Mechanically Aided Lazy Beds - Part 3, Job done

This was the View from our bedroom window on the 1st of June this year.


Around 18Kg of seed potatoes in rows that should accomodate the David Brown for harvesting. Naurally enough, I worked out the quickest and easiest method of setting the potatoes on the last 2 rows. That was,

1: Plough in both directions
2: Cut up and collect turf using the bucket on the DB
3: Spread cow muck as required
4: Place spuds on top of cow muck
5: Remove Turfs from DB bucket and place inverted on top of Cow muck/spuds to complete the rows.

Now all we have to do is to chop down those 2 trees to let more light in.

Mechanically Aided Lazy Beds - Part 2, Ploughing up the Lawn.

After consultation with the real farmers youngest son, now officially employed so will in future be refered to as "Assistant Gardner", we decided to try ploughing in the rows of cow muck.

Oddly enough, if one is to plough something one needs a plough. No problem as I had been given to borrow the old plough lying outside the hoilday house up above us.

After a little battle to extract it from where it had been lying for years we were ready to give it a go.

It worked to a fashion, helping by cutting up the turf but not coming deep enough to mix in the cow muck, which it either shoved to the side or dragged along.

It was quickly discovered that it was a much better plan to "plough" before spreading out the rows of muck. It was already clear that this was going to be one of those jobs that man worked out the most effective technique when the job was nearly done!

Blog Maintenance

Apologies if the blog doesn't appear it's usual self, I'm in the process of upgrading to bloggers new template editor, which means I have lost all the changes I made in the old template. Ah, don't you just love "progress".

Learning Fast...

MMMMM tasty.

Mechanically Aided Lazy Beds - Part One, Muck Spreading

Planting spuds time has come and gone. Don't panic they're in the ground, just, but I'm behind with blogging as ever. Anyway, after discussion with the father in law, and contemplating the state of the lawn the decision was taken to use part of it to grow spuds. Originally, my plan was to take advantage of the soil conditioning and fertilising for one year and plant a newer better lawn the year after. However, Mrs VL in conjuction with her mother have come up with a better idea, more later.

So, in keeping with the last couple of years, we've gone for lazy beds. Those of you in the know will be aware that the first ingredient for lazy beds is a big heap of cow muck, which the real farmers next door have good supply of and are always willing to deliver!


This time, the pile was left a fair distance from it's final location. What better tool to move the muck and spread it into smaller piles than the David Brown.


It took quite a few trips across the lawn to move all the muck (more than a few tons of the stuff) but the ground was good and hard from the recent prolonged dry spell so no harm done!


With that job done, it was just a case of spreading it out into rows, putting the spuds on the muck and folding turfs over on top. Already at this stage I was trying to work out how as much of this work as possible could be done using one or the other tractor.....