The potting shed

pickledtink

angelavdavis wrote:

Thought some of you might be interested in the latest pictures of my garden makeover. Page 2 shows the latest pics taken today. As you can see, lots has grown and some of the veg are doing really well.

The paving in front of the veg borders was completed today. Will have to wait to save up for the rest of the slabs to finish.

http://groups.msn.com/AngelasPhotographicEmporium/gardenproject2005.msnw?Page=2

Hope you all enjoyed your weekends.

Couldn't view your pics Angela. Is there something wrong with the site?

happy_miser

Managed to see the photos OK just double-clicked on the icons and they opened up no problem.

Wow, that's some project you have going angeladavis, it looks amazing, thanks for sharing it with us.

The Asters in photo 04 (I think that's what they are?) look lovely are they easy to grow and can you grow them in big pots?

angelavdavis

happy_miser wrote:

Managed to see the photos OK just double-clicked on the icons and they opened up no problem.

Wow, that's some project you have going angeladavis, it looks amazing, thanks for sharing it with us.

The Asters in photo 04 (I think that's what they are?) look lovely are they easy to grow and can you grow them in big pots?

Thanks Happy_Miser!

They are called Cosmos. Really easy to grow - just sprinkle the seed on the earth where you want them to grow and rake over lightly. They are pretty - I sprinkled some Cosmos Seashells (double fluted petals) and then a pack of mixed Cosmos. They stand about 4-5 feet tall but are really pretty and can be cut to put in a vase.

I think the MSN website is a bit temperamental the last couple of days it has been slow getting into Hotmail and looks like the MSN Groups site is a bit sluggish too.

bazz

Thanks pickledtink!

kiwichick

pickledtink wrote:

I've got plenty of my own Winter Squash /Pumpkin seeds for next years sowing if anyone would like some? PM me if you want me to send you a few. Very healthy prolific producers. You get a mix of Butternut, Crown Prince, Harlequin and Gem. Seed catalogues charge about £3.00 for only 6 - 10 seeds! All delicious and the flowers are heavenly eating too. Such a prized expensive dish in French and Italian restaurants and we just can't eat them all we have so many. You can even eat the stalks so when you thin the leaves out you get vegetables before the fruit even appear!

GULP! Dare I admit that as a newbie to the veg garden I have just spent a fortune on seeds! The Butternut Squash were over £3 for 8 seeds!!!! I just hope they come to fruition!!!!

BTW, if any of you have advice on setting out your first veg plot please feel free to contribute to my thread asking for advice. I am a complete newbie but VERY keen and I want to get the bones of it sorted properly.

pickledtink

kiwichick wrote:

GULP! Dare I admit that as a newbie to the veg garden I have just spent a fortune on seeds! The Butternut Squash were over £3 for 8 seeds!!!! I just hope they come to fruition!!!!

BTW, if any of you have advice on setting out your first veg plot please feel free to contribute to my thread asking for advice. I am a complete newbie but VERY keen and I want to get the bones of it sorted properly.

Why not post it in here and we'll have a look?

kiwichick

Thanks for the replies on the other thread guys, as requested, please see a copy of my post below.

Novice Gardener - Veg Plot Help Please??
Hi All,

I have recently moved to a house with a 150ft, south facing, bare bones garden. Now, I have 3 young children so ornamentals I can do without for now but I would LOVE to grow my own veg for next year.

I have ordered loads of seeds so know what I want to grow I just dont know where to grow it.

The garden is narrow, about 22ft but long 150ft. It is south facing and has no large trees etc for shading. We sit on the top of a slight hill so the garden slopes down away from the house. Not a massive drop but enough to effect the water table I would think.

I am thinking raised beds are the way to go as when I dig past the topsoil I expose thick orangey clay. I dont know how to position them though. I think I need 4 beds for crop rotation but dont know whether its best to have them at the bottom of the garden of the top, best to run north/south or east/west??

I do have 2 compost bins. One being filled slowly, the other ready for when the 1st is full. They are located at the bottom of the garden as the sun seems to stay on this patch the longest and I thought it would help keep the temp in the bin high.

Any of you more experienced gardeners have any advice for me? It will be VERY much appreciated.

Thanks,
Allison.

twink

baz about the apple tree watch the hedge isnt going away with all the water and leaving your tree dry also the soil could be a bit acidic with the needles falling, best look for a site telling you about growing apples, maybe google it, are you feeding your tree, it needs sulphate of potash in the spring then i give mine a couple of feeds of blood, fish and bone fertiliser or any generel one loke growmore would do

angelavdavis

It sounds like a great site - south facing, plus a great size. Your four bed system sounds good as a starter. I have grown a real variety of veg in a heavy clay. Asparagus won't appreciate the clay so will need a raised bed if you intend to grow it. You might be faced with strangely shaped root veg and potatoes, but otherwise you shouldn't get too much trouble with most things.

Clay soils are usually fairly good quality to grow plants because they are made up of thousands of years worth of fossilised plant material and would have formed water bed for millions of years.

Add compost as much as possible - top dress before planting so the worms take the compost down into the subsoil and this will gradually change the structure of the soil over time but its not a fast process.

Ensure the beds are a maximum of five foot wide, with paths either side so you can access the beds without stepping on the bed. North - South are best. When you position them depends on whether you can face running down the garden in the rain to harvest the veg!

The beds would definitely benefit from double digging, but its a killer on heavy clay, although if done properly, you will only need to do it once and will benefit from it no end. You will need to do this in Autumn and cover the clay with polythene to stop the ground getting too water logged over winter and the winter rains compacting the soil again. In addition, the polythene will help the soil warm up for sowing in spring.

Get hold of as much rotted manure (or seaweed) as you can get your hands on, and find a man with big biceps to do the digging. Don't try to break the clay clumps up too much - let the nitrogen (manure/seaweed), frosts and worms do their best over winter. You can add lime to the clay to help break up the particles, although with children, personally I would steer clear. Lime will also affect the ph of the soil if used regularly. If you find you have drainage problems, you can incorporate gravel in when you double dig the beds. Instructions can be found on the RHS site - http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0105/double_digging.asp.

You can dig and rake yourself a tilth for sowing, but I prefer to put compost on top of the surface to create a seed bed at planting time (you might need to cover this to stop the cats using it as their litter tray!). If you want really good results, particularly for the first season, I suggest starting seeds off in modules and then planting them out when they have formed some roots.

Raised beds are an option if you really want a no-dig situation. I have them because I have huge tree roots crisscrossing the garden preventing digging. I have found though that as careful as I have tried to be, importing top soil can mean you end up with worse than you started with! You can always raise the beds slightly using the manure to add the additional height although this will rot down over time. RHS provides info on this too. http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles1202/raised_beds.asp

The trick then is to not walk on the beds (at all if possible).

The bottom of the garden for the compost bins sounds the best idea as it is likely to be a bit of a frost pocket if the garden slops downwards.

Hope my advice helps. Good luck!

pickledtink

all I'd add to what Angela is saying is think carefully about what you want to grow. Firstly grow what you like to eat and don't go mad with the amounts or you'll end up with too much of just a few things taking all your space. It sounds obvious but so many people find themselves with a 100 swedes or something all ready at once and no variety. Choose veg which is fairly easy to grow and not too much of the ones which take forever. You could grow old waiting for your first parsnip.
Sow seeds but also think about buying some ready grown seedlings from online nurseries and boot sales.
Here's a link to a really useful guide to veg and when to sow or plant them out. Also sun or shade and how long they take to grow:
http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/veg_planner.asp

You don't have much of this years growing season left but you could get everything ready for next year and sow a few quickies now,
Radishes, spinach, cut and come again salad leaves and some herbs. Also Kale and you could get some leeks in still. Sow cabbage for spring and garlic in October.