Respraying The Grass On The Banks

The grass on the banks was sprayed with a weedkiller two weeks ago but hasn't died off as Joss had hoped, see blog entry 15th August 'Killing Off The Grass On The Banks'. Therefore, it was agreed that it would need another spray so Simon and Joss put on their chemical suits again and spent a further three hours applying the second application of weedkiller with a knapsack sprayer.

Deep Cleaning The Greenhouse

The greenhouse has stood empty since the end of June, see blog entry 30th June 'An Empty Greenhouse', but it has been too hot to go inside to start the deep clean. With the weather having cooled in recent weeks, Ali saw this as the perfect opportunity to clean it in preparation for the return of the plants which will start with the cuttings in mid September.

First the floor was blown through and all the leaf debris from the previous twleve months collected, then, dressed in a chemical suit, wellington boots and rubber gloves, Ali scrubbed all the aluminium staging with a scourer pad dipped in buckets of hot water and Jeyes Fluid disinfectant. Once the staging had been cleaned, the floor was given a Jeyes Fluid wash using a watering can. To finish the clean the glass was power washed and, once everything had dried, the wooden shelving was put back on top of the staging.

Potting Up 690 Plug Plants

The temperature has dropped from those felt through the hot summer months since the first week in June, making it feel quite autumnal outside. With this in mind, it feels only right to be going back into the greenhouse to pot up the 690 wallflower plug plants that will help create next the floral display for next spring. Arriving late yesterday afternoon, the first 100 were potted up in the quarter of an hour before home time, the remainder were put in to their individual pots this morning.

Cutting The Canal Side Hedge

The hardest hedge to maintain, due to its location, is the canal side hedge. Bordered on one side by the Oxford Canal and the other side by the Broadwalk shrubs, the access to cut the hedge is restricted, so a path has to be cut to get to it. Once in, the hedge can be cut, which was started today by Graham and Ali. The process of cutting its entire length can take time, see blog entry for 14th September 2011 'After Five Weeks', with the team working along the hedge, dividing it into smaller sections.

Killing Off The Grass On The Banks

The day has come for the grass on the banks to be killed off. Yesterday afternoon, Joss placed string guidelines along the banks to make the process of spraying easier, dividing them into sections.

This morning, he and Simon worked their way along the banks using a knapsack sprayer to apply the liquid herbicide, Proliance Quattro. A sheet of plastic was held up along the string to prevent any drift of the chemical onto the quad lawn. Over the coming weeks the grass will now start to die, turning brown, making it easier to remove in preparation for reseeding.

A Huge Pile Of Chipping

Over the last few months, a huge pile of woody material, needing to be chipped, has built up at the bottom of the sports field, the last of which was added following the cutting back of shrubs around the field, see blog entry 7th August 'Around The Sports Field'. Today Ady, Callum and Ali spent three hours untangling the wood and feeding it through the chipper, creating a new pile of wood chip to be used as a decorative mulch around the college grounds in the future.

A New Gate For The Orchard

The top part of the orchard is occasionally used as an overflow car park, with the entrance/exit cordoned off by unsightly orange guard barriers, so three weeks ago the process to change this began.

The awful looking barriers, that are always blowing over in the wind, are being replaced by a new, wrought iron gate that has been made by 'Cotswold Decorative Ironworkers'. Before the gates can be hung the posts had to be put in place, carefully measured out by Kieron and Danny, the holes were dug out and the first post put in. 

On Tuesday the second fence post was put in place, four new yew planted next to the posts and the gate hung. Today three tonnes of hoggin was delivered and spread in front of the gates, raising the level of the hard surface to that of the grass area behind them, a piece of decking was put into the ground to separate the two areas. 

A layer of top soil was then raked over the grass and seed broadcast over the top, to speed up germination, fleece was pinned down over it.

The entrance/exit to the orchard is now guarded by a beautiful, hand crafted, wrought iron gate.