[Pep]

Hi everyone,

We have a solid concrete slab (about 6ft x 6ft) which, when I have finished levelling the garden, will be covered by 3-4 inches of soil.

What can I realistically set in this soil?  I don't mind whether it's salad, herbs, veg or flowers as long as there's something covering the bald patch.  With the temperatures we get here during the summer I could do with something which thrives in dry soil.  We can't afford to have anything with an invasive root system as the concrete is the top to a septic tank and want the block work to stay intact. 

I did think of trying to buy my neighbour's old donkey cart, painting it up and having it as a feature with pots of flowers in it but think it may be frowned upon as a waste of a cart  .

Any suggestions will be apprecated.

Pauline

[Howard]

With only three or four inches of soil on top of concrete, I'm afraid you'll struggle to get a decent crop of most things and I suspect you will be better off container gardening.

Good luck!

[Pep]

Thank you Howard. 

I suspected as such to be honest but there are a lot more knowledgable people on this forum than I'll ever be  . 

It's such a tiny area of the garden but is pretty cental so I don't suppose a few pots would look too out of place.  It's just that they eye is drawn to it so easily so needs something.

Pauline

[Howard]

I'm sure with a bit of inspiration you could make a bit of a feature of it!

In decent size pots you could perhaps grow runner beans over a trellis, with dwarf french beans in front which would be quite a picture when they're in flower.

[bailey]

not sure but how about some type of water feature? with the area being gravelled and then pots?

[Pep]

Hello again Howard.  I can see what you mean and I did successfully grow beans in containers when we were in the UK.  The sun out here though, for three or four months, is absolutely relentless and I've been advised against even attempting to grow beans.  Now, my take on that is, if you never try because someone else has failed, then nobody would grow anything  .  I have runner beans in two areas of the garden, one gets sun in the morning only and one gets the sun late afternoon and evening.  I've also got three lots of sweet peas in different areas to see how they fair.  I've literally set thousands of seeds, veg, salad, flowers and herbs and I'm just seeing what grows best and where for this year.  We thought of having a grape vine over it but not sure about their root system.  Since we've been here we've certainly pulled some pretty large roots out and there was a grapevine there before.  Thank you for thinking and other suggestions will be appreciated  .

Hi Bailey.  Yes a water feature would look very nice but it would need topping up too regularly I think, and we have no electricity in that area for a pump.  We're having one water feature at the back of the house where we get the evening sun.  It's out of sight from the lane and will save us having to explain to the villagers that we're using the same water all the time and not wasting it  .

Like I said, it's a very small part of the garden (we have about 1,900 to 2,000 square meters altogether but it just needs something.

Pauline

[Oakfield]

How about turning it into a raised bed, maybe with sleepers.  Then you could it to a decent depth?

[Pep]

Hello Oakfield,

Thank you for your suggestion.  It's one I mentioned to hubby the other day actually but he says we should keep the top clear of deep soil in case the pit ever needs emptying - there's a lift up lid where a pipe can fit down.  We've used old railway sleepers to the front of a raised patio area from the lounge and it looks quite effective.

Oh dear, it does seem like I'm throwing out everyone's suggestions but it really is a tough one.  One thing for sure is that it's going to have to be defined one way or the other so the concrete doesn't get clipped by the rotovator.

I think I'm going to have to set quick spreading plants all round the edge and persuade them to grow towards the middle      .

Pauline 

[celjaci]

I've two suggestions - 1 dry and 1 wet

Add some drainage at the base and plant up like a green roof -sedums, sempervivums and the like. Most are very easy to propagate and once planted it wouldn't need much attention

Can you rig up a leaky pipe or seephose system? don't know if you could buy them there, perhaps you could make something. Could be fed from a water butt by gravity. This would enable you to have a salad leaves bed

[elibump]

I know nothing about gardening really but I do think I've seen a water feature that's solar powered???

What about a cart (with wheels) making a raised bed that can be moved away from the septic tank if necessary??

[Pep]

Hello Celljaci.  Many thanks for your suggestions.  I think sedum is a possibility with herbs set around the edge so they spread and cover.  I'll have to look them up to see which would be best.  We had a beautiful sedum in UK which had the most vivid bright yellow star shaped flowers.  It only grew about an inch high but have no idea what type it was.  I tried to find some in seed form before we came out here so I could set some on the wood store roof but never managed to find any.

Thanks to you also Elibump.  Hubby said he's seen a solar powered water pump in Burgas, which is about 100 kms away and we'll get one for the 'out of sight' water feature.  I must admit, I'd never thought of solar power.  As I mentioned earlier a neighbour has an old donkey cart and we were thinking about buying that also.  She no longer has a donkey so doesn't need it.  It depends on its condition.

Anyway, thank you to everyone who has made suggestions, they were all appreciated.

Pauline

 

[bailey]

sorry was thinking more of solar powered pump with your location in mind but did,nt think of the evaporation,,

I have come across a similar problem,, if the access is only for the discharge pipe as such, how about doing the sleeper thing so you have deep soil but also have a small frame/box that covers the access point ,, it can be a few inches below the final soil level so it cannot be seen and then if the tank needs emptying just scrape the top off and pull the top of the box off, hopefully the frame/box will be holding the rest of the soilback

[Pep]

Thank you for still thinking Bailey.  It's a good idea, would certainly give us more depth yet still have access to the lid  .

Pauline

[Greengirl]

How about making a scree garden - lots of grit for extra drainage - & plant up with alpine plants.