Fruit trees part 1- correcting rookie errors

High up on my mental 'to-do' list has been to correct the major issue with two big planters I bought last year.  I'm sure all gardeners, and most normal people, would have thought to check whether there were holes in the bottom before filling them with soil.  I didn't.  Consequently they have spent most of the winter full of water. So long ceanothus and my hopes of a floral archway over the back door.

I was left with two extremely heavy planters full of soil and water.  Removing it wasn't really an option, so I decided that the only thing to do was to drill holes in the bottom of the planters as they were.  The first plan was to tilt the planters and drill through the bottom with Ian holding them. However, they were so full and so heavy that it was impossible to tilt them enough to allow me to get underneath with the drill.

Plan number two was to raise the planters up on some type of stilts.  Luckily we have a zillion breeze blocks in the back garden from our old front garden wall. 



Sibelius on the stilts

Two planters of mud

Lifting the hugely heavy planter on to the stilts was most definitely a two person job. Once there we realised that the only way for me to access the base with the drill was to have the stilts biased towards one side, thus making the planter massively unstable with a tendency to tip in the direction of the unsupported side (i.e. where I was with the drill).  At this point Ian left to continue his own project, the wildlife pond née bath.

So with one hand pushing against the pot and one foot stopping the boys from nosing open the back door, (cracked open to allow for the drill cord), I lay on the floor and drilled up into the planter.  What happens when you make a hole in the bottom of a heavy planter full of mud and water I hear you ask?  Why, a stream of  freezing muddy water hits you in the face, you swear and move out of the way and in the process momentarily shift the foot that is keeping the back door shut and a goat runs into the house. I was left on the floor with one hanging on to the collar of goat number 2 and sort-of-holding the drill and the other still propping up the heavy planter which was still gushing muddy water.  At this point Ian asked if I knew there was a goat in the house?

Success!

Anyway, one we were back to a two-man team I was able to shift the planter and make more holes in the bottom.  This stemmed the flow and half an hour later I had two slightly soggy, rather than sopping, planters.

The guys watching with what I am choosing to assume is admiration.

Tomorrow the plan is to plant them with some new fruit trees. Apart from the plum tree, which is looking a little worse for wear after being used as a goat climbing frame, the fruit trees we planted last year are looking really healthy and seem to be the only 'crop'  that we can grow in our garden. .