Potager Project - le Petit Pressigny - started in Oct 2009

Brief: To restore asparagus & strawberry beds, plant additonal fruit trees and create a croquet lawn!

The potager site (approx 50m x 40m) had been untended for a couple of years so the first step was to strim the 80cm high grass and weeds, and to cut back the boundary 'hedge'.

We had the bonfires to burn the rubbish in places where we will plant the fruit trees to help prepare the soil (additional potash) and kill off the grass and perennial weeds.

(Sorry...no photo's of the before you will just have to believe us :D)

Owing to the exceptionally dry and warm autumn we were able to follow on and cut the grass with a ride-on lawn mower. The areas left are where the asparagus will need hand-weeding and strawberries are being moved from.

The land has a series of long raised ridges of earth sloping dowhill towards the stream which used to grow annual veg.

The rotorvator was used to break up the mounds and prepare the ground where it will be further flattened and prepared, then sown for the croquet lawn in Spring.

The asparagus beds were extended to the full length of the plot to provide an area to move the strawberries to.

We will return in Spring with more photo's..first jobs...transplant a pear tree, plant up strwberries, plant 3 more fruit trees, cut grass, further prepare croquet lawn (15m x 20m) sow seed.