The shingle & membrane are possibly there to protect the bottom of your wall from damp. I'd not interfere with it or plant in that zone unless you're happy there's not a potential damp risk in that area. Specifically I'd see if I could see where the damp-proof course is. Does it step up with the slope? If there's anywhere that it's less than 2 or 3 bricks above the ground level, I'd be cautious.
Could you get one of those small compost bins where you regularly turn it? I'm wondering what to do with old soil myself tbh, I was thinking take it to the park and put it on top of soil there but I'm not sure.
I'm not sure about the waterlogged soil in the bucket. I would have thought that any aerobic processes which would normally keep the 'soil' healthy have stopped with all the water. Whether the contents in the bucket is useless now, is another matter. Water meadows flourish with new growth when they're not flooded so perhaps using the soil wouldn't be too problematic. I would suggest you might want to add in some fresh stuff to it. Hopefully, someone who knows more about soil biology will be along with a more scientific answer.
Yeah I've considered that sort of thing but never really looked into it properly. Even at that size it's quite a lot of land-take in what I have available, space that could otherwise be filled with greenery. Maybe I should reconsider though.
You could somewhat disguise it with container climbers either side and some trellis/metal arch/obelisk?
Pea sticks?Have been potting on a few seedlings. The sweet peas are doing really well - up to about a foot high. This is the height where I don't know how to stake them. They're too small for bamboo stakes but are flopping everywhere so need something.
Not much at all really, it's a bucketful or two that might exist an any one time and maybe two or three times a year I have a session of planting/digging stuff up where there might be a turnover of that kind of quantity.
Thats not actually my wall, it’s the neighbours wall, my house is offset from next door and the footprint of my house is the other side of the planter in the picture. But take your point, my mate who is RICS qualified suggested low level ground cover rather than anything which will form deep roots
Yes that sounds good - no not in final positions for a while yet. I've put them out early before and the mice haddem
I'd just dump it on a public flowerbed somewhere and buy a small bag of potting mix occasionally in that case tbh, if you're that limited for space.
Because re-using it might cause problems? Or do you mean just to get it out of the way.
Because storing it when space is that limited, and putting any thought into what's fine to reuse and what might contain weed roots or seeds / pests / fungal spores / other potentially bad shit, seems like a massive ballache compared to just replacing such small amounts.
I am trying to get rid of a trampoline, net support snapped and its not being used, huge pain in the arse. Wondering if I can repurpose lol.
the gravel was a nightmare. I stupidly didn't realise that 'delivery' meant dumping a ton of gravel in the road and leaving me to it. took 3 and a bit hours of back and forth with a wheelie bin to move it all.
When I've had bulk deliveries of gravel it's come in those tonne bags and fortunately I have a strip of land at the roadside for them to be dropped from the delivery lorry.
I have a similar approach to this sort of project
Wondering whether to keep hand picking them or turf all the compost out and start again 
Hunt and kill - search out the hibernaculums in daylight and do anight patrol with a torch - within a week, you will have dealt with themollusc acopalypse...says this furious gatrdener who has lost all the salvia,ranunculous,habranthus, iberisand delphinium seedlings because I was too slow off the mark.There is loads to do and I have a bad back
Also the snails have discovered my grow table and it's now a snail nursery
