The soil already in the bed didn’t look to bad so i got a spade and dug really deeply and then forked it over. I sieved the remaining soil to remove any large stones and roots then emptied 6 big bags of horse manure and forked it level. I’m told that doing this adds Humus and stabilizes the soil. Hopefully come planting time the soil will have settled down and the Leeks will love it in there.

The horse manure comes from a farm in Stokesley which isn’t that far from where we live, so i’m doing my bit for the wider community and it’s proper stuff (i think). I’m also reading that you have to be careful where the manure comes from because these days a lot of stables use sawdust which gets mixed in with the manure and can do damage to the soil.

Finally i added some top soil which i bought from the gardening club and also took some from around the plot (there’s plenty of the stuff) and mixed it in and forked it off. I have a bit more to add to build up the depth but it’s looking like a new raised bed now and i’m looking forward to sowing and planting some leeks in there come the spring.

I’m also proud of the fact i fixed and repaired something using the resources around me, rather than throw stuff away i made good use of it. I’ve had to lay some money out as you’d expect because i’m starting from scratch, but i can see how keeping an allotment can make you resourceful. Now when i see an old man on his bike with a bit of wood under his arm i know where he’s coming from and where he’s going.

As the saying goes ‘one mans rubbish is another mans treasure’.