Growing food - small garden tips and tricks!
- Thread starter Paul_B
- Start date
My advice would be: grow only what you like to eat. It might sound daft, but some people I know grow all kinds of exotic stuff, and then realise that they dont really like those exotics very much at all. Its much better to concentrate on those things you really enjoy, than all the wasted effort, space and resources on other things.
Following all the advice on here I've got more questions. We've found a house and are putting an offer in, before it's gone live on the websites. We'll probably get it because we got in early courtesy of our estate agent who have us the early showing. Houses sell in days round there.
Garden! Long, uphill and overgrown. Trees, shrubs and loads of little paths and sitting places. The hill garden goes up towards WSW. It's overgrown and the hard landscaping (steps, paths, etc) will one day need upgrading. Too many concrete block steps I think.
I reckon a lot of cutting back, chopping trees and shrubs back to get more light in places and probably clearing a place to put in a little lawn area.
What tools would you recommend getting?' I'mhinking the following:
Bow saw, folding saw to buy. We have loppers, various types of pruners and access to an electric chainsaw (if my dad will loan it).
We've got a good fork and spade, one has a cracked wooden handle so will need a new handle attached. There's a few trowels around too. A soul rake and possibly a Dutch hoe unless my dad took it back.
i reckon the most important tools will be the cutting ones to reclaim the garden from the overgrown shrubs, trees and undergrowth. Any suggestions how to turn such an area into a lawn? It's sloping so would you just leave it sloping as a lawn?
Any suggestions on growing stuff to eat on sloping land? Can you grow food partly shaded without full sun due to slope and position?
Garden! Long, uphill and overgrown. Trees, shrubs and loads of little paths and sitting places. The hill garden goes up towards WSW. It's overgrown and the hard landscaping (steps, paths, etc) will one day need upgrading. Too many concrete block steps I think.
I reckon a lot of cutting back, chopping trees and shrubs back to get more light in places and probably clearing a place to put in a little lawn area.
What tools would you recommend getting?' I'mhinking the following:
Bow saw, folding saw to buy. We have loppers, various types of pruners and access to an electric chainsaw (if my dad will loan it).
We've got a good fork and spade, one has a cracked wooden handle so will need a new handle attached. There's a few trowels around too. A soul rake and possibly a Dutch hoe unless my dad took it back.
i reckon the most important tools will be the cutting ones to reclaim the garden from the overgrown shrubs, trees and undergrowth. Any suggestions how to turn such an area into a lawn? It's sloping so would you just leave it sloping as a lawn?
Any suggestions on growing stuff to eat on sloping land? Can you grow food partly shaded without full sun due to slope and position?
Many of our fruits are really woodland fruits, or woodland edge fruits. Raspberries will do fine, my blackcurrants thrive and they're half under trees.
Fruit trees can easily replace what you have or make good hedgings.
So long as they get some Sun then a lot of veg will still produce. I manage and I'm further north than you are, surrounded by gable walls and trees and I can get crops of stuff. Beetroots do surprisingly well, if I can keep the slugs off them, so do spuds and brassicas in Summer. I even managed a decent crop of Oca. Peas are fine if I can find a less shaded spot for them, I usually do them in a big pot and make a willow wigwam for them to clamber up and through.
So, it's very do-able, and it can be fun sussing out what works and what doesn't really. It just really depends on a lot of different factors, and your garden will be unique in those.
Fruit trees can easily replace what you have or make good hedgings.
So long as they get some Sun then a lot of veg will still produce. I manage and I'm further north than you are, surrounded by gable walls and trees and I can get crops of stuff. Beetroots do surprisingly well, if I can keep the slugs off them, so do spuds and brassicas in Summer. I even managed a decent crop of Oca. Peas are fine if I can find a less shaded spot for them, I usually do them in a big pot and make a willow wigwam for them to clamber up and through.
So, it's very do-able, and it can be fun sussing out what works and what doesn't really. It just really depends on a lot of different factors, and your garden will be unique in those.
Whilst I'm pleased for you , to me that's not great ethics or professional nature by the estate agents.
I know you're proffing on this occasion but imagine you were the ones losing out from such a insider heads up.
Just saying.
We probably lost out that way with the house next door. We turned up to view it 2 days after it went online. No agent! Called the office only to be told it had sold. Complaint in and fobbed off but now they helped us. Perhaps guilty conscience by the agent running our town's branch.
It is unethical but as we were the victims of it before I will accept that I'm being unethical too by getting the benefit this time. Bear in mind there's 2 others who obviously were told in advance too. It might be were got told earlier or they got told at the same time but live further away and couldn't get up here before Monday. Either way three groups knew about it before details went online. I don't think they've been produced.
It is unethical but as we were the victims of it before I will accept that I'm being unethical too by getting the benefit this time. Bear in mind there's 2 others who obviously were told in advance too. It might be were got told earlier or they got told at the same time but live further away and couldn't get up here before Monday. Either way three groups knew about it before details went online. I don't think they've been produced.
It is what it is.
For Karma to feel righteous firstly a injustice must be deemed to be felt.
Oh we were pi$$ed when it happened to us. My partner mute so and she complained. We're with the same estate agents and it didn't give us confidence. They are very good most of the time but every so often they're absolutely poor with their service. Everyone messes up but it's a little Jekyll and Hyde with them in that respect.
Regarding the uphill lay of the garden the question becomes, how steep? If it’s not too badmostrhingsyou’dgrow on a flat lot will work. If it’s very great you might consider terracing it first. Also bear in mind that the WSW lay of it means two things:
1) you should get good afternoon sun to your plants, and
2) of you plan it properly you should get good sunset views.
1) you should get good afternoon sun to your plants, and
2) of you plan it properly you should get good sunset views.
Looking at the viewranger compost compass the N-S axis is something like corner to corner on the plot. As you look at the front of the house and up the slope then North is to the front right hand side corner and South to the left rear corner. The sun moves from slightly to the front round to full on the back with the slope making sunset early so to speak. I think anyway. Certainly trees cut a lot out too.
It's got a few terraced, flat areas and the paths cutting across the garden look fairly flat. There's been some landscaping, not least for the greenhouse and summer house. There's also hidden seating areas and little bays with retaining walls. One of which has kind of flat rock jutting out from the retaining wall to create seats or a curved bench seat. Near the greenhouse, which sits on a substantial and created base, there's a little wooden almost window cleaners ladder in three steps leading to another path that's been covered over by vegetation.
TBH it's not clear if we've seen all the little paths judging by how I have only just spotted that ladder and the path/steps beyond. It's a project for sure. Not really confident we'll be able to make the most of it without help. My partner thinks we should hire someone to help plan it and to work alongsideb us to do the work. Sort of not doing it all but helping us to figure out what needs to be done and helping to do that in part.
Also saw that immediately behind the patio on a higher level there's a lawn reach side of the my steps leaving the patio. I didn't remember those two lawns. Funny how your mind remembers some things but fulfills the rest based a little on what you want?
It's got a few terraced, flat areas and the paths cutting across the garden look fairly flat. There's been some landscaping, not least for the greenhouse and summer house. There's also hidden seating areas and little bays with retaining walls. One of which has kind of flat rock jutting out from the retaining wall to create seats or a curved bench seat. Near the greenhouse, which sits on a substantial and created base, there's a little wooden almost window cleaners ladder in three steps leading to another path that's been covered over by vegetation.
TBH it's not clear if we've seen all the little paths judging by how I have only just spotted that ladder and the path/steps beyond. It's a project for sure. Not really confident we'll be able to make the most of it without help. My partner thinks we should hire someone to help plan it and to work alongsideb us to do the work. Sort of not doing it all but helping us to figure out what needs to be done and helping to do that in part.
Also saw that immediately behind the patio on a higher level there's a lawn reach side of the my steps leaving the patio. I didn't remember those two lawns. Funny how your mind remembers some things but fulfills the rest based a little on what you want?
One thing that's worth while learning and researching is mushroom cultivation. I am slowly going through the process of creating a mushroom growing area in my loft. Mushrooms are the "meat" of the plant world. Some mushrooms such as "Chicken of the Woods" is actually reputed to taste like chicken and another one "Lions Mane" is supposed to have the flavour and texture of lobster when cooked. Each cultivation may produce 3 - 5 "flushes" of mushrooms which means a substantial addition to the plate over time. If you have a loft, it might be fun to use that space to get some veggie meats.
I can't get into my loft!
It gets very hot in summer to the point it makes you sweat after a few mins in the winter, its freezing, because of the insulation. Plus it would be a great attraction to mice I'd reckon.
Have thought of getting a
dowel kit to grow them on logs in the garden though. I do have a log that sprouts jelly ears quite regularly, though I'm not enamoured with that variety. It would be a good place to grow something else though.
It gets very hot in summer to the point it makes you sweat after a few mins in the winter, its freezing, because of the insulation. Plus it would be a great attraction to mice I'd reckon.
Have thought of getting a
dowel kit to grow them on logs in the garden though. I do have a log that sprouts jelly ears quite regularly, though I'm not enamoured with that variety. It would be a good place to grow something else though.
