There are some important service features needed for the kitchen garden.

Stable Walkways

The first is stable load-bearing walkways, making it easier to use heavy wheelbarrows between the beds. While the 4 inch gravel is good for drainage, it makes heavy going when using the wheelbarrow along them. I solved this by using the CEDAdrive stabilisation system, a honeycomb structure fitted on geotextile sheets. That is filled with the smaller (10mm) pea gravel, and this provides an effective hard surface to use for heavy equipment. Old paving stones provide a makeshift edge for the gravelled area.

I have pots surrounding the beds. These are used to mark out any still-unstable areas of gravel, and will be planted up with strong smelling plants to deter pests. The old concrete pillar end is a stand for a lovely wide, shallow bowl planter containing a slate sundial surrounded by thyme.

Watering System

There is no permanent water system in place yet, so I use an extra long hosepipe and do manual watering as required. It is long enough to stretch the full length and width of the garden, but can be rolled up easily when not in use.

My usual routine is to give everything one long, deep water once a week, and to rely on rain to top that up. In North West England, the rain is usually quite reliable. During very dry spells I will water more often, sometimes daily for new plants and trees.

The plants seem to thrive during very wet spells. They do so much better with rainwater than they do with United Utilities water!

Composting Solution

There is no permanent composting solution for the garden - I haven’t decided on the best plan for this yet. In the meantime the local council does bi-weekly green bin collections, and my two allocated green bins are usually full to the brim. I use a couple of hot composter bins for the weeds and vegetable garden waste. These turn it into useable compost within a few weeks. The rest of the bulky green waste is stored up for a large bonfire a couple of times a year. It isn’t ideal, but so far this system works.