Vegetable Gardens

[mightiswrong]

Lots of diversity is important. I would aim for atleast 200 species. Off the top of my head wild rose would be good. You can make rose hip tea with them. You could put some apple, plum, apricot etc with the bushes in between. Berry bushes would be good. Raspberry is nice and prickly for any potential unwanted visitors and makes nice pies and jams. You don't really need more than a couple of each variety or just 1 in if your neighbours have one to keep yours company. Elderberry makes good wine and the flowers make very nice cordial much better when homemade. You can also make wine from the yellow winter flowers of gorse or silver birch sap. Lots more obviously that you can add as you go along. I can't remember what it is but there is a tree that has berries birds love to eat in the winter. I think it might be the crabapple:

[mightiswrong]

[anthony65]

I've just given this thread 5 stars and subscribed to it!

First time I've subscribed to a thread before!

Dig for Victory is my battle cry!

** Remember to give to the soil as well as taking...

Mulch, mulch!

Time to harvest some nettles I think, add to water and pour over veggie patches...

Supposed to help innit?

[lostandconfused]

I just listed my seedlings and I think I am growing everything !!!
As its my first time gardening and growing my own I thought I would try everything and see what happens.
Some are in the greenhouse

Carrots, asparagus, cabbage x 3 types, sweet pepper, hot pepper, beetroot, swede, brussels x 2 types, broccolli x 3 types, leeks, squash, celery, celeriac, salsify, corn, parsnips, turnips, red onions, white onions, shallots,
spuds x 3 types, spinach, courgette, cucumber, watermelon, pumpkin, spring onion, cabrese, lettuce, colliflower, toms x 3 types, chillis, gerkins, abergine, chard,artichoke, peas, beans, red and white raddish, orange, lemon, lime, guava, ginger, rhubarb, gooseberries, tayberries, apples, cherry, raspberries and strawberries
For the wildlife
Snapdragons, foxgloves, cosmos, lillys, roses, 4 lots of wild flower mix, poppies.
Only the peas, beans, onions and spuds are out at the moment I am waiting till there is no risk of a frost to put out the rest.

[lostandconfused]

I forgot marrigolds for the slugs to eat and Lavender for the bees

[tracker]

I have just rented a new alottment . Ok it needs a lot of work on it as the person who had it didnt give it attention for 3 years

CHECK THIS SITE OUT !

it is great , it can help you plan an alottment .
it shows how many seeds etc
how far apart to plant
when to plant
harvest
and crop rotations through colour coordinations etc .
its brilliant .


http://www.growveg.com/Default.aspx?...FdhL5QodoBH1Fw


have fun , by the way , you can create boundries sheads , water butts , compost heaps bla bla bla bla .loads of fun too .

[hey_jude]

thanks guys ...very green at this lark as I've just started organizing and digging out all my plots ...you guys are really helping with all the advice & pics BRILLIANT thread!

subbed

[lostandconfused]

Great site Tracker. I have been thinking about where to put what so I am hoping this will help
30 day free trial here I come !!

[tomahawk]

Originally Posted by mightiswrong

Lots of diversity is important. I would aim for atleast 200 species. Off the top of my head wild rose would be good. You can make rose hip tea with them. You could put some apple, plum, apricot etc with the bushes in between. Berry bushes would be good. Raspberry is nice and prickly for any potential unwanted visitors and makes nice pies and jams. You don't really need more than a couple of each variety or just 1 in if your neighbours have one to keep yours company. Elderberry makes good wine and the flowers make very nice cordial much better when homemade. You can also make wine from the yellow winter flowers of gorse or silver birch sap. Lots more obviously that you can add as you go along. I can't remember what it is but there is a tree that has berries birds love to eat in the winter. I think it might be the crabapple:

I had a walk along the hedgerows today with an Id pocketbook to see what I could identify, lots of Ash, Whitethorn, Blackthorn, Alder, Elder, Sycamore, Beech, Hazel, and a few Mountain Ash, Crab apple, Holly, Oak, Plum, and Hornbeam trees (I am sure that there is a lot more that I haven't spotted yet). The hedgerows where I am are at least a couple of hundred years old. I will definitely get fruit bushes and other trees to plant...I got a couple of young Ginkgo trees today, that's a start.

[bones]

Originally Posted by danelaw_lass

hi everyone - first post

I'd love to have raised beds but the cost of the wood is prohibitive - did you have wood already knocking about..?

no i went to the gardenstore and bought some 3"x2" 2.4 mtr lenghts traeted timbers.

raised em 3 deep cost me 96 quid.

now my cherrys and apples are starting to bloom in blossem i have noticed bees and birds entering my garden,

what a feeling !!!! sounds sad i known but we dont get wildlife here as my garden is all block paving and we have 2 dogs and 3 cats.....

feels great!!

[hey_jude]

Originally Posted by bones

now my cherrys and apples are starting to bloom in blossem i have noticed bees and birds entering my garden,
what a feeling !!!! sounds sad i known but we dont get wildlife here as my garden is all block paving and we have 2 dogs and 3 cats..... feels great!!

no way is that sad ...my garden was a nature reserve (I mean mess) before I started to plan the veg plot and I've had a nest of Starlings and another nest ? in my hedges' since Winter. 3 cats and a dog and all the squirrels you'd want, woodpidgeons and many visiting birds and butterflies.

I was digging today and then sat in the sun for a while and just watched them all ...and the woodpigeons look very tasty

[griswald]

Dont forget to grow your own tobacco as well

griswald

[rebel 66]

Originally Posted by anthony65

I've just given this thread 5 stars and subscribed to it!

First time I've subscribed to a thread before!

Dig for Victory is my battle cry!

** Remember to give to the soil as well as taking...

Mulch, mulch!

Time to harvest some nettles I think, add to water and pour over veggie patches...

Supposed to help innit?

Add water and leave to soak for several days, I use a dustbin with a lid because it has a bad smell, worse than rotten eggs. When it is fed to veggies smell goes overnight. Excellent free, fertilizer though, but make sure nettles are not picked from near busy road.

[cheeney1]

this thread is so good it should be made part of this forum

[beldazar]

Well mine is ready for seeding. I made a massive cock-up though, I havent brought any plants on, I was hoping you just threw on seed and away you go! Ah well, you live and learn....




I need to find out if I can put a couple of bantams in the aviary

[griswald]

Originally Posted by beldazar

......................., I was hoping you just threw on seed and away you go!....................

Well yes for lettuce, spinach, radishes, spring onions, chinese cabbage. A simple made polythene cloche over them will do wonders. Check out the planting dates on the packets, and the preferred soil preparation.

Oh...and keep the bantams away from the veggies

Practice will make you perfect at this....

griswald

Way to go, why pay a fortune for GM crap or sprayed and irradiated fruitnveg.

[beldazar]

U have a few pots for potatoes and tomatoes. My mum has given me seed potatoes and she has said to get some seeding trays for the tomatoes.

I noticed they sell organic compost at a garden centre nearby, now Im confused, what is in normal compost that isnt organic???

Should I go for organic compost for the pots?

The garden has organic chicken poo worked into it. I plan to visit the local stables for well-rotted horse manure. Hopefully thats organic

Thanks for the advice Griswald, I will keep those choocks in line, if I get some

[tien an]

Originally Posted by ownoiz

I second that

Oh and fuck one of Monsantos buddies...

Fuck Woolworths
.
__________________
"Mall people they come and go, small people they just dont know" - Anna Faris

Woolworths are fucked already mate...here in the UK anyway.

tien an.

We have a veg garden too.
Not only has raising everything from seeds been a bit exciting, our 4yr-old daughter loves the whole idea and is receiving an education into the bargain.
Her Nursery teacher expressed surprise that she was the only one in the class that could name all the vegetables they had in class one day.

So far, we've only been able to sample a couple of things; mint and garlic, which we planted in Autumn last year...just waiting for the rest of it to mature over the next few months...

Happy Eating folks!

tien an.

[tien an]

Originally Posted by rebel 66

Add water and leave to soak for several days, I use a dustbin with a lid because it has a bad smell, worse than rotten eggs. When it is fed to veggies smell goes overnight. Excellent free, fertilizer though, but make sure nettles are not picked from near busy road.

Wow; thanks for that tip...I'll have to try it.
What makes nettles such good fertilizer? High nitrogen content?


tien an.