Time to redesign the veggie plot (with pics)

angelavdavis

My shoulders are truly killing me this evening!

I took 13 bags of rubble (the mortar from the slabs we lifted) down the tip first thing, then reused the rubble bags this pm to fill with excess top soil from the raised borders for someone on Freecycle to collect tomorrow.

I am off for a very hot shower!

pennineman

angelavdavis wrote: »

Wow, that must be a challenge - great view though I am sure .

Not bad but increasingly urbanised.

angelavdavis

Very pretty - bit cold today though?

angelavdavis

Well over last few days I have resurrected the veggie plot redesign plan.

I did get some more done before Christmas, but was mainly finishing the refurbishment of our utility room (it was a bit warmer inside in November/December!).

I managed to join both the borders with OH's help and have planted one side up with red and white onions, garlic, peas and broad beans (under glass). No sign yet of the garlic, but everything else seems OK. I have also got salad crops growing under glass in the unheated coldframe.

Now the snows have gone and the soil has started warming slightly, I thought I should get cracking again.

My brother helped me put up the arches in the garden, I just need to finish painting them and add some lengths of wood to join them up into more or a gazebo. The plan will be to use these for runner beans in summer.

I have moved the first of four compost bins to their new location, so I can make more use of the west facing wall (as recommended by paddy's mum). I have got myself a lovely wall trained nectarine to grow here (an indulgence which I hope pays off). I plan to grow strawberries in the bed below.

OH cut back the speckled laurel at the end of the garden as it had doubled in size in the last couple of years and was starting to engulf the bench there.

I have been clearing a site on the West side of the garden for the chickens. I had an Eglu cube delivered today and have been putting it together, but I underestimated the room required and will need to look at either cutting down the very overgrown viburnum or at least giving it a drastic trim. My concern is that OH thinks our Red Robin lives in it, so I am finding it hard to do. I will also have to move a rhododendron (it is planted in the soil within a pot with ericaceous compost so shouldn't be too difficult to move).

I have a selection of fruit to put in the garden:

- Kiwi plant - self-fertile. Going on a west facing wall
- Rasperries and Tayberries
- Two Lidl Apple Trees (one cooker, one eating) to go with the existing apple.
- The previously mentioned wall trained nectarine.

Other tasks I am going to try to complete this month:
- Move utility area to make way for other compost bins
- Plant up first tranche of seeds under glass
- Pot up chitted potatoes using compost from emptied bins
- Move other three bins
- Create border for Nectarine and strawberries.
- Build cloches and barriers to protect veggies/fruit from chickens
- Plant fruit trees
- Paint arches
- Create lean to greenhouse on side of shed
- Need to widen the path at the East side of the garden
- Create a border next to widened path for bushes including the relocated rhodie.

I don't know if I will get it all done, but at least I can try!

angelavdavis

Well, Chickens arrived last night and caused mayhem today!

While I was checking the egg situation, one managed to get out of the side and in my efforts to shoo it back into the pen, the other three escaped! So they spent a merry morning mooching around the garden and pulled ten onions out of the garden!

Thankfully, I managed to lure them back into their pen with some food!

Yesterday was spent cutting down three quarters of a 9 ft square bush in order to fit the pen in! I now have the biggest pile of clippings in the world to shred for the compost heaps!

Will have to get cracking on the barrier for the veggie garden from those chooks!

angelavdavis

Well the chickens are settled in and have managed to pull out about 9 onions, massacred the herbs and eaten every green shoot off the strawberries and rhubarb, so its clear that I am going to have to provide some serious chicken proofing for the vegetable/fruit garden. I have bought some pressure treated batoning and am waiting my enviromesh delivery. I intend to create frames with hinged lids which will hopefully keep out the butterflies, chickens and cats. Watch this space!

It's been a busy weekend in the garden.

I finally moved the last of the compost bins today to their new location, so have some lovely compost ready for the potatoes (all sifted), the composted bark left after sifting has gone in the chicken run to replace the soiled bark and clearing the compost bins now leaves a lovely new bed along the wall ready for the wall trained nectarine and other fruit bushes.

I have also created a strawberry pyramid mirroring Nodwah's idea on here (thanks Nodwah!). I have planted this up with the remnants (the chickens have had a good go at them!) of the strawberry plants from last year, and have some more Gardener's world specials on the way now which I will add.

OH has planted up the border that we decided to redesign this year with a rhododenron, camellia, small bamboo, acer, 2 phormiums, viburnum Snowball and a couple of other plants - all moved from elsewhere in the garden where they have outgrown the space.

I planted some more veg seeds this weekend and also potted on some petunias and lobelia for hanging baskets.

My broad beans and peas have been overwintering under cloches and the broad beans are now flowering well. I have also been overwintering some spinach, chard and some varieties of lettuce which are now picking up really well and I should be able to start harvesting these soon. The first of the seed potatoes have been in for a couple of weeks now.





We popped out early today and picked up a few purchases which I couldn't resist. A climbing hydrangea to cover the shed, choisya and photinia for one of the borders and a few grasses for breaking up the patio slabs (the chickens have taken a liking to the festuca glauca - so there is little left). We picked up some of the varieties they have left to fill the gaps.

So, I am hoping to get the wall trained nectarine and double cherry in this week, plus hopefully the blackcurrants, raspberries and tayberries. If I get the time, i would like to paint the arches ready for planting, but we will see how it goes. I will hopefully also get some pictures posted up to share.

Have a good week - hope the sun shines for everyone!!

Patchwork_Quilt

Hi Angela. Thanks for all of this.

Two things that struck me after reading your first post - perhaps the cherry tree needs a pollinator? Also, try wild strawberries round and about in your garden areas. The taste is delicious and they spread by themselves

angelavdavis

Patchwork_Quilt wrote: »

Two things that struck me after reading your first post - perhaps the cherry tree needs a pollinator? Also, try wild strawberries round and about in your garden areas. The taste is delicious and they spread by themselves

Thanks for this, it is supposed to be a self-fertile Stella. I am going to be planting a twin cherry (Stella plus another one).

I was actually wondering whether it was a problem with lack of bees? I was going to give it more fuss this year.

angelavdavis

Well, I have planted the nectarine and cherry trees against the sunny wall. I need to finish painting the trellis arches before I can plant the kiwi though.

I have also potted on the cabbages, cauliflowers and 1st batch of tomato plants.

angelavdavis

Well, as I was due to be away over Bank Holiday, I spent most of last week on the garden.

After being impressed with the square foot gardening technique, I have been converting my patch to see how it compares with the usual yields I get.

I have managed to complete one of the two long borders, although not 100% square foot gardening technique (as I had already planted garlic and onions in the majority of the plot) I have planned my planting plan for this around the concept.

I also included the small lean-to greenhouse, coldframe and fruit bed in my planting plan. Anyone interested, can download it to view here.

I am hoping to complete the other border when the other materials arrive.

One thing that did arrive a little while ago was my mega sized water butt. I have connected one downpipe and already it is one fifth full, but need to connect the other before the showers come this week.

I still haven't completed the long term chicken proofing cages, but have managed to temporarily put up a barrier to stop them destroying the onions, broadbeans and garlic crops. I have also had to keep my peas and spinach covered to stop them getting to them. Luckily, the lettuce which was over-wintered has really come into its own and so I have been giving the chickens the thinnings which helps me round them up into their coop when they finally drive me potty!

The nectarine, dual cherry and two tayberry plants are in the new fruit border against the wall and I have completed the strawberry planter (a la Nodwah), although I am STILL waiting for my Gardeners World special offer strawberries to complete it.

Nectarine


Tayberry



Dual Cherry


The potatoes are in their pots, the earliest of the earlies have been earthed up once already! A benefit of being in a mild area of the UK I guess.

The cold frame is filled with cabbages, cauliflowers, carrots, leeks hardening off and I also have some tomatoes and aubergines which I have had to put in there to make room for the other seeds in the conservatory. If we get a cold forecast, I will have to throw some insulation over the top.

The new ornamental border OH planted up has been doing well.

I have decided to use the compost heaps this year and grow a melon plant in each to see how they go - another bit of an experiment. I will make some cloches for them out of plastic and water flexi-pipe. The melon plants have just sprouted in the conservatory.

I have had to move the petunia and lobelia plants into a plastic greenhouse to harden off for the hanging baskets



I still have the painting of the arches to complete before I can plant the kiwi. I will try to get this done this week (weather permitting) or at least before the runner beans come up! I am also hoping to paint the shed and put the climbing hydrangea over it. I do hate painting trellis and sheds - it must be my least favourite job!