Thursday 25 October 2012

Runner bean success - permaculture (possible) fail

This year I've been looking at how we can use our garden more effectively using permaculture principles and experimenting with vegetable plantings. We have an ancient shed, apparently built around the 1940s, and in front of one part of it is a raised bed in which we grow herbs. I wondered if we could grow runner beans against the side of the shed with the help of canes and some netting. Apart from slugs and snails nibbling away at two of the plants it was a great success.

September 23rd, 2012: Runner beans - success!

But there was a slight problem. In order to pick the beans I had to trample on the bed to get to them. Permaculture fail, I'm afraid.

Runner beans

I then remembered that the ground immediately in front of  the beans was already trampled on by the local cats who use it as a thoroughfare. So perhaps that is a "path", albeit a very narrow one, I can use to harvest my crop. Maybe not such a permaculture fail as I first thought.