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cedarblue
Mar 4th, 2007, 06:13 PM
here are the raised beds we made for this year

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k181/cedar_03/raisedbeds.jpg


we now have five of them filled up -unfortunately i've had to temporarily put some netting across them as the cats decided they looked like new really comfy litter trays:eek: bleugh!

we hope to put two or three more in on the other side of the garden.

bought some nasturtium seeds and sunflower seeds today - they look lovely planted in amongst the veggies.

veganbikerboy
Mar 4th, 2007, 06:17 PM
cedar, that is exactly what i have done in my garden, except my frames are alot less well constructed:o

I operate a organic no-dig system. This helps to maintain soil structure.:)

RedWellies
Mar 4th, 2007, 06:37 PM
Cedarblue, they look very professional:)

Ginger
Mar 5th, 2007, 02:18 PM
Wow Cedar, they look great! :) My hubby and daughter constucted 4 similar (but smaller) ones in our front garden a couple of years ago which have been quite productive. You soooo need the netting till things get established, but even then our neighbours cat is very determined :eek: . Not exactly what you want as fertilizer :rolleyes:

Ginger
Mar 8th, 2007, 02:15 PM
I was having a really horrible day (no particular reason, just miserable) then I decided to get off my backside and venture into the garden. Took a big mug of tea and a double chocolate orange muffin with me for moral support :D , and braved it into the greenhouse. So much mess, so little time...:(

Anyway, it wasn't long before I'd sorted out the chaos of manky pots and odds and ends that had accumulated. There were loads of HUGE spiders who probably weren't too happy to be disturbed but they scuttled off to find a cosy corner :) .

Now I'm all ready to start sowing seeds but that will have to wait till tomorrow.

I love the way getting out in the sun cheers me up. I feel so much better for that :) .

cedarblue
Mar 26th, 2007, 04:27 PM
what a lovely day today! perfect for gardening.

i'm disappointed that out of the 30 odd organic tomato seeds i planted only two have germinated, the rest didnt germinate at all.
neither did my chilli peppers nor the bell peppers....:(
that is not a good return for investing in organic seed - wonder if regular seed would germinate more successfully??

reseeded more of the above to see what happens this time.
bought some more seed trays and little pots and some flower seeds to grow, namely, sunflowers, californian poppy, zinnia, french marigold, sweet peas, salvia, nasturtium, dwarf hollyhocks.

tomorrow looks like being a nice day too so more flower sowing.

i also planted my chitted maris piper potatoes and started off chitting the pink fir apple pots. planted organic onion sets too.

i notice some radish shoots popping up inbetween the parsnip seeds - be nice in a salad soon.

cedarblue
Mar 29th, 2007, 06:18 PM
from post #251, this is the garden now, with parsnips, radish, onions and potatoes in;

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k181/cedar_03/garden3.jpg

emmapresley
Mar 29th, 2007, 06:26 PM
these look fabulous cedarblue..i'm full of admiration for all you gardeners out there...still i'm neglecting even going out in mine..it's such a waste..my cat and all her cat friends use it as their toilet :o and i just can't seem to build up motivation to make big changes..or any changes. it's a shame becos when i moved here (almost 7 years ago) i had such plans..and for a time my (minimal) gardening was okay..but i've let it slide and now it's juts a hideous mess :(

twinkle
Mar 29th, 2007, 06:32 PM
emmapresley - I'm exactly the same! I've let my gardening slide shockingly, and I don't really know what I'm doing with plants anyway. I really need someone to come and help me a few hours a week - anyone know anyone with green fingers in the Leicester area who could do with a few extra quid?

twinkle
Mar 29th, 2007, 06:33 PM
cedarblue - would you mind saying what brand seeds you got which didn't work? I'm going to try to get a few seeds in, though I realise it's getting on in the year.

Mr Flibble
Mar 29th, 2007, 09:55 PM
I found 13 sheets of plywood, 4 sheets of plasterboard and 45 metres of wooden planks in my garden this evening :rolleyes: (long story)

cedarblue
Mar 30th, 2007, 08:02 AM
'found'?? - were they hiding behind the grass?? :)

what are you going to do with them?

cedarblue
Apr 9th, 2007, 03:16 PM
such a lovely weekend for being in the garden.

planted seeds of nasturtiums and french marigolds. soaking seeds overnight to sow tomorrow courgette, beetroot and cucumber.
my dwarf hollyhocks are peeping through as are the sunflowers. yesterday planted corn and mini cobs.
a few parsnip shoots are showing through and the onion sets are sprouting too.
my mum bought me a lovely blue iris plant to go in tomorrow. i need to buy some wooden trellis panels to put up against the next door fence so it gives us a bit of privacy to be able to eat outside.

Ginger
Apr 12th, 2007, 08:35 AM
I haven't posted for over a week as I have been sooo busy on my new allottment :D :D . I was really excited as I've been on the waiting list for a year!
It's a total wreck but we are starting to feel like we are winning :confused:
Yesterday we got our potatoes, peas, onions and carrots in but there is loads more digging to do before we can plant anything else....
Wish me luck...

cedarblue
Apr 12th, 2007, 09:58 AM
can i give a suggestion? was your plot previously worked or was it rotivated over from rough ground not worked for a while?
if previously worked you should be ok, if it has been rotivated from rough, the rotivator turns over the top weed and plops it down under soil, so you can find lots of strong regrowth coming through even though it looks fine on top.
not trying to dampen your spirits, just our experience when we got our allotment years ago which had been left rough for a long, long time.

good luck with it ginger!! :)

emmapresley
Apr 15th, 2007, 10:06 PM
right..i've started doing more than just thinking about doing stuff..
i've cut back a whole load of overgrown stuff and um..swept up some path area. :rolleyes:

my composting bin i think i've stuffed up as well..i was putting plenty of appropriate stuff into it..occasionally weeing in it..water..layers of stuff..veg/fruit peelings...all that but my neighbours gave me endless bags of straw and bedding from her chinchillas ??? and i think their may have been kitty litter in there..the chalky absorbent kind. i'm stirring it up with a long stick but i don't think it's going to amount to much. what're you meant to do in these cases? leave it? tip it all out (and do what with it??) and start all over again?

like i said before, the cat has used the whole area as a loo so i daren't think about planting anything edible (ew). i'm thinking seriously about getting someone competent to come and blitz it so it's like a blank(ish) canvas. plus there's bindweed.. Yarrgh!

ginger..how's your allotment coming along? busy busy bee :D

twinkle
Apr 16th, 2007, 04:50 PM
Argh, don't talk to me about bindweed! I've spent a couple of hours today blitzing the garden and about half that time was trying to pull up bindweed. I'm sure I haven't got all of it by a long chalk, but it's a start.

Today I mostly cleared up, but I planted a few flower seeds from an "easy grow" multipack, including marigolds and sunflowers :)

Ginger
Apr 17th, 2007, 01:34 PM
Popped into the allotment after taking the kids to school this morning. Nobody else there which was strange and lovely at the same time. No tools with me (getting my brother's old shed next week so I'll have storage) so I pottered about with my watering cans for a bit, (actually watering stuff, not just prancing about with them :D )
The plot was used up till last year but it's hard to believe :( . The previous person had it rotovated so all the perenial weeds have been chopped up and spread around. The worst culprit is couch grass :( , roots like very long spaghetti which is hard to remove without snapping bits off. We spent last Saturday sieving (small) mountains of soil to remove the roots. Think I must be some sort of masochist as I'm still enjoying it :D
Can't wait to get my shed up so I won't have to drive everything there all the time. Still so much to do though.....

Ginger
Apr 17th, 2007, 01:41 PM
Emmapressley, don't get "compost panic" :D
First of all, is it a plastic or wooden bin and how big? The smaller it is the longer it usually takes to break down. A big heap gets hotter quicker.
Do you have lots of skinny red worms in it? Good if you do.
I used to put guinea pig bedding on mine but it got a bit yucky (don't think the bin was big enough to cope with it). Don't chuck it all out, it will turn out fine eventually (I almost promise:p ).

emmapresley
Apr 17th, 2007, 01:54 PM
hiya ginger! following your allotment progress with eager eyes :D

*compost panic* indeed!

well it's a green plastic bin..about wasit height..wider at the base..it's actually about half full now..been putting stuff in haphazardly for about 10 months. i actually bought a composting book from a charity shop this morning..which i will be reading..no, really.

i was more worried in that it's not the straw from the chinchillas..but i think she used like some sort of cat litter..how the hell is that gonna compost down?!

i need to water it more and definately poke it with a long stick more..i half peeked at the opening at the bottom and it doesn't look like much is happening :(

haven't seen any red worms..just woodlice and cobwebs..i mean..if i have to turn it all out to start again..it's gonna just be a horrible mess of alternate layers of decaying sludge and dry cat litter i bet ..

veganbikerboy
Apr 17th, 2007, 02:09 PM
emmapresly one of my compost bins is like that, really dry and doesnt seem to be breaking down at all, it had a load of hay on there from when i had rabbitts. I just put moist stuff on it now, mostly kitchen waste on there to try and get it moving:D I also found that collecting the slugs from your garden and putting them on the compost helps loads, as they 'process' everything and anything;). It also means they are not eating your plants:D


ginger is right the larger the heap the quicker it is processed, i put all my more hardy stuff on the main heap and just put kitchen waste etc. in the plastic bins

EDIT: another trick is have a garden party and get all the boys to pee on it:D

Ginger
Apr 18th, 2007, 12:42 PM
I think she's been doing that herself VBB :D Now there's an image to conjure up in your mind :eek:

Mr Flibble
Apr 18th, 2007, 12:44 PM
just make sure you cover over your pond first if you have one ;)

emmapresley
Apr 28th, 2007, 11:53 PM
aye..i have started weeing in there more..no, i don't hoik down me pants and balance precariously on the lid :eek: ..
oh nooo.. i have a 'special bucket' ;)

and yep..been mollusc collecting..my friends 3 year old was aghast i was 'putting the snails in the bin'...and been quite consistant about putting kitchen stuff in there, whereas before i was possibly quite slapdash..so it's all quite a thick layer of stuff now...am to consult my small book and apparently put on a layer of something appropriate next. it is heating up though..looks a bit mouldy in parts..3 billion woodlice having a right party on there...TY for the advice ppl :D

Marrers
Apr 29th, 2007, 12:32 AM
Lots of weeding last weekend.

Today I've finally cleared the summerhousey open bit on the front of our shed - only 2 years after the builders left - and put a bench and two chairs there. Now I just have to work out how to get rid of all the junk I took off it.

Also cut back some out of control plants and chopped up half the off-cuts with scissors. Hands are really aching now so doing the other half romorrow will be a challenge.

Found one of our fence panels had broken away on one corner which is disappointing.