Okay, so I am scared, erm, Witless!

[MrsD'ville]

I'd love some critters but we'd need to get sorted out with fencing etc - atm our land just gives onto oilseed rape fields. We don't have any money to put into anything just now - really we've moved into this place rather unprepared.

Anyway, I'm enjoying getting to grips to it and am looking forward to clearing a corner of the veg patch. I might amuse myself now by planning my planting scheme, how's that for displacement activity

[QuakerBear]

That was good advice to start with a little patch by your house.

In the meantime, try to get hold of some old carpet, either from the dump (mmm, i love the dump) or leftovers from a carpet shop. Put in on the ground you want to clear eventually. It'll kill all the weeds and grass underneath so when you finally reach that area, all you have to do is dig.

I wonder if flattened cardboard boxes will do the same....

[possum]

I wonder if flattened cardboard boxes will do the same....

if you weight them down so they dont blow away.

[Thomzo]

Cardboard boxes do work but they break down a lot quicker than carpet so won't last as long. On the plus side you won't have to pull up half rotten carpet when you want to plant up.

Zoe

[Cassiepod]

You're not alone I'm in a very similar situation. I've planked a few grow bags on a makeshift table and planted some salad leaves which are immensely rewarding when mixed in with shop bought stuff for bulk

I've started digging out what will hopefully be my 'pretty' garden and given it a very temporary but currently rabbit proof fence (fixing the main fencing at the moment). In there I've plonked my wilting herbaceous pot plants until I have a proper garden plan along with some runner beans and courgettes and seeds, all planted ridiculously late according to the packets but we can live in hope (on this note I keep hearing the phrase 'square foot gardening' and took that to mean turn over a square foot of grass and plant something so my beds are growing about a square foot at a time )

And last night (feelign very poroud of meself) having sat and read and organic allotment book after tea, I was inspired to rake thorugh our paper recycling bin and pull out the whole newspapers, soak them in water and lay them on another patch of ground that will become a veg patch. The bookd suggests another layer of cardboard boxes over the top an possibly some plastic all held down with stones. It is not pretty OH is not impressed with the lookof it but I'm an optimist

I'm a bit down hearted at how little I'm producing and how much I have to buy but I'm trying to get a bit more organised and write down the veg that I'm using regularly so that I can plant them next season. (chilis onions and tomatoes seem to be top at the mo and the chillis and tomateoes aren't goign to do very well outside in North East Scotland)

Also any suggestions of what to plant late qutumn/early winter when the veg bed under the mulch will be ready would be greatly appreciated.

It sounds a lot when you write it all down but the garden seem so huge it's only a tiny portion of it

Growbags with sald perk you up though

[Thomzo]

Keep your spirits up, Cassiepod. It might all seem a bit hopeless now but it will look lovely in a year or so and you will be so proud of what you've achieved.

Good to have a plan though and I do like the idea of your borders growing in size as well as the plants.

Zoe

[MrsD'ville]

Thanks for all the moral support and advice

We've been hard at work. Mr D has strimmed for all he's worth and we've got so much more usable land than we realised - we even found a large flat patch for planting the trampoline! Unfortunately it's on some old bits of sharp broken stone (from the house construction a few years ago - the landscaping was rudimentary, to put it politely!) so we need to sort that before setting the children free to bounce.

We've hacked back the massive weed/veg patch and covered in in tarps, but we're not convinced they're doing a great job. That can largely mind its own business til February, when I'll be disturbing it to plant all manner of what have you - what a lovely task it will be to plan that over the cosy winter

At the moment the totally sorted out polytunnel is housing tomatoes and courgettes that have nearly come to the end of their days, a collection of herbs that are fine to be left, some potatoes that aren't doing a thing (I feel swizzed!), garlic and onions that I don't expect to do anything til the spring, and that I think I planted too deep, and radishes and spinach that I hoped would do something in the not too distant future. When the toms and courgettes come out I'll plant a second batch of onions and garlic (shallower this time) to stagger the crop.

I've weeded and generally sorted out the two raised fruit beds. I'm not entirely sure about the rasps as we have no idea what variety they are (they were here when we came) so not sure if they're summer or autumn fruiting varieties, esp as this is their first year so they haven't done much anyway. They've sent out spurs as they should, but will have to go carefully with them. We have a large free area at one end of the lower bed (they're terraced down the hill - two beds first, then veg patch and polytunnel at the foot of the hill, so we'll plant horizontally across the run-off) so the winter peas will go there - Meteor and Feltham First. I've also ordered a carrot that can go in now so I'll have to sort out a corner of the veg patch for that. I had intended to plant the peas in the polytunnel but have since learnt that peas and alliums do not sit well side by side.

I'm feeling less daunted and very excited by it all. It seems I am a veg gardener at heart Btw this photo was taken before I tackled the weedy end of the lower raised bed (just visible middle left - you can't see the first raised bed as it's in the lea of the wall round the grass) and before I'd really got to grips with the polytunnel. It's all shipshape in there now :)

[Thomzo]

Wow, sounds like you've done masses. Well done and good luck with the veg.

Zoe

[Millymollymandy]

Well done and thanks for posting a photo. I love hearing about (and seeing) people's progression with their gardens or allotments!