Sorry.................

[decoy]

Aug 13, 2015 13:40:14 GMT TillyFTW said:

I would be careful mate getting a grow on in ya own back garden. I do mine in the loft, gotta watch out for the 5-0

dont think he is growing that type of tomato plant 

[lobeydosser]

If I add an electric fence to each of my raised beds, do I elevate them to E-Beds?

E-Beds

[lobeydosser]

Aug 12, 2015 23:37:45 GMT chykensa said:

lobeydosser - I have just bought this book for my wife, and she has read it twice in two weeks! It talks specifically about raised beds and double-cropping, one in spring and one in early summer, to get the most productivity from each bed. It also details the best varieties of each veg and includes detailed instructions about sowing, planting out and harvesting. Well worth the money!
All You Can Eat in 3 Square Feet

Yon book arrived today. A quick read through it and if I can grow all I can eat in 3 square feet, with 200 square feet I will be like Jesus with his loaves and fishes and be able to feed the whole dammed village!!!

Excellent book that will give me hours of reading and I can see it being my bible for many years to come.

Many thanks for putting me onto it.

[chykensa]

Aug 14, 2015 20:18:01 GMT lobeydosser said:

Excellent book that will give me hours of reading and I can see it being my bible for many years to come.

I feel the same myself lobeydosser, it's a great read, and is inspiring me even now to start planning for next Spring!

[lobeydosser]

Well the beds are finished at last and now I just have to line them with yon blue tarpaulin and I will be ready to order my 16 ton of topsoil.

[lobeydosser]

I don't think I have ever worked so hard on any one project before and I am very aware of the fact that at 68 years of age, I should have started this idea 10 or better still 20 years ago.
Then again, 10 or 20 years ago, food and where it came from didn't come into my way of thinking.

The raised beds and the compost that will feed them are only a part of the overall scheme of things, so although these are nearly finished, I still have ditches to dig for the armoured cable that will take electricity to the greenhouse and then paving and bark paths that will tie the whole garden together and make it all "look pretty".
Not forgetting SWMBO's flower trough with trellis to hide those nasty compost bins!

Oh well, I suppose I have to be able to show something for not taking any holidays this year.

[lobeydosser]

Awaiting the soil delivery, but the beds and paths are almost finished now.



It will be nice to walk about the garden without getting my feet covered in mud.

[Pepperty]

Your thread is superb as you have set in place plans I have for when I eventually move into M-I-L property (when she's no longer with us or needs us on hand - either/or) and I know it could be decades time but I don't want her lawn and lousy flowerbeds so I really fancy raised beds and an allotment <in my retirement years>

Seeing what you have achieved is everything I want! if I can summon the energy and I'm really impressed! At present I have a yard, and the weeds trip me up between the paving slabs when I'm pinning out washing.... maybe I am expecting too much?!

[gill2009]

I am in awe lobeydosser 

[lobeydosser]

No, you are not expecting too much. I had big plans too, but then when I got down to measuring up what was possible and then priced out what I could afford, then reality took over and the real plans were put together.

Much as I would like a garden the size of an allotment, I really couldn't manage something that big. My raised beds will give me 200 square feet of veggies and some tubs around the rest of the garden will give me some soft fruits like Tayberries, Strawberries and Rhubarb.

My bad back and mechanical knees mean that raised ground levels are manageable and anything else is out of the question.

Ofcourse the real reason for all this "garden work" is that it keeps me clear of "housework"!!!!

[chykensa]

lobeydosser - I doff my cap to you sir, that is looking mightily splendid! Once everything dies back after the summer, me and the OH are going to convert a small area of lawn outside the greenhouse to raised beds.
We have our vegetable patch (which we refer to as the 'tramway' because it is actually the track bed of the old Redruth and Chasewater (sic) Railway which ran along the bottom of our house until 1917 - despite our bungalow not being built until 1958!) and that will do us for runner beans, peas, onions etc., and with the raised beds for salad crops and some plastic trugs for new potatoes on our decking, we will be well placed come next Spring!
I can see us comparing notes on varieties, planting times, seasonal variations between Scotland and Cornwall, and all sorts of other stuff. Can't wait

[lobeydosser]

chykensa _ we are about 3 weeks to a month behind Cornwall, but our winters are still fairly mild. The Gulf Stream and all that. So once we get going next year, I do hope to have some winter veggies, perhaps in miniature poly-tunnels built over the raised beds.

The first year will simply be the veg we use anyway, although in subsequent years we may branch out a little and grow some that we cannot buy easily in the shops.

Our greenhouse is only 8 by 6 so that will be purely for propagating in the first year, but again, we may try melons, cucumbers and tomatoes in the future.
Might even try some Vegetarian Haggis in the greenhouse. I'm told it can be grown in "captivity"!

[thatguy]

I'm loving the thread and the OP's dedication to growing his own produce. Would love to go for the whole "the good life" vibe, but don't have the space, and we have two kiddies....they kill the whole vibe. Anyways, since we don't have a garden here, I was thinking of making some planters for our small outdoors drying space and growing tatties, carrots and perhaps lettuce. Only real problem is what varieties of these could be grown in planters with a decent yield? We can use about 24x1.25 foot of space without inconveniencing others. The planters themselves can be made about 18-24 inches deep. With the limited undersoil space I'm thinking of moving from potatoes to peas and other above ground produce, but would love the fresh hand picked potatoes.

[lobeydosser]

thatguy - The book that chykensa mentioned is what you want to grow veg in your type of space.
Called "All You Can Eat in 3 Square Feet" it tells you all about varieties, how to grow that and how to harvest them.

All You Can Eat in 3 square feet

[lobeydosser]

Like thatguy says, I guess I am searching for The Good Life vibe.

Our village store is only 100 yards from our house and I can buy most veg there either "fresh" (???) or frozen, but how fresh is their fresh and how old is their frozen?

Frozen veg has its appeal because there is usually no wastage so I am not paying for bits to bin.

However, in the future, with a proper compost heap, all "the bits" that I would normally bin, will go back into the soil in the form of enriching compost.
Not just recycling, but an essential part of the whole process.

Ofcourse the whole "Good Life" theme is dammed hard work with long hours for little return and I do like my laid back retirement, hence my gardening has to be as easy and as laid back as I can possibly make it.
Unfortunately I am a bit out of touch with modern varieties and recent advances in propagation so, like I was 3 years ago when I took up Vaping, I am back on a steep learning curve devouring knowledge on gardening and small allotment management.
Oh well, I don't get a sore back and muddy feet, reading!!!!!