The gardening thread

[gentlegreen]

In the front garden I planted some hopeful nicotiana alata - this time with support stakes already in place - and some very hopeful self-sown Marvel of Peru in bare spots - though the one that sprouted from last year's tuber should at least survive.
I've been spreading the verbena and nasturtiums around and I will decide later if I plant out one or more of the red amaranths or a ricinus that I have in pots in the back garden...

The pink brugmansia I planted was not doing very well - being chewed up by caterpillars ...so I replaced it with last year's that I dug up and overwintered indoors and which has come good - I can live without a brug in the back garden...

Hopefully I can give the original one some loving attention in a container and surprise my sister with it as she was slightly miffed that I gave its twin to my ex. (her best friend).

So with a bit of luck in a bit the front garden will soon flesh out.

If only it would bloody rain ...

 

[quimcunx]

Hi, I'm suddenly into gardening now. Been having gardening fever dreams. I need some advice.

We have a very large border right in front of the building. The 'soil' is compacted, made up of a lot of broken glass, bricks etc. I've planted a few bits and pieces to join the sparse random assortment of roses and boring shrubs that were there already but really could do with improving the soil, I suspect. There are not many weeds, and most are small.

What do I need to do?

spread with compost?
spread with topsoil?
spread with compost and mulch?
spread with compost and topsoil?
spread with topsoil and mulch?
spread with compost and topsoil and mulch?
spread with topsoil, compost and mulch?

As above but fork over the ground first?
As above but also buy some worms?

Something else?

 

[Elpenor]

Hi, I'm suddenly into gardening now. Been having gardening fever dreams. I need some advice.

We have a very large border right in front of the building. The 'soil' is compacted, made up of a lot of broken glass, bricks etc. I've planted a few bits and pieces to join the sparse random assortment of roses and boring shrubs that were there already but really could do with improving the soil, I suspect. There are not many weeds, and most are small.

What do I need to do?

spread with compost?
spread with topsoil?
spread with compost and mulch?
spread with compost and topsoil?
spread with topsoil and mulch?
spread with compost and topsoil and mulch?
spread with topsoil, compost and mulch?

As above but fork over the ground first?
As above but also buy some worms?

Something else?

I have the same task to do but I thought to leave it till September when the weather is a bit cooler and give it the winter to improve

I’m keen to see the responses you get just in case there’s something I’ve not thought of

 

[quimcunx]

I have the same task to do but I thought to leave it till September when the weather is a bit cooler and give it the winter to improve

I've got 30 more plants being dispatched in 4-6 days.



E2A: I'm not patient. My gardening technique is fever dreams, think about what needs to be done before planting, put £200 of most desirable plants in a basket, realise that's too much. Buy other more random plants that are in meat space, or on special offer, spending £200 in dribs and drabs. Plant the plants. Look up how to plant and look after the plants. Note that I've done it all wrong. Have another think about what needs doing before planting.

 

[cesare]

I'm not a proper gardener but my approach would be to remove all the stones, bricks etc. Then fork it and repeat. Try and break up compacted topsoil. Add compost and extra topsoil. Plant the plants. Spread mulch over the top of the soil and in between the plants. I'll just wait for a proper gardener to come along with some better advice.

 

[iona]

quimcunx I'd probably pick out the glass and brick etc you can get to without digging and then go no-dig if you can do that without burying the plants already there that you want to keep, or at least give it a good mulch if there's too much stuff to work around with the full cardboard etc setup. Can you post a pic?

 

[sparkling]

quimcunx I'd probably pick out the glass and brick etc you can get to without digging and then go no-dig if you can do that without burying the plants already there that you want to keep, or at least give it a good mulch if there's too much stuff to work around with the full cardboard etc setup. Can you post a pic?

Agree with this. Our no dig seesm to be working on what was and is in most parts, a very mossy and root filled garden. We laid cardboard and compost earlier in the year and have gradually been filling with mostly annuals although some perennial plants. I'm just waiting for the flowers to emerge now.

 

[quimcunx]

quimcunx I'd probably pick out the glass and brick etc you can get to without digging and then go no-dig if you can do that without burying the plants already there that you want to keep, or at least give it a good mulch if there's too much stuff to work around with the full cardboard etc setup. Can you post a pic?

 

[Leafster]

I'd agree with iona and just pick out the worst of the glass and bricks. Although the soil looks a little compacted if you dig it over you risk allowing any weed seeds to come to the surface and germinate. Give it a good mulch of organic material which again will reduce the risk of weed seeds germinating and also help hold in any moisture.

Perhaps, when you're putting more plants in, dig around the planting hole a little bit to give the roots of the new plant a chance to take hold. Also, as it's summer, you'll probably need to keep some of the plants watered until they get established.

And, good luck with the new border.

 

[quimcunx]

You all seem to be mostly concerned with weed suppression. There are weeds but not many and fairly puny. Which is partly why I think the soil is a bit rubbish?

 

[iona]

You all seem to be mostly concerned with weed suppression. There are weeds but not many and fairly puny. Which is partly why I think the soil is a bit rubbish?

No dig isn't just about weed suppression. Adding good compost on top of what's already there will improve that over time too as worms etc do their work, just leave a bit of space or only a light layer of compost right around the edges of plants to avoid rotting them. If it's horrifically compacted I'd just stab it all over with a fork first but not actually turn the soil over.

 

[iona]

Don't bother with cardboard if it's not that weedy, maybe just hoe the little weed seedlings off first and let them die rather than supercharging them with added compost

 

[gentlegreen]

Not much rain, but the back garden is starting to fill up with greenery .. I may even get to start picking courgettes fairly soon - and hopefully the beans will survive the efforts of the wretched foxes and molluscs ... I even have rogue runner beans, peas and tomato plants from last year and some self-sown squashes from my compost pile - some of which I will allow to fruit though who knows whether cross-fertilisation will make them inedible...

That upper area will hopefully fill up with my random salad experiment (land cress, lamb's lettuce, purslane)

Last year's tagetes hedge half way up is this year a verbena and amaranth hedge - self-sown seedlings from the front garden ... I'm amazed I have so far not spotted a single self-sown tagetes !
Plenty of nasturtiums though

The woodpile has nearly gone and the other garden materials are now stripped to the bare minimum - big planter compost used to improve the beans and tomatoes...
Most of my planters are indoors waiting for disposal - the buckets with holes are sadly heading for landfill - but they were a cheap and robust option at the time... (it's difficult enough to get rid of conventional pots)
The 30 year old greenhouse went for scrap and I'm hoping I may at least get a few quid for the glass...

 

[two sheds]

Are the buckets metal? If so I use them as flower pots.

Impressed with the veg but did you say you'll be selling up soonish? If so I'd try to establish loads of flowering plants. (Ignore me if that's not right).

 

[gentlegreen]

.

 

[gentlegreen]

Are the buckets metal? If so I use them as flower pots.

Impressed with the veg but did you say you'll be selling up soonish? If so I'd try to establish loads of flowering plants. (Ignore me if that's not right).

No just standard plastic.
Realistically the process of getting out of here is going to last into next year ..
Whoever buys the place will take it back to vanilla - so patio, lawn, maybe shrubs ...
Given the shocking state of the house, all I needed to do was get the crud cleared out to leave as blank a canvas as possible...
The garden needs serious levelling because of the greenhouse that once stood on the right...

 

[newme]

Dog 'helping
Stuff finally growing, way too impatient
Transplanted grass to cover where tent was last 2 years
New source of compost/bed material

 

[gentlegreen]

A decent sprinkle at last in Bristol and my land cress patch at the end of the garden is coming up like.... cress
Though it's more likely to be the purslane - since that's more likely to have germinated in the dusty conditions...
I came across a bag of alfalfa seed so I nipped out to get in me smalls and over-sowed it pretty well everywhere to get the bare soil doing something useful.
Hopefully the rain will help bury the seeds...

Maybe I will rake over and do something similar with the large compacted bare patch near the house that is now clear - it's far too lumpy for a lawn I have no enthusiasm for any kind of mowing - or even a quick-growing "meadow" ...

 

[TopCat]

I am spending a fair bit of time tying my tomatoes and cucumbers to tripod bamboos. I don’t have a lot of space so am trying to go vertical. They seem to love it.

 

[Leafster]

I am spending a fair bit of time tying my tomatoes and cucumbers to tripod bamboos. I don’t have a lot of space so am trying to go vertical. They seem to love it. View attachment 382353View attachment 382354View attachment 382355View attachment 382356

I have one of those expanding trellis things that I've secured to the back (inside) of my mini-greenhouse and have grown cucumbers up it for two or three years. They seem to grow well that way and there's less chance of slugs and snails getting to them. It's also easier to see them for me to harvest.

 

[Leafster]

I think I mentioned on here that I did away with the lavender hedge in the gravel garden as, surprisingly, it got too wet in the winter and the lavender rotted. I said I'd try something different so I planted some of the surplus irises and stipa from elsewhere and supplemented it VB lollipop which I managed to get at a discount from the garden centre. I then sowed poppies and annual cornflowers.

It hasn't quite filled out the way I'd hoped especially with the cornflowers but it was done late so perhaps it'll be better next year. I have some more poppy and cornflower seed which I'll sow next year to help fill it out.



I don't have the same problem with the established level above this one. It always fills itself nicely with the existing plants at this time of year. The only problem is getting into weed it which usually requires a ladder.






Cutting the yew hedge at the back is going to be problematic again this year.

ETA: Just seen that slug working its way up the wall. I wonder how far it's got now?

 

[TopCat]

Sowing spinach and a lot of salad leaves. Reaped the onions.
Fried a load of pea pods in a dry pan, tossed in salt and olive oil. Like endame beens.

 

[TopCat]

I have one of those expanding trellis things that I've secured to the back (inside) of my mini-greenhouse and have grown cucumbers up it for two or three years. They seem to grow well that way and there's less chance of slugs and snails getting to them. It's also easier to see them for me to harvest.

Keeping them off the ground seems to be a good thing. Fabulous watching them grow on in July. So quick. The tendrils! tendril

 

[gentlegreen]

I initially weeded-out the self-sown Gardener's Delight tomatoes for fear of disease carry-over - which was a silly notion when I think of it, but I already potted up one in case someone wants it ... and this one has out-grown the deliberately planted one near it so I'm keeping it ...
There are several more from the courgette patch that I've potted-up.
And as per last year the side shoots grow immensely quickly so I have a load in a jar-full of water - I can't help myself ...

I also replanted some self-sown runner beans ...

.

 

[Leafster]

I used some homemade compost to top up a container which had cannas in. The cannas didn't survive the winter but I've got a lovely sturdy clump of self-sown tomatoes in it. They're definitely less spindly than my carefully sown and nurtured packet seeds. I suspect they're seeds from a Gardener's Delight plant but could equally be something else as I've grown several varieties in recent years.

 

[gentlegreen]

I should have looked after the agapanthus better

Never mind the foliage is pretty enough ...

 

[Elpenor]

The power of rain

June 29th with little rain in the 6 weeks since grass seed sown


July 11th after a week or so of rain most days


Must pick up the stones!

 

[newme]

Stuff is actually growing, lines and everything, mostly various lettuces and then spring onions at the top

Tomatoes are starting to actually look like tomatoes.

Apples are everywhere and have started dropping. Got a collection sheet for the compost. Now need to fix that composter as it has no door.

Got two more beds to fill and thinking about getting a bulk delivery. Scooped loads out the dried out and surprisingly full pond but that should be compost really I think. Been using all the cuttings for building a flood prevention wall 40 ft long after we had a few floods from the fields before. Is topsoil OK in its own or do I need compost as well or what. Got maybe 50l left which may cover in a few inches which worked for one bed, plus maybe 3/4 a dumpy bag of year long left sycamore mulch.

 

[iona]

Don't put topsoil on veg beds, use compost. Mix in a bit of decent homemade stuff if at all possible, if you're buying the cheap municipal waste stuff.

 

[newme]

Don't put topsoil on veg beds, use compost. Mix in a bit of decent homemade stuff if at all possible, if you're buying the cheap municipal waste stuff.

There's cheap municipal waste stuff? I was looking at a 650kg bag of vegetable soil whatever the hell that means. Top soil just kept coming up as a suggestion. New beds are like a foot high, 3 foot wide and 6 feet long and I have 2 to fill. Where I'd make my own down the big banked section it's now predictably grown stuff on top lol.