Daydream thread... without the rose-tinted specs

Davesnave

I haven't been to Geilston Garden, IHS, but we visited Benmore across the water in the Cowal Peninsula many years ago.

As one present day reviewer puts it, "This is not a walk for the faint-hearted but for those fit enough to go all the way it's well worth it ..."

Hmmm, no comment, but DW fell pregnant directly after....:rotfl:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g190750-d212171-Reviews-Younger_Benmore_Botanic_Garden-Dunoon_Argyll_and_Bute_Scotland.html

Cottage_Economy

Can anyone with a polytunnel help me out with something?

I'm about to start researching a shopping list for the soil to go in the raised beds in my small polytunnel going in my back garden. Has to be raised beds unfortunately due to appalling bindweed and having to use double heavy gauge weed suppressant membrane.

What is the best of soil components to use to get the best foundation soil possible? I'm thinking it needs to be nutrient rich and moisture retentive as it may get quite dry in there, so would a 1/3 multi-purpose, 1/3 vermiculite, and a 1/3 soil work?

Should I be adding any extras like rockdust, seaweed conditioner or blood, fish or bone?

Any advice gratefully received.

Rummer

Hello Cottage Economy I don't have an answer to your questions however I am sure someone will!

Today was a total write off I did not a scrap of work in the garden and I am slightly grumped about it. However I have ordered some sweet pea seeds so that has made me feel slightly better.

I_have_spoken

I haven't been to Geilston Garden, ...

Nice day for a visit, if just slightly too early for the full colour of the azaleas to be showing

so would a 1/3 multi-purpose, 1/3 vermiculite, and a 1/3 soil work?

IMHO that's a lorra, lorra vermiculite. Maybe swap most of that for well-rotted manure to hold moisture and feed the plants?

lostinrates

We're going to do our best to get that pile cleared today. Probably means we've been distracted from other pressing things but, its going to be a job done dating from the week we moved in. I think we'll leave the stumps there in. They are VERY close to the barn and we think moving them is risky while leaving them is just annoying for some years.


Looking at our covered yard yesterday we think we have left it too late to do repairs at it might have to come down. ATM its a not quite flat roof tilting to east. If it cam down and was replaced with a roof tilting more to west it might be suitable for pv. Don't think we can make a south aspect roof there.

Davesnave

Cottage Economy, the soil in my polytunnel deep beds is just riddled soil plus a heavy dosage of Horse Woman's manure and our own chicken manure, both of which have stood for well over a year.

As time goes by, I shall add compost from old pots and more manure, plus a bit of bone meal.

It really depends a lot on the nature of your soil to start with.
In my old garden I'd have used a good helping of Cornish grit, but that's not needed here. I agree with IHS that 1/3 vermiculite would be OTT for most situations.

Horse Woman offered me 10 bags of manure last week which I declined to take, because we need to move our heap to a new permanent place. Having no joy with me, she offered them to DW on Friday, who said OK, so within an hour they were in the yard! :rotfl:

I find that if the horse manure is dried-out, it crumbles really well and is easier to mix in with the soil. There are loads of weed seeds in it, but that's inevitable.

Cottage_Economy

I_have_spoken wrote: »

IMHO that's a lorra, lorra vermiculite. Maybe swap most of that for well-rotted manure to hold moisture and feed the plants?

Thanks Lostinrates, I didn't even think about manure daft b*gger that I am...:o

I've been reading a book on square foot gardening, which I was going to have a go at, and the author has a mix of peat, compost and vermiculite in equal quantities for their raised beds. I was a bit worried about using so much peat so kind of swapped a bit of top soil in there.

Cottage_Economy

Davesnave wrote: »

Cottage Economy, the soil in my polytunnel deep beds is just riddled soil plus a heavy dosage of Horse Woman's manure and our own chicken manure, both of which have stood for well over a year.

As time goes by, I shall add compost from old pots and more manure, plus a bit of bone meal.

It really depends a lot on the nature of your soil to start with.
In my old garden I'd have used a good helping of Cornish grit, but that's not needed here. I agree with IHS that 1/3 vermiculite would be OTT for most situations.

Horse Woman offered me 10 bags of manure last week which I declined to take, because we need to move our heap to a new permanent place. Having no joy with me, she offered them to DW on Friday, who said OK, so within an hour they were in the yard! :rotfl:

I find that if the horse manure is dried-out, it crumbles really well and is easier to mix in with the soil. There are loads of weed seeds in it, but that's inevitable.

I'm starting from scratch on the beds to keep the dreaded bindweed at bay, and will build up two parallel long raised beds of a height about a foot in the first year rising to two feet in the second.

So, I can start clean with what ever I want to put in there.

Next year we should have more chickens (lost ours to a fox last year and got a bit disheartened by it all) so I can have back my manure heap from their coop, as well as their pest control in the veg beds.

Tried to get the two ducks to do the job and they just looked around the veg garden in stunned silence, sat down and refused to move for hours. They have never ever liked foraging in the beds, just the ground in their pen.

I have odd ducks.

I_have_spoken

The temp. has plummeted in Glasgow but at least it's dry.

Swapping sun hat for bobble hat before going out...then I'm going to let rip with this bad boy.

lostinrates

Its hot here though, much warmer than forecast we think.

We've done it.

We've finally moved the last leylandi logs. Four years??? I think that's taken us. We've got the dodgily placed stumps burning ( thank goodness for a still day. And have sacrificed the levelling and seeding in the track/orchard to weed pots and tidy and keep an eye on this fire. Normally we let safely placed fires burn once at smouldering stage and keep going back to check. This one is to risky to leave we think, despite perfect conditions for such a fire.

Just having a drink ( while watching it from window ) and heading back out. I'm finding the sun a bit difficult, DH is loving it.