Surviving the Garden
- Thread starter Tengu
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It's called hard work, we all have jobs, and that's what weekends are for and light evenings.
Once you start you'll soon get into it, tbh it sounds like you like making excuses. I pity your neighbours. Sorry for being blunt
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Once you start you'll soon get into it, tbh it sounds like you like making excuses. I pity your neighbours. Sorry for being blunt
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outside, fresh air, exercise / fitness, weight loss, property value increase, harmony with the neighbours sounds like a win win to me and if you keep a photo diary it'll be one hell of an achievement. .... go for it 
With my mobility problems and back problems gardening can be a real pain
Seriously though. The top of my garden has been a wilderness for years. I never touched it and half the time I couldn't even get to the compost bin!
I decided to try and do something with it this year, and with nothing more than a light garden fork and a few hours a day over 3 days I created this.
It was hard work, but I only did a few hours a day over 3 days and I now have beans and peas growing there along wits a makeshift fruit cage with potted Gooseberries and currents.
I can also now getc to the compost bin easily too!
To be honest when I started I realy thought nothing short of a motorised strimmer and a small digger with a couple of nice gents to do the work would be of any use.
Just get started girl! Ano hour or two a day in the early morning before it gets too hot, or in the evening, followed by a nice be average of some sort will work wonders with the space, give you a sense of achievement and keep the neighbours happy.
What's to loose?
Now mine is done, and it's only half the width of the area it takes about ten minutes of an evening to water and keep weed free. I shall be eating fresh peas and beans into the bargain.
( bear in mind I was cutting knee high grass with scissors too!)
I wish I'd done before photos, but I realy did not think it would turn out so well.
I've still got the area between the compost bin and the fence to sort,and a huge pile of sticks and stuff to burn sometime to get the rest of it cleared, but I have plans for a little summer house to go there as my fantasy log cabin. Who knows when that will happen but it will by next summer I'm determined!
Just get stuck in with a strimmer to get it all down then you can see where to go from there.
Build a compost heap. 3 pallets tied or screwed together and pile it all in.
Tengu... if I can do what I did.. you certainly can do what you need to do.
Start and complete one area a day even if it's only a square metre at a time like me.I'm sure you can manage more than that. At least two square metres a day
Most of all have a bit of fun in the jungle.
Seriously though. The top of my garden has been a wilderness for years. I never touched it and half the time I couldn't even get to the compost bin!
I decided to try and do something with it this year, and with nothing more than a light garden fork and a few hours a day over 3 days I created this.
It was hard work, but I only did a few hours a day over 3 days and I now have beans and peas growing there along wits a makeshift fruit cage with potted Gooseberries and currents.
I can also now getc to the compost bin easily too!
To be honest when I started I realy thought nothing short of a motorised strimmer and a small digger with a couple of nice gents to do the work would be of any use.
Just get started girl! Ano hour or two a day in the early morning before it gets too hot, or in the evening, followed by a nice be average of some sort will work wonders with the space, give you a sense of achievement and keep the neighbours happy.
What's to loose?
Now mine is done, and it's only half the width of the area it takes about ten minutes of an evening to water and keep weed free. I shall be eating fresh peas and beans into the bargain.
( bear in mind I was cutting knee high grass with scissors too!)
I wish I'd done before photos, but I realy did not think it would turn out so well.
I've still got the area between the compost bin and the fence to sort,and a huge pile of sticks and stuff to burn sometime to get the rest of it cleared, but I have plans for a little summer house to go there as my fantasy log cabin. Who knows when that will happen but it will by next summer I'm determined!
Just get stuck in with a strimmer to get it all down then you can see where to go from there.
Build a compost heap. 3 pallets tied or screwed together and pile it all in.
Tengu... if I can do what I did.. you certainly can do what you need to do.
Start and complete one area a day even if it's only a square metre at a time like me.I'm sure you can manage more than that. At least two square metres a day
Most of all have a bit of fun in the jungle.
As my RHS lectures used to say ...
“A weed is a plant in the wrong place.”
“Anything not in the planting plan is a weed.”
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I admit I'm more inclined to think on weeds as pest plants that will infest neighbours gardens too if not kept under control.
Japanese knotweed, couch grass, dandelions, fireweed, willows, birches, etc.,
Japanese knotweed, couch grass, dandelions, fireweed, willows, birches, etc.,
The main reason the top end of the garden at mine got left to go wild was of pernicious weeds comming in from the person who lived behind that fence at the back of me. It was a constant job.
Didn't make him popular with me at all. Ivy Virginia creeper all sorts.
Since he moved and the new person put up the new fence it's been much better. I gave permission for him to come onto my property as long as the workmen cleared the creeper and ivy from my half of the fence line too
They did a slapdash job and left a real mess, so I had all sorts of weeds to sort out when I started digging.
I still have a way to go to get the rest sorted but I'm doing a small area each day.
This is what it looks like now from the back door.
We'll see how much I get done today.
The bonfire is a bit big to burn so close to the fence so I will have to disassemble it and burn it bit by bit one evening.
Plenty of water on hand too!
All good fun.
Didn't make him popular with me at all. Ivy Virginia creeper all sorts.
Since he moved and the new person put up the new fence it's been much better. I gave permission for him to come onto my property as long as the workmen cleared the creeper and ivy from my half of the fence line too
They did a slapdash job and left a real mess, so I had all sorts of weeds to sort out when I started digging.
I still have a way to go to get the rest sorted but I'm doing a small area each day.
This is what it looks like now from the back door.
We'll see how much I get done today.
The bonfire is a bit big to burn so close to the fence so I will have to disassemble it and burn it bit by bit one evening.
Plenty of water on hand too!
All good fun.
Thank you. It's a real labour of love... labour being the operative word at first.
Now its just love.
Today I have potted on a few more plants and been given some veg plants. Not ones I'd planned to grow and I will have to replan a few areas but it's all good.
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A bit more grass cutting with the scissors! Still some to go.
It's so hot the grass is turning brown almost as fast as I cut it.
It's so hot the grass is turning brown almost as fast as I cut it.
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Sorry Broch I missed your comment.
That's correct if it's the householder that's burning their garden waste or they are present and are directly supervising the burning of the waste.
The need for an exemption comes into play when a third party does the burning on the householders behalf without their direct supervision or presence. It's far easier to have an exemption in place just to make sure they're covered.
As you also pointed out local smokeless controls could apply which might ban the burning of the waste.
Personally I don't like to burn garden waste off now as there's too many issues to contend with now like smokeless control zones, more distant neighbours, public liability insurance which will cover you if something goes wrong. Also as the OP's neighbours aren't happy and complaining in writing (which is one of the first legal steps to prove a nuisance) about the weeds coming through to their property it would be far better to shred the waste and work it back into the soil without smoking the them out as well.
Meant to comment this to WoodyGirl too, but you could make the waste into hugelkulture raised beds. Apparently the beesknees for crops
Me and Dad have made a start.
Hes got something that looks like it belongs to a Space Marine.
I am not let near it but have to pull valerian up by hand.
There is a lot of valerian.
And brambles.
and garden waste...a problem of its own.
Seeing our party fence I am quite sympathetic with next doors concerns.
(Seeing next doors ox roast sized firepit I am tempted to ask to borrow it).
Hes got something that looks like it belongs to a Space Marine.
I am not let near it but have to pull valerian up by hand.
There is a lot of valerian.
And brambles.
and garden waste...a problem of its own.
Seeing our party fence I am quite sympathetic with next doors concerns.
(Seeing next doors ox roast sized firepit I am tempted to ask to borrow it).
Problem solved; Common Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) is a sedative, relaxant and relieves anxiety (allegedly) - you can chill out while you're doing it
Well done Tengu.!
Pile all the waste in an out of the way corner untill you can deal with it either by composting or burning.
Compost bin is more neighbour friendly. A home made one using pallets makes a realy good size one and is cost free. If you don't have screws to hold it together you can use those plastic zip ties. You need 3 pallets to make a 3 sided square and just pile it in, bash it down, save some urine..... I know it sounds crazy but just pee in a bucket for a day then pour it over the top. It won't smell bad honest! It just helps to get the pile going.
No idea where I got that from but I do it and it works. Someone may tell me it's an old wives tale!
Pile all the waste in an out of the way corner untill you can deal with it either by composting or burning.
Compost bin is more neighbour friendly. A home made one using pallets makes a realy good size one and is cost free. If you don't have screws to hold it together you can use those plastic zip ties. You need 3 pallets to make a 3 sided square and just pile it in, bash it down, save some urine..... I know it sounds crazy but just pee in a bucket for a day then pour it over the top. It won't smell bad honest! It just helps to get the pile going.
No idea where I got that from but I do it and it works. Someone may tell me it's an old wives tale!
How is it going Tengu? How much ground have you cleared? Remember to take it easy especially in this heat. 0
Plenty of rests and lots of drinks.
I'd love to see a photo of the finished result.
Plenty of rests and lots of drinks.
I'd love to see a photo of the finished result.
Gardening is a right royal pain in the proverbial when you start. I've been hard at it for the past 4 or 5 weeks. Most evenings for an hour or so and every Saturday!
I have to admit that I did start to wish I'd never started, some of it was just demoralising. My garden is 'mature bordered' and 120ft long. I cleared 40 conifers from the left hand side. All were about 10ft tall and grown into each other. I cleared them one by one with a GB SFA and a bacho bow saw, 2 or 3 a day.
Then I moved onto the other side of the garden and went for the 12ft tall, 20ft long ivy that had grown through the original wire fence, a later built 6ft trellis and up into my mountain ash to about 20ft..... I cursed the damn ivy every day! I eventually relented with the use of the axe and saw at this point and took the offer of my neighbours chain saw. That was satisfying......
Anyways, so we are at the 6 week point now. Filled our third huge skip, burned all the small stuff and built a new fence to replace that bloody ivy. My garden looks about 4ft wider, there's a ton of light coming in now to. I'm beginning to see the rewards of my labour. All work done after a full days work as well, under the 'guidance' of my darling wife.
Plans for a herb bed, small veg raised bed, lots of plants to be potted, a pond and a laavu near the fire pit are all in order..... but all good things come to those who wait (and those who constantly swear at plants, curse themselves, get spinters and don't mind the hard graft!)
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I have to admit that I did start to wish I'd never started, some of it was just demoralising. My garden is 'mature bordered' and 120ft long. I cleared 40 conifers from the left hand side. All were about 10ft tall and grown into each other. I cleared them one by one with a GB SFA and a bacho bow saw, 2 or 3 a day.
Then I moved onto the other side of the garden and went for the 12ft tall, 20ft long ivy that had grown through the original wire fence, a later built 6ft trellis and up into my mountain ash to about 20ft..... I cursed the damn ivy every day! I eventually relented with the use of the axe and saw at this point and took the offer of my neighbours chain saw. That was satisfying......
Anyways, so we are at the 6 week point now. Filled our third huge skip, burned all the small stuff and built a new fence to replace that bloody ivy. My garden looks about 4ft wider, there's a ton of light coming in now to. I'm beginning to see the rewards of my labour. All work done after a full days work as well, under the 'guidance' of my darling wife.
Plans for a herb bed, small veg raised bed, lots of plants to be potted, a pond and a laavu near the fire pit are all in order..... but all good things come to those who wait (and those who constantly swear at plants, curse themselves, get spinters and don't mind the hard graft!)
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