I cannot mess around for ever making no progress with the orchard structure. I telephone Mike Dee and he brings in Simon. We all meet up on site and surprisingly it is raining. We discuss what is needed and Simon takes control and starts to tell me what is needed. I explain to Mike that the ground that is next to the wall needs to be dug, the bramble roots need to be extracted as far as possible and the supports that are in place need to be wired for supports. “No problem” he says. But I have tried doing this already and it is hard work.
We retire to the kitchen to get out of the rain, put the kettle on and start to dry/thaw out. We get down to the nitty gritty and decide what needs to be purchased and by whom. Simple. It is all left to Simon who will get prices and get back to me. We need about 48 posts, about 150ms of wire, weed repressing material, wood chippings, 150 bamboo canes, fixings to tighten the wire and staples. Later I recall we want drainage piping so that I can add a length to each plant to allow me to feed direct to the roots. It will also be helpful for watering in the unlikely event that we do not get enough rainfall. We discuss how to tie the bamboo to the wire and the trees to the bamboo. That turns out to be my job because I have been watching Ian Sturrock’s videos so I know what to get.
We finish the discussion. At last the decision is made and work can begin so that it can be completed in time for me to get the trees delivered on the 31st December. Fingers crossed that it all comes together.