It’s still horribly wet at the plot, but I managed to get some weeding done. The earth was fairly sloppy mud in the bed nearest to the shed, but I got an amount of weeds and grass out – and about half a bucket of couch grass roots. That was a big plus, being able to pull those lengths out through the mud. My shed is full of buckets of weeds and a now-torn sack of weeds.

It was very hard physical work, so this was as far as I got. But I did manage to dig out buckets of compost to cover it and cut down the veronica. I dug out some big weeds from around the place too, but – oh the water levels need to go down so I can get on with proper digging and weeding.

More apple tree musings: it doesn’t stand a chance with that big lateral branch being on the wrong side of the stake.

The ledge isn’t far from being ready for compost. I’ve cut down every dead or done plant and pulled up most of the grass that seeded down through the fence. I’m sure I’ll find a few more though. All that remains – I believe – it to dig up a few dandelion / thistle-esque weeds and do the compost.

Right at the end, I discovered that the front bed was surprisingly well-drained. I’d been avoiding it because of its size and the resident big plants. I dug up a few viper’s buglosses and borages, which made a difference. There are some pretty big calendulas remaining, as well as a big, robust viper’s bugloss and, looking around, I think they can be transplanted to the ends of the trellis bed. That soil isn’t far from being ready – whereas everywhere else is thick with weeds.