Still digging...

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erikaz1

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Still digging...
« on: November 19, 2017, 17:42 »
A couple of weeks back marked 3 years since moving into my 'new' house. While work on the house has been slow going (we're now approaching a third Christmas with no kitchen), the garden is slowly taking shape. It was totally overgrown with 20+ meter ash, sycamore and conifer trees. It took 4 days to find the back corner and another 4 weeks of hard work to unearth the boundary 'fence' (actually a piece of wire that used to be supported by posts that are long since gone).

This weekend I've dug out a bucket full of spuds and I know there are another 3 or 4 rows that need rescuing before the winter arrives. This year has been a bit of a disaster; all the onions, radishes and beetroot were eaten by slugs. The tomatoes in the greenhouse did rather well and my first attempt at cucamelons was a success. All I have left now are the spuds and a jungle that again needs more taming.

I'm assuming I'll be needing to dig some new beds for next year's potatoes? And what would be good to plant in this year's patches?

Look forward to hearing any suggestions as to what I should be trying :)

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Christine

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Re: Still digging...
« Reply #1 on: November 19, 2017, 18:11 »
Yes you will need to dig new beds for the next crop of spuds. At least you can do it in another piece that needs taming. Isn't jungle war fare fun? No? Agree but it's good to see an inroad in the chaos.

When clear, add well rotted manure or compost and then decide what you like to eat.  You can then use the patch for roots such as turnips and beetroot, or onions which can be planted in the spring, or legumes such as peas or beans. Depends on what you like to eat really though.

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mumofstig

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Re: Still digging...
« Reply #2 on: November 19, 2017, 19:02 »
You can grow anything you fancy in the old potato bed - except more potatoes, or tomatoes, as they belong to the same family.

Good luck!

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erikaz1

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Re: Still digging...
« Reply #3 on: November 19, 2017, 19:49 »
Brilliant! I LOVE peas. Last year I grew some in the lovely tubs provided by the council (I think they were for recycling but worked well for peas before I had any real space in the ground). Sadly this years peas all got slugged before they even made it out of the greenhouse which was rather sad.

To be honest I'm dreading digging another bed. Every time I start I tend to find something else totally unexpected. I'm convinced there's a car under the raspberry patch. There's a gearbox that I've dragged out, the four tyres are now in the recycling centre and I've found various other bits including door handles and window winders.

The jungle seems to have become overrun with something mum's referred to as 'pheasant berry'. All I know is the flowers are rather pretty and it's popped up EVERYWHERE. I take it this is a bad thing? Forgive my nativity, it's all a massive learning curve and I fear I've bitten off more than I can chew with this project!

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Christine

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Re: Still digging...
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2017, 08:46 »
No you haven't erikaz1 - if you can do house renovations you can do gardening given time and a bit of effort. It takes time more than anything.

There's a perfectly good allotment on my site where a full ford prefect car (only lacking the driver) was dug out. It took a few years to get it productive but it happened.

I've taken on a second allotment (January this year) where it took ten trips to the tip by the previous tenant in a 7.5 cwt van to clear derelict furniture and greenhouses on his first weekend so that he could see what needed doing and he wasn't dealing with house renovations too. It's now a great plot that just needs work to bring the soil up to date (oh and to remove the remaining glass which is ongoing but getting less).

Keep the faith erikaz1

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Goosegirl

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Re: Still digging...
« Reply #5 on: November 20, 2017, 14:23 »
Hi! Pheasant Berry is an invasive shrub but should succumb to digging out and weed treatment. As for what to do now, your potatoes will have helped to break the soil up so dig that area over, remove any little ones you see then incorporate some well-rotted manure or mushroom compost (plus sharp sand if the soil needs it for drainage) then put a final layer of this compost on top to help suppress weeds. You still have time to plant garlic and certain varieties of shallots that will over-winter. Early on next year (depending on what veg you like) you could start off sowing spring onions and broad beans in your greenhouse, plus try growing sugar-snap peas as they have a better yield than ordinary peas. At least this way you will feel better seeing something growing whilst you are clearing the rest of the "forest" out!
I work very hard so don't expect me to think as well.

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martybenji

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Re: Still digging...
« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2017, 15:03 »
I always follow potatoes with broad beans, that might be a bit boring but they are easy to grow for someone who has just taken over an allotment and easy to maintain. Runner Beans need a bit more attention but you nearly always get a great crop and they look good as well particularly when in flower.

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arh

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Re: Still digging...
« Reply #7 on: November 21, 2017, 07:35 »
No advice, but, boy, do I envy you, (even at my age, I'd love to find one of those). Though I doubt that the wife would allow it again.
« Last Edit: November 21, 2017, 07:37 by arh »



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