Grow your own dinner 2014

safestored4

I've got three on the allotment made from pallets. Our local building merchant on the trading estate opposite lets you have them for free. All I do is nail the back and sides together with 6" nails. I tie the front in with a couple of old bits of rope which makes it easy to remove when you want to fill or empty. Depending upon what is going in I line the sides with cardboard. There is a Homebase nearby and they leave all their cardboard boxes near the exit for anyone who wants to take away.

Money_Tree_Faerie

I usually grow lots of fruit and veg every year. I expecially like to grow some of the lesser know perennial veg (low maintenance). Last year was a disaster though....

:eek:Cats!:eek: (not invited)

Does anyone else have this problem? And what do you do with the compost after it has become a much-loved litter tray?

I have health problems and had thought that the work was done, that I just needed to top up or feed the containers every year. Now I am looking at emptying and re-filling? I don't have any money spare in the budget for compost. Ideas anyone?

browneyedbazzi

Money_Tree_Faerie wrote: »

:eek:Cats!:eek: (not invited)

Does anyone else have this problem? And what do you do with the compost after it has become a much-loved litter tray?

I don't know what to do once the cats have become a problem, but my mom always swore by dusting the topsoil with cayenne pepper to keep cats away. They get a bit of a shock the first time they sniff it and that deters them from sniffing around/digging in the garden. She went to costco and bought cayenne in big catering sized tubs.

suzeesu2000

Best deterrent for cats is citrus. Put some Orange or lemon peel in your compost pile and the cats will keep away.
Also put some slices of lemon in your electricity meter box outside and it will stop ants nesting in it.
And....hang a bunch of fresh mint just inside your back door or kitchen window and you wont get any flies come into the house. And they do work!!

Money_Tree_Faerie

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

I don't know what to do once the cats have become a problem, but my mom always swore by dusting the topsoil with cayenne pepper to keep cats away. They get a bit of a shock the first time they sniff it and that deters them from sniffing around/digging in the garden. She went to costco and bought cayenne in big catering sized tubs.

I've tried that, although I could try again, perhaps sprinkling larger quantities. I think it was a bit of a wash-out because it rains here so frequently.

Money_Tree_Faerie

suzeesu2000 wrote: »

Best deterrent for cats is citrus. Put some Orange or lemon peel in your compost pile and the cats will keep away.

I shall try that, thanks.

StressedSteph

Looks like a fab thread, so ill definitely subscribe to this.


We live on a 6.5 acre smallholding. I have a half an acre area fenced off for veg.


Last year was the first year for setting up the veg plot. we constructed a 30ft x 15ft Polytunnel. We also made 6 raised bed and rotavated a large area for potatoes and other less sensitive veg like onions, swede etc.


We are on quite horrible clay, so it takes a lot of work to get it in good condition. its incredibly wet down there at the moment, but I am desperate to get going.


Still got abit of clearing out to do in the tunnel and I have to clear some weed in the traditional veg beds. Not been that cold down here in Dorset, so the weeds are getting a head start on me.


My lovely neighbours gave me a £40 gift voucher for our local garden centre for Christmas, so I am hoping this will get a good amount of our veg seeds bought and paid for.


Best success for me last year was the Dwarf peach tree in the polytunnel. I tucked into tonnes of lovely juicy peaches last summer.


I have officially given up on Brassica's until I can afford to invest in some really expensive enviomesh to keep the devils out. I like to try to be as organic as possible and I lost the war with the greenfly and cabbage whites last year.


Looking forward to following everyones progress.

Money_Tree_Faerie

StressedSteph wrote: »

I have officially given up on Brassica's until I can afford to invest in some really expensive enviomesh to keep the devils out. I like to try to be as organic as possible and I lost the war with the greenfly and cabbage whites last year.

I grew (organically) some Asturian Tree Cabbage. Initially it got nibbled a bit but now it's the greenest thing in the garden (it's been around for about two years now).

StressedSteph

Money_Tree_Faerie wrote: »

I grew (organically) some Asturian Tree Cabbage. Initially it got nibbled a bit but now it's the greenest thing in the garden (it's been around for about two years now).

Wow does it taste good? Might have a look for that. Thanks

Little_Vics

rain, rain, rain, bit of wind, rain, rain, rain. It's nowhere near as bad here as in Cornwall or Devon, but still...

In semi-related gardening news, we're going to be building a wall around our teeny tiny garden soon. It slops down onto a road, and we want to put some gates onto the two paths. I'm having dilemmas about how high to build it because I don't want to block sun - any ideas? 1 metre??