April 2024. Springtime has arrived!
Time to get the 'ride-on' mower out for the first cut of the year. Starting in the picnic area, I covered all of the verges, some of the trails and main areas.
As the picnic area was not included during last year's harvesting, Matt simultaneously used the tractor to clear the overgrown/dead swathes of meadow grass .
'Two men went to mow'...♫
The old meadow grass was collected and deposited into four great heaps. I used a pitchfork to spread it around some the trees for mulching purposes.
Matt finally went over the areas that were cleared with a chain harrow. This removes thatch, levels mole hills and provides root aeration, which helps the soil to breathe.
The apple orchard near Victoria pond was my next mowing job. The grass was much lusher here, so the cutting height needed to be adjusted.
As you may be aware, Catton Park is not the only area managed. I've also helped out at the Recreation Ground, Repton Pond, and the Deer Park. However, there is also Lavare Park and two smaller residential parks to my knowledge, one of which I attended for the first time.
Nestled between Lodge Lane and Woodham Leas is a grassed area which has had some planting carried out. Most recently, six apple trees. I was there to help Matt with mulching as our last task of the day. We loaded a trailer with woodchip, attached it to the jeep and set off up the road.
This job certainly gets me about....
The following week continued with more mowing, this time covering the rest of the verges and trails in the park. We also carried out our first strimming of the year.
We now have an electric strimmer, as opposed to the petrol ones. It is much lighter and, of course, quieter.
I managed to strim around Victoria pond and a few benches, plus some of the picnic area fence-line before the day was out.
This is white comfrey. I found this growing in the woods between the Hall School and the Hall Itself. It's quite peaceful here, as not many visitors use it or are aware of it.
The younger, higher up leaves are the most succulent, and can be used as a green. The thicker leaves are better for making salad fritters, and the stems can be consumed as an asparagus substitute.
Last May we started clearing the grass strip between the entrances of the car park on Oak Lane. It was eventually flattened and woodchipped ready for planting.
It's now April and time for adding shrubs. Amongst the varieties that Matt and I planted, were red dogwood, guelder rose, spindle and a shrubby honeysuckle (which looks a bit like box).
Hopefully in time, this will bring a lot more colour to the area.
I'll be back with more 'behind (and not so behind) the scenes' news in a few weeks time. Keep an eye out for me on Old Catton Life fb group.
