If push comes to shove...?

ixwood

Poosmate wrote: »

..

I have decided to resurrect my worm bin, though I'm going to try to use worms from the garden to start it. If you read worm bin sites it says not to but I think that's just because they want you to buy theirs at something like £8 per half kilo (I think)!

Poo

Normal earth worms won't like it a wormery and will probably die. They usually live in permanent tunnels.

You want the little red brandling worms instead, which can still be found in the garden. They usually live in the leaf litter in the top few inches of soil.

Compost heaps or mulched beds are a good place to look. I've also found that the inch or 2 of rotted down leaves next to the road curb are full of suitable worms (and presumably eggs).

Red_Doe

Does anyone else (`newish` to gardening) find the thought of getting it going a bit daunting? I started veg gardening in this place only last year, and rabbits and snails ate it all overnight! This year I managed to get rabbit fencing up, will lay out beer saucers for the snails but to be honest, it can all seem overwhelming...faced with a harsh climate (I`m in the very far north of Scotland), no money, and the rabbits of Watership Down all eyeing up my garden despite the fencing, I do get worried it`ll all go wrong. Thing is, this year more than last even we need the food it could produce.
Anyone got any tips for gaining a bit of self confidence, gardening wise?

[Deleted User]

so sorry about your veggie problems up there red doe. Do any of the very oldies up there have ny ideas about what the forefathers did as it must have been pretty well self sufficient up there at one time? My feeling is that rabbit stew was on the menu very often.

I have made a harvesting/planting calendar details in the potting shed) and can see at a glance the shortfalls re veg provision in any given month. I have ordered seed to make that shortfall up. I read more scary stuff yet again about bees and I may well get a couple of camel haired brushes in case artificial pollination becomes the norm, however dh hs just made a bumble bee house and will make a couple more this week. I now want to read about how to encourage hover flies and about which veg are not dependent on setting seed

Does anyone have a lot of knowledge about wormaries?

I am cramming more and more into the back garden as our small allotment is fully organised and I am tending to go upward here, dh has made 2 planters with trellises and I have asked him to make 2 more. All will be be nice for climbing beans, cucs, tomatoes and so on. There will be flowers but most now of the medicinal/herb uses ie multi use. I really feel like hunkering down and getting closer to mother earth, the feeling has been growing for years but the catastrophes in the world are making me feel more and more like these preparations are so neccessary

rhiwfield

Poo, dont knock yourself! You're walking the walk, not just talking about it

Red Doe, lets hope a few fellow Scots can give tips, but kittie may be on the money with the rabbit stew.

Rummer, agree that you need to look at whole picture, of which gyo is just one part. I think we have a better standard of living having gyo as part of our lifestyle, and are more resilient to the shocks we are all concerned with. But with flat incomes and high inflation many people will have to question how they cut costs to be able to afford the real necessities.

Kittie, there are some pretty grim examples of the power of nature atm

Lotus-eater

Red_Doe wrote: »

Does anyone else (`newish` to gardening) find the thought of getting it going a bit daunting? I started veg gardening in this place only last year, and rabbits and snails ate it all overnight! This year I managed to get rabbit fencing up, will lay out beer saucers for the snails but to be honest, it can all seem overwhelming...faced with a harsh climate (I`m in the very far north of Scotland), no money, and the rabbits of Watership Down all eyeing up my garden despite the fencing, I do get worried it`ll all go wrong. Thing is, this year more than last even we need the food it could produce.
Anyone got any tips for gaining a bit of self confidence, gardening wise?

Spend as much time reading about it as possible, both books and online forums.
Forums are great because they have real life stories on them, both triumphs and failures, which can make you feel a bit better.
Write out all the tips that may concern you when you find them, otherwise they will slip from your mind.
Also write out your sowing and planting times when you find them online or in books, try to concentrate on people who garden in the same area as yourself.

It is a skill that needs to be learnt and you need to relearn when you get to a new area, as each area will have it's own difficulties.

Self confidence will come with practice and success.

Rummer

Red_Doe wrote: »

Does anyone else (`newish` to gardening) find the thought of getting it going a bit daunting? Thing is, this year more than last even we need the food it could produce.
Anyone got any tips for gaining a bit of self confidence, gardening wise?

I am in Scotland too.

I felt exactly like this when I got our house and I remember the feeling of overwhelming panic when I realised exactly what we had taken on, and we only have an end terrace .

The way I approached it was to plan out a 5 year approach to my garden so that each year I was adding on a bit more work and developing a new area for veggie growing. To make it productive with less maintenance I have planted a lot of fruit bushes and rhubarb as they take little care and produce oodles of otherwise expensive fruits.

In year two my brassicas (first time trying them) we destroyed almost overnight by caterpillars and I was so upset so much so that I didn't plant any last year . This year however i will have my debris netting and companion plants at the ready so the wee beasties will have no chance!

What I found useful was to buy a diary sepcificaly for the garden and in it I write when things have been sown and then go on to fill when they should be resown so I have a succession of plants. I also have a wee notebook that I write down tips and things I want to try.

As others on the board will tell you I am ridiculously curious and I read all I can find on the garden topics that interest me and I am not shy in asking questions and seeking the advice of others.

I appreciate it is difficult as you are relying on your garden providing food for your family but try and break it into chunks and focus on one area a year adding in others as your confidence grows. Better to have a good yield from a small area than a poor yield from a huge area. Come and join us on the daydream thread too!