Tour of the New Kitchen Garden

The new kitchen garden has been a joy to work on, it’s great to finally see my plans before me, rather than on paper. Each raised bed will be filled with compost rich in chicken manure straight from the compost bins, it’s lovely stuff with a beautiful earthy smell. I’ve decided to try the no dig method used by Charles Dowding for most of the beds, although due to timing, one bed has already been dug over and prepared for planting garlic in autumn.

The rhubarb bed is looking great, this is a young crown of Timperley Early which is a favorite of mine to grow because it’s super early and great for forcing. I resisted the urge to pull a few sticks this year, leaving it to grow strong and healthy for future harvests.

Cheska the chicken inspecting the nasturtium

Squeezed into a sheltered corner of the kitchen garden is a wildlife pond, our garden is full of frogs and newts and you can never have too many wildlife ponds and areas in my opinion. I planted herbs around the edges to grow wild and unruly for a natural look, most are flowering herbs to attract bees and pollinators.

A frog smiling back at me

I used potted ivy and wood logs at the very back of the pond for a natural, rustic look. The new kitchen garden is pulling plenty of wildlife in already, including these little guys…

In the center of the kitchen garden is a mature apple tree with a little table and chair set underneath, every kitchen garden needs a place to relax and enjoy the surroundings.

Collecting fallen apples for a crumble

Below is the view from the kitchen garden, back towards the house.

I’m looking forward to working with my soil and improving it with plenty of organic matter over time, the texture appears to be a light sandy type which is just perfect for root veg.

The chickens seem to like the kitchen garden, although I’ll have to find a way to keep them out soon!

Filed under: Vegetable Garden Tagged: charles dowding, garden hens, kitchen garden, no dig, raised beds, veg patch, Vegetable Garden, wildlife pond