We’re putting up a polytunnel in the background. For those who know us, the only surprise is probably that it has taken so long but there were a few enabling works to do first, like getting a shed and moving the tool store. All that is in place so the last task before adding the cover has been to remove the roots of some shrubs that were in the way.
Even a relatively small shrub can have pretty extensive roots. Jane and I worked on the task on Saturday and I finished it off this afternoon (although there are a couple of old stumps, not directly under the cover area, that I think we need to have out too).
Initially I had the bright idea of blasting away the dirt with a pressure washer. It turns out Jane was right and it creates a muddy puddle, while being a lot less effective than I had expected. Most of the work was done with a hand fork, for excavation and a large garden fork and loppers as sections got exposed. I pulled out some root runs that went for 5-6′ and that was the point at which they broke, not when the root actually ended.
At least the pressure washer worked well on the big one I finished this afternoon, once it was upended. We might be having a little stumpery somewhere in the garden (and, if not, we’ll want to season and burn the wood in any case) so some cleaning up is good.
