Ask and you shall receive. Since we last saw the pond, it had gone through winter, endured a hot, rainless summer, and is now edging back into the southern winter again. This second summer was vastly different for the microclimate as there was now a layer of hay and dead peas and lupin, as opposed to the barren earth of the pond's inaugural summer. A weekly watering can for the mulberries seemed to be sufficient for them to survive the 40 degree days. The berries on the hugel/chinampas received no water and died back somewhat, but now are shooting up again with vigour thanks to the autumn rains.
While I wouldn't use the word "gley" in connection with anything that his happening in the pond at the moment, last years hay is definitely looking black, damp and slimy. Figure 1 shows oats seedlings from last years oats pushing their way up through the slimy hay in the top picture, and recently broadcast lupin seeds sitting on a layer of black hay.
Figure 2 shows annual ryegrass shooting on the banks of the pond in the top picture, and blackberries sending out new canes down the banks from the top of the hugel/chinampas. While I consider annual ryegrass to be an
unwelcome invader, for the moment it's creating stability and biomass. I know well enough that the ryegrass will only survive until tree canopy around the edge of the pond shades it out forever.
Speaking of which, figure 3 shows two albizia seedlings that I've
grown from seed in place about halfway up the bank all around the pond. They're about a metre apart, so will definitely help stabilise the bank, and provide even more shade over the summer. These albizia have grown 2 metres in the first year where I've planted them in my orchard! They also rain down detritus like nobody's business when they get going. I planted the seeds about a week ago, and they're just breaking the surface.