a tidy beginning to 2014

we're back again ... a year after our last post, and our amazing little sweet pea has grown up so quickly ...

this year, i think we have had the tidiest start in very very long time:

here is the lower plot, which has this year's potatoes in it, about 30 potatoes, there are also carrots and parsnips planted under the fleece, they all went in the ground over the last week.  we also have peas planted in a different part of the garden.

and m will be happy from far away that i have even planted her sweet peas! 

and even our compost pile is having a very tidy start, this year it's produced a lot of compost, it's like we have an actually system here!

some of the reasons why our plot is more tidy than usual is straw ... and m's brilliant idea to simply tile areas with straw rather than just spread it all all around:

here is our new 1/4 plot, in the middle we have tiled a section that has already been weeded, the weeds here are pretty monstramental :)

we've used straw to keep the weeds down over the spring, next year we will do it in fall ...

wow, finally a clear picture, the camera on my phone is obviously allergic to all the "sun" that we have been getting, its been a dry start to april, which is ok for now, actually if you click on any of these  pictures they come out much clearer.

finally i have to admit that its not all so tidy ... here is a bit that is being "reclaimed" by wildflowers, awhhh.