recoveringbuilder Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 This lockdown seems to have produced a lot of gardeners, people who have never grown anything before are all trying their hands at growing their own produce and I’m wondering how many of you have done similar? Our “garden “ was just flattened out after the build and left to be revisited when time allowed ,however because we were due a new grandchild in the midst of all this and because we would have to look after our granddaughter when the time came we found ourselves having to self isolate for a fortnight so stocked up with everything we would need in that time and that included a poly tunnel and loads of seed , compost etc. All in all it’s been quite successful and we are now harvesting the first of our produce. We are plagued with rabbits here so we built raised beds and erected small fences around them and now have a good crop of turnip, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, beetroot to name but a few, unfortunately we got so involved in this that other things (like the garage) have taken a back seat! It has however moved us on garden wise to now make flower borders etc and it’s amazing how when you start one area it all evolves, hopefully by the autumn we will have made a good impression on what was previously a building site so not wasted time and the lettuce are far superior to anything shop bought! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 I am afraid I am a butcher when it comes to gardens. I don't have the time or inclination for flower beds and weeding them. I generally only have 3 gardening tools, a mower, a strimmer and a chain saw. At the last house we had a vegetable plot, but that too needed constant weeding, and the quality of what we produced disappointing, mainly due to the poor soil and high water table, even making it as a raised bed it was nearly always too wet. But the lawn has been mowed and trimmed a lot more regularly this year than most. I do miss the well drained light soil we had when down south, almost anything would grow in that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recoveringbuilder Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 23 minutes ago, ProDave said: I am afraid I am a butcher when it comes to gardens. I don't have the time or inclination for flower beds and weeding them. I generally only have 3 gardening tools, a mower, a strimmer and a chain saw. At the last house we had a vegetable plot, but that too needed constant weeding, and the quality of what we produced disappointing, mainly due to the poor soil and high water table, even making it as a raised bed it was nearly always too wet. But the lawn has been mowed and trimmed a lot more regularly this year than most. I do miss the well drained light soil we had when down south, almost anything would grow in that. We were quite lucky in that although we have a lot of clay one of the previous owners of the cottage and land was a very keen gardener and had introduced a lot of good soil to the garden (which ended up being the plot) so we had saved all the good topsoil and managed to make a lot of the new garden and raised beds with it, we did have to buy a couple of ton for the flower border we have made at the back of the house but all in all not too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultramods Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 We are just getting started with the garden, we have about 600 sqm of garden space (wish we had more). So far we have planted a laurel hedge at the back of the house to provide privacy as most of our family room, dining and kitchen are at the back of the house. Plan is to grass the whole area first, then start to add various flower beds. We will be planting in a modern modern style similar to some of the Charlotte Row designs https://www.charlotterowe.com/ 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daiking Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 It’s taken 5 years to get only this far. However this is the first year I’ve actually been able to spend some time out there and think about what to do out there. We’ve planted 20 x 3’ Portuguese Laurels which will take some time and desperately need a fence between us and next door. Raised bed is new, had to get 2 bags of topsoil in. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daiking Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 (edited) My top gardening tip for the day is not to live in the white bit ? Edited June 16, 2020 by daiking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 Mine grows rather more than I might otherwise like, and I have spent some ttime (bah - keyboard is bouncing) this spring trying to recover parts of the garden I inherited from mum. I think my top tips would be to plan your shed somewhere it will be well-hidden, half an hour every day (I fail miserably) in the cool time, and make sure that you have at least some budh or hedge you allow tto grow a bitt ttaller for roosting small birds - which means 2.5m nott 1.8m. Ferdinand 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 I only have a tiny patch of earth to work with, so have most things in pots. Last year I decided to get rid of a lot of the pots, so just tipped them out onto the ground, levelled it off, and decided to see what would happen. I also had some bamboo that I dug up and put in pots, then neglected, for 6 years. This spring I made a planter out the front, moved the small grass that was growing and put the bamboo next to it. All taken very well. Including the wind blown/bird pooped echiums. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 (edited) I am finding our “garden “daunting”, just got rid of 53 tons of clay and slowly levelling the plot and trying to get topsoil roughly level with the JCB. The plot (including the meadow) is an acre. Problem with the “meadow “is stones, millions of them and the only route is to hand pick them up ?. Still it’s getting there and I am really looking forward to growing plants and veg next year, I bought loads of scaffold boards fir the build and they are earmarked fir raised beds over clay fir the veg behind the workshop Edited June 16, 2020 by joe90 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 (edited) 44 minutes ago, SteamyTea said: I only have a tiny patch of earth to work with, so have most things in pots. Last year I decided to get rid of a lot of the pots, so just tipped them out onto the ground, levelled it off, and decided to see what would happen. I also had some bamboo that I dug up and put in pots, then neglected, for 6 years. This spring I made a planter out the front, moved the small grass that was growing and put the bamboo next to it. All taken very well. Including the wind blown/bird pooped echiums. Interesting orignal Minivan? Or is it a Traveller? Edited June 16, 2020 by Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 13 minutes ago, Ferdinand said: Interesting orignal Minivan? Or is it a Traveller? Poshest car in the street. Guy has another one that he take to rallies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recoveringbuilder Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 Waiting on @Ferdinand showing pictures of his veg crop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 49 minutes ago, joe90 said: I am finding our “garden “daunting”, just got rid of 53 tons of clay and slowly levelling the plot and trying to get topsoil roughly level with the JCB. The plot (including the meadow) is an acre. Problem with the “meadow “is stones, millions of them and the only route is to hand pick them up ?. Still it’s getting there and I am really looking forward to growing plants and veg next year, I bought loads of scaffold boards fir the build and they are earmarked fir raised beds over clay fir the veg behind the workshop Can't you make the mother of all riddles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Christine Walker said: Waiting on @Ferdinand showing pictures of his veg crop? ? This is the Green Wall 2nd generation taken a few days ago. These were planted at the end of May, and each type is about 1/3 - 1/2 of a packet of seeds. I gave away about a quarter of each packet to a friend in lockdown who is quite stressed. (I did the shelves with coats of varnish, and used the ones with plastic not metal mounts) The middle one above is the first mixed salad leaves I put in in March, which has now had its 4th cut and been composted. About 10 different types of thing. The next step is to find some bulk seeds and plant more tightly. The seeds for the above cost about £8, so not quite the cheapest thing. These are Fothergills seeds, and all seem to be sprouting Ok. I have some transparent covers on order, and am wondering about lights and drip watering using the Jeremy system I have in the front garden, which works well. But I have no tap there, so will need to think a bit. At the moment it is 10 sprays per tray twice a day and water 1-2l via the tray every 2-3 days, and to spin the trays at the same time before adding the water. This is the putative veg crop when planted late May, but I think I am running a bit late. Will have to get some prepotted tomatoes and courgettes. The tea strainer is for less forceful watering. this is just now. The one sprouted is courgette. This is the overall. Had a neighbour round for lunch yesterday, and we had home made bread, charcuterie and a Mizuma and Rocket portion of microveg, which was great. And some Shiraz which was my second Laithwaites delivery of the lockdown. But the Wistery-Clematis is a bit rampant and needs a haircut. F Edited June 16, 2020 by Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 21 minutes ago, Pete said: Can't you make the mother of all riddles? I've a stone rake for the digger. Haven't used it in anger yet tho... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recoveringbuilder Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 Ours are doing surprisingly well and we’ve already had some of the snowball turnips and lettuce, had to lift all the turnip as their shaws were overshadowing the beetroot so we have another crop of them in and the beetroot should be harvested before the shaws get too big.All the turnips have been wrapped in wet kitchen roll and put in a bag in the veg drawer of the fridge which is what was advised for storing them. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 (edited) 34 minutes ago, Pete said: Can't you make the mother of all riddles? I did make this but still needs shovelling, anything bigger will take ages to make and only be used once so probably not worth it, a little every day (is my plan). 12 minutes ago, dpmiller said: I've a stone rake for the digger. Haven't used it in anger yet tho... what’s that like??. Edited June 16, 2020 by joe90 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 3 minutes ago, joe90 said: I did make this but still needs shovelling, anything bigger will take ages to make and only be used once so probably not worth it, a little every day (is my plan). what’s that like??. Eg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 the bamboo mum put in in 2014 ish is starting to block the neighbours. The one in the middle. Eventually those trees will get heavily pruned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 Great, all I have to do is get my grinder and a load of disks and butcher my spare bucket, trouble is I am on clay and it would just clog up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpd Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 I am cropping, bok choy lettuce spring onions rainbow chard purple sprouting broccoli kale texal greens radish suger snap peas garlic strawberries all in abundance and having to give stuff away ! It’s amazing what you can do in a small area. I will be getting my polly tunnel up within six months ready for next year as I feel I have outgrown my fish box garden. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 27 minutes ago, joe90 said: what’s that like??. http://www.brianscottengineering.co.uk/sub-products/rakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daiking Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 10 minutes ago, Ferdinand said: Eg This ^ Even better, ask Onoff for a home brew trommel bucket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 This is my solution to stop @Ferdinand's cats. Sharp slate off cuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daiking Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 This weather, FML. It’s wrecking my courgettes, they’re just dying on the stems with rotten flowers ?. Not sure I’ll ever see a duke either. And nothing else is growing apart from a few leaves in the cold. Roll on next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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