Daydream thread... without the rose-tinted specs

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Rummer that's fab..... you can always wear them down with time lol...exciting times ahead...


PP ....Rozee is fine, I am friends with her on FB.... I think with 3 little ones, and building work, chickens etc... she is very busy...I will FB her, just to drop in and say Hi to you all...


Really wish this weather would make its mind up!!! raining, sun out, and then raining the same time as the sun out lol..


I am not really looking forward to going out tonight, but I will prob injoy it when I am there...


I have soooooo changed.... going from a party animal, to a party pooper...lol

I_have_spoken

Look like a cold snap tonight and Sunday night. I'm going to fleece the acers in case buds get frosted.

Rummer

What we want is for maximum growing space and minimum lawn.

I think we will go for long raised beds with wood chip paths in-between initially and when we can afford it we can look at different path surfaces.

We have a long wet bed at the back which we will either need to really raise or turn it over to possibly willow?? I would love to have some to weave :rotfl: No way we can afford to improve the drainage in that area so we will just need to make the best of it as it is. We did consider in the past making it a tyre garden so that is a possibility.

How many beds for rotating crops is ideal? 3 or 4? There will be the wet bed at the top then 4 small (1.2m x 1.2m) raised beds in front of it in a row. Then I am thinking of 3 long beds running the length of the remaining space. At the side of these will be the fruit beds and the mini orchard which are already in place.

In the 4 small beds I am thinking of things like asparagus, strawberries and possibly other permanent things. Then the longer beds can be rotated for annual crops. Do we need a nursery bed or is that just an unnecessary luxury? There is a shed at the base which I think we will use for tools and then we can get rid of the potting shed as it is on its last legs Removing it would really open up the back garden.

Davesnave

Originally Posted by Davesnave
Now, I go for fence posts, chopped up and concreted-in, with 12' half round fencing rails nailed to them, three high. Cheap, bloomin strong and look good too. Again, any twit who can dig holes and use a spirit level can make those. I just stole the idea from a local who makes planters in a similar way.

pink_poppy wrote: »

Dave, this is the post I was referring to. Clueless.

Half round machined rails like these (longer in my case) :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-8m-Long-Half-Round-Rails-100mm-4-Dia-Treated-/390130146402

nailed onto any (round or square) treated timber of suitable size that has been driven or concreted into the ground. If the uprights are put in at the same height, using a spirit level, everything works out neatly.

Each rail is about 10cm (4") high, so three of them make a wall around a foot high. Fine for a deep bed.

Looks like this, but on the ground and much longer:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raised-Bed-Planter-180cm-/271419412835?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Garden_Plants_Pots_Window_Boxes_CV&hash=item3f31db9163

I misunderstood and took a photo of my deep beds in the polytunnel, which are less robust!

Rummer

They sounds great Dave we would love to have beds that jazzy but cost is a factor for us so I think we will need to stick with just the plain planks

If we are creating long beds on grass what is the best way to kill off the grass? do we need to dig it out or just cover it? We have a lot of area to sort so the easiest method possible would be great.

I_have_spoken

A river runs through it..

Excavations to fit a French drain (60mm perforated pipe [just visible behind seat] bedded into 10mm gravel) in effort to get to grips with sodden ground.

Am now convinced that ground water is only just below surface due to being half way down a slope - higher ground to the left. It looks like there's been a Bobcat on site, but that's just from walking on the 'lawn' which is a bog right now.

lostinrates

just popping in to say hi. still no phone line, but using dh's work dongle. we have heat!

Davesnave

lostinrates wrote: »

just popping in to say hi. still no phone line, but using dh's work dongle. we have heat!

Excellent! :j
I've completely forgotten what fuel you went for in the end.

Better_Days

Hi LIR - hope you are well :wave:

Rummer - you will have great fun planning your side garden, there are a few free software packages that you can use to get an idea of how it will look. I think I used a GW one a while ago. Not sure about paths, for the little ones gravel is OK I think, but if you are going to be wheelbarrowing you probably need something a bit harder like paving slabs or it will very hard work.

My cucumbers have germinated in 2 days!! Well they are the Lidl ones which say cucumbers on the front and gherkins on the back - are they OK for eating like normal cucumbers?

I saved some seed from the sweet peas at the rental - they are perennial ones I think - any idea of germination time anyone? Impatient now I have my first germinations :cool::cool::cool::cool:

Lovely day here today, sunny and the wind has dropped so it is not too cold. Piles of washing seem to be increasing exponentially - when the new WM finally arrives it will be well used!!

Davesnave

Rummer wrote: »

They sounds great Dave we would love to have beds that jazzy but cost is a factor for us so I think we will need to stick with just the plain planks .

I'm not sure how much half round rails are exactly, but tI doubt if they work out at more than tanalised 150 x 22 mm boards for the same result. You mustn't go by ebay prices, but look at local farmers' stores or sawmills.

Of course, delivery bumps the prices up, unless you happen to have something that carries 12' boards!

Edit: I'd expect pre-soaked sweet peas up in a week or so. No idea about the Lidl cues, but I expect they'll be OK.