Our Victorian Walled Garden is Soil Association Certified Organic and has undergone an enormous transformation to how it was original built over 120 years ago.
The Victorian Walled Garden was built on a south facing slope in 1796, and is about 1.5 acres in size. It remained active until the 1960s and it was then abandoned and the area became overgrown with mature sycamore trees that spread their roots through the walls and Foster Pearson greenhouses. The restoration of the walls and paths now provide a peaceful garden surrounded by mature trees with far reaching views across the fields towards The Berkshire Way. The old greenhouse water tanks have been used in a water feature to give tranquility and provide the wildlife with fresh water.
The garden has been certified as organic by the Soil Association since 2007. This means there are strict limitations on how we weed it, control pests, fertilise the soil and even the seeds we plant. The soil is kept fertile by using green manure crops and in addition we compost all the garden waste and add it to the beds in spring following a no dig method. The organic vegetables are grown in rotational beds together with companion planting to inhibit the build up of pests and diseases. No herbicides can be used so the paths are hand weeded and the pests are deterred by nets and fleece.
