It’s always hard to believe that things you don’t know how to do yourself are doable, but in the end, they are …

OK, so we had built raised beds before, but this time in the station garden, we were having to dig out the slope below the south facing wall and build bigger beds than previously to take our shortly-to-arrive apple and pear trees. We all remember the compacted soil in this area from last year, and how Jim had to go at it with a pick-axe. And this time we had to find some more scaffolding planks, and we had to find some soil, and we had to line the wooden frame with pond-liner to ensure the planks don’t rot … The fruit trees could be there for a long time.

Last Tuesday we dug out the slope and discovered that actually, the soil there wasn’t bad at all. There was of course the usual bucket load or two of hard core. Halstead Scaffolders, who used to be our neighbours on the other side of the railway, offered us some old scaffolding planks for free, and we managed to scavenge some 2″x 2″. I was on my way to the swimming pool when I passed a wood yard and cadged some off-cuts: the guys at the gym were a little taken aback when I asked them if they could look after two large pieces of wood for the duration of my swim. This community gardening business is getting me used to making wierd requests …

Today, Mark and Chris cut the planks and fixed them together. The rest of us were banished to the shady triangle where we engaged in gentle weeding and clearing while back in the gated plot, the existing raised beds were used as a sawing bench. The equivalent of nine scaffolding planks is a heavy load, so it was opportune that neighbour Edward was passing at the moment of truth, when we hefted the new bed into place.

After a tea break, fitting the pond liner was straightforward, secured in place with a staple gun. There is now one more smaller bed to construct. We then have to move soil from one of the original beds in order to line it. Brighton Permaculture have pledged a cubic metre of soil to fill the new beds. We’re nearly there … So more engineering works next week, and then we should be in a position to erect the wire trellising ready for our fruit trees on Sunday 11th. Keep believing it’s doable – and it is.