The Potting Shed - come on in, the kettle's on!

Lotus-eater

Dustykitten wrote: »

Anyone tried growing raspberries at 45 degree angles?

No, what would be the advantage for doing that?

Dustykitten

Lotus-eater wrote: »

No, what would be the advantage for doing that?

Just that my fence and wire system is on 75cm high so I was thinking of angling them a bit like a laying a hedge.

Lotus-eater

I expect it would work on summer ones.

WestonDave

Hmm - I now have an extra couple of feet of garden on two sides!

When we moved in (we're on a corner plot) we had lovely lonicera hedges on the road boundaries but the previous owners had been elderly and then he died leaving her getting contractors in to cut it so progressively the hedges had become tidy but overgrown (i.e. they trimmed them for shape but didn't keep them down to size). So in places they were nearly 8ft tall and also up to 6ft thick! On advice we've gradually had each face chopped back - firstly the road face back to the boundary, then last year cut down to 6ft max, and then on Friday we had the inside cut back to leave it roughly 2.5ft thick. That means that the border under the hedge has gone from about 6ins to 2ft! The hedge looks dreadful as its all bare on the inside but it will recover by next summer and be much more healthy in the long run without the excess weight.

I now have to work out what to put in the newly created space!

Options to consider at the moment (views welcome!) are putting a shed load of bulbs in (colour but low maintenance), extending the lawn to closer (boring but low maintenance as I have to cut the rest of the grass anyway!), shoving annual flowering plants in (would need the soil improving and is probably more maintenance than I can manage at the moment with young children) or out of left field I'm wondering if I could possibly put fruit bushes along there - things like currants or gooseberries. Not sure if they'd be happy with the hedge taking all the water but its clay soil so fairly wet. I've got a few currant bushes near one part of it already so in that point I will probably just leave the extra space as seperation between the two sets.

[Deleted User]

hello everyone. I am sitting here with a cuppa and tbh am killing time. Two months ago, nothing had changed so I bought the big buckets and sowed my seeds all ready to make full use of my gadening space ie a southern facing patio. Everything is growing well

Four weeks ago unasked and out of the blue and I call it fate, our perfect home popped onto the radar, complete with a small allotment. Up to 6 years ago I was growing much of own veg and all our soft fruit and then we downsized and gave all my equipment away. So now we are about to start again but with a clean slate.

I am very excited. It is brilliant not having to make do with what I already have. I can`t see us needing holidays in future as the property will be a constant holiday. We may exchange this week but I have alrady been buying a few things which I could never have afforded 30 years ago and to heck with it. It is called ski-ing but with a difference

[Deleted User]

re raspberies. I had a hm fuit cage and still the raspberries were too tall. Just put wires between posts and tie the raspberry canes down

Optimisticpair

kittie wrote: »

So now we are about to start again but with a clean slate.

I am very excited. It is brilliant not having to make do with what I already have. I can`t see us needing holidays in future as the property will be a constant holiday. We may exchange this week but I have alrady been buying a few things which I could never have afforded 30 years ago and to heck with it. It is called ski-ing but with a difference

I'm glad for you. I'd be excited too. We so often have a vision of what we want to end up with and it can take a long time and many bouts of protesting muscles to achieve unless you have deep pockets.

I know what you mean about having to make do. After 30 years of it it'd be nice just the once to not have to.

Primrose

Kittie - I'm thrilled for you getting your extra growing space as before we moved to our present house we had a pocket handkerchief garden and it was SO frustrating not being able to squeeze in everything I wanted to grow. Here in our current house I'm able to have a reasonable size veggie plot, plus growing tomatoes and beans in a side border, and growing all my soft fruit bushes in the front garden.

I've had to plant out various red & yellow Tumbling Tom tomatoes today as they were developing flowers and getting potbound. They are 3 times the height of the same varieties I saw in the garden centre last week but I saved seed from last year's plants (which were also from saved seed) and think they may be F1 varieties so perhaps are not growing true any longer. However, if I get the same yield as I did last year I will be more than satisfied, especially as they seemed to ripen earlier than my other outdoor varieties.

heynonnynonny

I'm desperate for it to stop raining, got loads still to do. Took my torn wilko greenhouse cover back and ended up buying more stuff whilst I was in there. Bought some last min bulbs and really need to get them put in the ground!

Optimisticpair

Have been in and out of the garden between showers. The hedge now looks tidier on the road side and I sawed the rest of the crown of a wild rose out of it this morning. This afternoon spent hacking out a bramble and dandelions under the roots of a tree stump with the neighbour's pickaxe, a border spade and a pair of secateurs. I'm blummin shattered.