The Garden Fence - help and support in tough times

camelot1001

Pleased to hear your DD has had here surgery Mrs VP, hope she recovers speedily.

All this talk of gardens has me wondering what to do. We have been here just over a year and have just had a fence put in all round and a nice new shed. The rest is pretty bare apart from the washing poles. There is just grass and I don't think the soil is too good, should I get some raised beds? Do you have to remove the grass first? Gosh, I feel such a fool asking, but then I would never know would I?!

CRANKY40

I'm just starting with a new (to me) garden too Camelot. We moved in too late last year to do anything much and I was busy trying to get the house straight before I started outside. I threw some bedding plants at the borders and apart from weeding and mowing did little else. I did get some rhubarb in though and that is already starting to come up after being mostly left alone last year. I'm wondering about thornless raspberries this year. I like raspberries, but they do take over a bit.

Softstuff

Camelot, have a look at hugelkultur beds online, if we didn't have termites here I'd do that, looks like the simplest way to start gardening with very little investment.

Mrs_Veg_Plot

After a promising start it is now raining so I'm having a cuppa before I start the inside jobs.

Camelot1001 I had raised beds put in a few years ago, they were made out of old roof joists. Once the joists were in place I covered the grass with weed matting and put the soil and compost over it. I have never had a problem with the grass commuting through.
We did buy topsoil for two of the beds and filled one of them with free top soil.
The strawberry bed was filled using the lasagne gardening method. A no dig method using layers of organic matter (veg waste and tea bags etc) and layers of old wet newspapers. This is a much slower method of filling up your raised beds with compost but is very MSE.

nuatha

camelot1001 wrote: »

There is just grass and I don't think the soil is too good, should I get some raised beds? Do you have to remove the grass first? Gosh, I feel such a fool asking, but then I would never know would I?!

I put some substantial raised beds into the garden a couple of years back. Each bed was 6 foot long and three foot wide, by 24 inches tall. Three foot wide so that the middle could easily be reached from either side, 24 inches high because Herself has a back injury and my health is variable, so being able to garden from a seated position meant gardening would be easier and therefore less likely to be put off. (6 foot long because that was the best priced boards and halving a board gave the ends with no waste). I used 6 foot fencing boards, (4 inches wide) and 2x2 for the corners and centres and simply screwed them together.
I did trench the grass to ensure the beds were level but only by an inch or so. I left the grass inside the beds alone.
I would advise against anything so deep unless you have similar health concerns, it takes a huge amount of soil or compost to fill that depth of bed - about 2 tonnes per bed. (though you could adapt the idea Softstuff mentions and fill the base with a mix of timbers and soil.
There are some advantages to raised beds, but you could equally dig over a rectangle (or other shape) or the existing garden adding compost or rotted manure as you go and create a vegetable or flower bed.
HTH

nursemaggie

A good result Mrs VP. Good to know SM do own up to mistakes sometimes.

So pleased your DD is doing well after all the problems in the winter.

Ginny we all shrink as we get older some of us more than others. mine is due to arthritis in my spine and osteoporosis. I used to be just a smidgin below 5 ft.

Bit wet here today so it will be crafting this afternoon. Just sewn up two cardigans. May look for a pattern for DGS a jumper and practice crocheting. I think I may have a grandma nap too.

kezlou

Great news Mrs VP !
Hopefully all will go well and just in time for spring.

Were off to Mil's soon for dinner.

Oh and grey queen I bought some broad beans, thanks again
Felt so good being outside, gooseberry is green with tiny buds, clematis is growing and rhubarb has shoots. Getting more hopeful now. Found some leeks growing from last year, was sure I pulled them all out strange. Hmm

Wow gq thats a heck of a lot of work, bet it looks amazing. Couldn't help but laugh about the neighbour. :rotfl:

Ginny I've lot an inch in height I'm now 5ft" 2, absolutely devastated. Loved my inch lol

lobbyludd

hello everyone - fab new thread - I am much more of a lurker (IRL as well as on threads...)
but re raised beds - I'm going to create some this year to get some sunny growing spaces as all existing borders are heavy or partial shade - they'll be on top of concrete bases (already in situ) so does anyone know if there's a minimum depth to make them work (take the point about the amount of soil necessary if deep)? I probably won't be growing anything really deep rooted (like comfrey etc) and will mostly be flower planting, but with some mostly above ground veg randomly planted for the kids within it.

thanks in advance!

judi24

Great new thread! Posted occasionally on old one! Gardening talk is all very exciting - managed to start sorting my garden yesterday and 2 raised beds and some pots ready to go but need some enriching - I normally use chicken poo pellets but was wondering of there was a better option (preferably one that doesn't prompt Doodle dog to roll in!!!) need to get some seeds going I think!


Might be a good thing to do today as DS is in a foul mood cos he is banned from xbox for the weekend and is about to have a full on melt down about it!!! Off to look for cheap seeds!!!

stiltwalker

Afternoon all - nice to see so many of you on here both old and new faces.


Am liking this new thread - its not often I get to feel tall!!! but at 5'5" I'm up the top end of the fence!


Good to hear about DD Mrs VP - give her my best too - X


Sat here at the 'puter writing our speech for Thursday - for anyone who doesn't know from previous thread my 5 years old DD otherwise known as Little Miss Stilty has been asked to open a conference about Alternative and Augmentative communication and do the keynote speech, with a little bit of help from her old mum. She uses signing and a high tech communication device to communicate as although she has all the words in her head she doesn't have the co-ordination necessary to get them out clearly. I now have new outfit (not MSE as full price but entirely necessary if I have to stand up I public), Little Miss Stilty got her new outfit last weekend so at least we'll both look the business! She is still showing no sign of nerves, but I'm blinking petrified. Still on the upside I also have an essay due in that day so at least writing that will help to keep my mind of the speech.


We're going to be turning our garden into a sensory space for the children so not going to have space for veg - will have plenty of herbs as part of the sensory garden though and some interesting grasses for textures and probably some scented flowers as well. Mind you between all the stuff I do I don't really have time for it anyway, might have to find space for a couple of courgette plants though as that is what I miss - you never get the little ones picked young in the shops and I do also like the flowers stuffed and battered.


Right must get back to speech writing, take care all - X