Curious Mind: How big is your garden/gardening plot?

3v3

So far, I have been astonishingly impressed with just how much some posters are able to squeeze into a tiny space vs some posters who clearly have the advantage of a) a goodly sized garden (whatever dimensions *that* is?) b) a good sized allotment or c) a combo of a+b

So, I've been wondering: just how much space, in sqft/sqmtrs do you think is available (and which you work) to you in total?

I'm trying to sort out in my own mind just how much I could practically fit in a day (especially for those dominant times of the year while I'm at Uni - final year forthcoming - and I don't seem to achieve much more than keeping on top of weeds )

TIA

elsien

Did you mean just for growing veggies, or flower/shrub gardening as well?

As far as veggies go, I can't plant direct into the ground due to where I live, so all mine is done in pots.
I have a patio which is the width of a terrace house and maybe 6 foot deep where the majority of my veggies go, plus I can fit 3 or 4 of the long narrow containers up the side of the path.
Winter is just overwintering the garlic, then in spring/summer/autumn at the moment I do potatoes, carrots, leeks mangetout, courgettes, spinach, kale, salad leaves, spring onions, strawberries and herbs. A lot of it is about planning and rotating, so I have to think eg when will the potatoes be ready to come out, and what crop can I use the containers for next. Plus remembering to start things off in succession, so when one lot of carrots is eaten, the next is well on the way.
Timewise (I work full time) it's probably easier in pots - less weeding but I have to make time to go out and water daily. It's not massively time consuming, and wouldn't feed a family but as it's just me it works fine.

"Proper" garden wise, I find that takes a lot more time and effort, but as I find gardening really relaxing, I don't mind. Plus growing things from seed can take a bit more effort but is a lot more satisfying than going out buying what you need.

3v3

Thank you, Elsien

elsien wrote: »

Did you mean just for growing veggies, or flower/shrub gardening as well?

Good question Actually, I meant in total - be it produce or ornamental. But, I confess to the intrigue of veggies/fruits as they would make a difference twix paydays vs effort vs yield.

I do keep chickens, which is a boon to the compost heap and kitchen scraps; I know I am very fortunate to be able to do that and not everyone can do/benefit from it.

elsien

Overall then, the back garden is quite small - not quite newbuild small but not too far off.

I have a back yard which is basically the side return of the terrace which apart from a winter flowering jasmine is all pots and bedding. And my wormery. I'm really pleased with how it looks - the main labour intensive bits are growing everything on and planting it out. Several full days every spring and autumn taking out the old stuff and putting in the new, then other than that it's mainly watering daily and feeding weekly. Half an hour with a watering can every evening, which is also a nice chance just to have a look round the garden and seeing what is going on.
As for the rest, there's a smallish paved bit where I keep the wheelie bins, the log pile and the compost bin. Then a narrow path with wide flower beds with mainly shrubs on either side. Lilac, elder and rhododendrons, on one side, and mock orange and forsythia on the other. These two are quite shady, so it's more a battle to see what grows and an awful lot of pruning at various times of year to keep the lilac etc from getting way too big. Small patch of lawn with a sunny border where I stick things that don't need much looking after and which come back every year with the odd bit of bedding to fill in the gaps where I've got in wrong. Then the aforementioned patio with small raised borders each side (again, a work in progress as I've cut a leylandii down and the soil is appalling.) and clematis and honeysuckle covering the fence at the back.

No room for chickens - the whole layout would need relandscaping and digging out to do anything like that, which I can't afford and don't have the inclination to attempt myself.

I find it comes in fits and starts - a few weeks where all I need to do is mow the lawn and do a bit of weeding once in a while. Then after a bit of rain it all suddenly goes a bit mad and I have to spend one of my days off doing nothing but attacking things. Although if it's a choice of that or housework it's a bit of a no-brainer.

Timewise though, it's built up as I realised I actually enjoy being out there and find it relaxing. I could probably get away with doing a lot less if I wanted a lower maintenance garden.

a1cat

We 'actively' garden about 3000 sq m - the garden is bigger than that but we have left quite a chunk of it as orchard verging on jungle, ie good fruit trees but we don't maintain what grows underneath them...

...because...

...this is our place in the sun. Actually I only garden there at Easter, a week in June, 6 weeks in suummer, a clear up week in October and maybe a bit more clear upo at Xmas.

Amazing what you can do in a short period. I certainly don't spend too much time on it. Need some time for a good book and a tinny

Cutting the grass is the big one, I don't pay anybody to do it in our absence so first chore is longish grass cut. It's a lot of grass.

We have quite a few fruit trees in the tended garden - walnut, pear, apple, plum, cherry, chestnut - and most of those need hard pruning in the summer.

Hedges - loads of them - need trimming.

Lots of perennials need tending, particularly @ Easter but also in summer.

Flowers - apart from the perennials - I sow loads of annuals and biannuals at Easter, tend them in June ie move, encourage etc and enjoy them in the summer.

Problems - watering/ drought (it gets hot).

Seems to work though - in the summer we always get a lovely looking garden for 6 weeks.

alixandrea

OP, have you heard of Square Foot Gardening?
http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicgardening/gh_sqft.php

I'm planning on having four 4' x 4' raised beds next year to run a four year crop rotation that should in theory provide my partner and I with the best part of our vegetable requirements over the whole year. I've no idea if it's going to work yet, but here's hoping!

Alixandrea

rabidbun

I've the following, after four (?) years of GYO if I don't count occasional tomato plants and chillies:

A greenhouse - 6'x4' (five tomato plants, three cucumbers, four melons, three chillies, a dwarf tomato, two pots of basil
3, metre square raised beds, all 30cm tall (various vegetables apart from potatoes and tomatoes as I use these to dump old potato and tomato compost)
1 metre and a half by half a metre, 30cm tall raised bed (strawberries and also a blackberry bush trained along the fence)
Room to put up (this year at least) three blowaways (three tomatoes in one, two in another, though nothing in the small one due to poor planning on my part and poor growing on the part of the melons! )
50 x 14 inch pots (used for raspberries, gooseberry, peas, courgette and more peas this year)
5 x 24 inch pots (some strawberries but mostly anything from garlic through to tomatillos fit in these, some permanent for figs, currants, raspberries/tayberries)
5 x troughs (for herbs, lettuces etc)
Two other narrow raised beds against the trellis separating the greenhouse/veggie bit from a bit of lawn, total length 800cm x 30cm and 30cm high (two apple trees, five fruit bushes, hopefully two grape plants to climb trellis soon, some lemon thyme, rosemary, chives everywhere, sage and normal thyme)

Bit crowded now to be honest, but the garden, while small ish (around 90 square metres) , is split quite nicely between growing veggies and fruit, lawn space for my wee one and decking for us. Admittedly the growing has kinda spilled over a wee bit onto the lawn and decking areas, but can't be helped, eh!?

Hoping to cut down on watering next year by topping each of the pots with cobbles as a mulch though.

angelavdavis

I have an 80 ft x 40 ft garden which is mainly laid to patio and ornamental beds with some veg beds. We love it, but the trees in the garden prevent my veg garden being really productive. I put in 2 raised beds (each 1m x 3m) to try to resolve the issue (the tree roots are just below the soil surface at ground level) but gradually the roots have grown up, through the landscaping fabric and now fight the vegetables for nutrients and water. I cut them back as often as I can, but now limit my home growing in the beds to salads and mange tout.

I also keep ex-battery rescue chickens at home and have a cherry tree, fig, grapevine, nectarine and rhubarb growing in the garden.

About a year ago, we managed to get an allotment plot and the difference in our veg production is incredible. Clearly, we were doing the right thing in the garden but the trees were making it difficult to grow veg. As a result, we have done really well on the allotment. I think our plot is 9.5 rods (roughly 20 foot square). I could easily use double that. I try to ensure that I never leave a bed bare for more than 3 weeks before planting up again with a new crop. We have a greenhouse on the plot too.

3v3

rabidbun wrote: »

Hoping to cut down on watering next year by topping each of the pots with cobbles as a mulch though.

Wyevale had their bags of shingles/stones at half price last week. Bravo on what you have achieved :T

trudiha

My garden is 14' wide and 50' long but, as I'm constantly reminded, about 4,000 feet deep and that's quite a plot.

tilly_willow

I'm lucky with my garden, really good size for a 3 bed semi, approx 100 ft long x 50 ft wide with a extra bit on the side so we can have best of all worlds. We've divided into 3 ish. Furthest from house is left fairly wild with fruit trees, apple, pea, damson, plum and cherry and the greenhouse, the extra bit on the side with some of the main garden is the veg patch which we've made easier with raised beds, and then the bit nearest the house is for humans but also has the herbs, lavender, some pots with things like blueberries etc. Now its organised it doesn't take too much time in reality but I can always fine an excuse to be out there instead of doing things like housework.