[pookey]

I hope nobody minds me putting another post on....

I am planning a vegetable plot, I have been working hard for months on planning.  My plot seems to face East West sloping down towards the east.  The land is the lower half of a hill.  The soil is heavy clay with very little topsoil and the area has a heavy rain fall (Fermanagh - Northern Ireland), so I am building raised beds and I had 3 cubic metres of top soil delivered today.  A neighbours horse was been grazing on the field, so I'll have plenty of manure to scoop up and add to the topsoil.  I have also started a compost heap but I dont think that will be ready till the summer, so I'll have to buy some compost to add.

The field is about 2-3 acres and is situated at the side of the house, the sun circles round the opposite side of the house, and the land only seems to get partial sun - theres light but not full sun.  There are tall outbuildings at the back and opposite end of the house that cast shadows and block the sun at different points of the day

The beds are going to be 1 foot high, 2 metres long and 1 metre wide and I am building 4 of them.  I already have 2 beds slightly smaller that I built 2 years ago and never used

What will grow in these conditions and without having full sun?  And will the land get better sun as the months progress as I heard the sun rises higher in the summer.

I have also bought a small cheap greenhouse that I am going to put up next week with my father in law.

[shaun]

if its getting some sunlight now i'm sure it will be fine come summer

[muntjac]

dont apologise for posting anything  that is what the site is about , we all have something to offer newbie or not .im set in my ways in most gardening things  but newbies have given me a new idea or 3 on here.  the oldies offer stability the middlers offer cups of tea and the newbies offer sweat so post and enjoy

[WG.]

2 or 3 acres seems a lot to be overshadowed by buildings.  A picture or map would help ...

Have you got all the land?

[GrannieAnnie]

dont apologise for posting anything  that is what the site is about , we all have something to offer newbie or not .im set in my ways in most gardening things  but newbies have given me a new idea or 3 on here.  the oldies offer stability the middlers offer cups of tea and the newbies offer sweat so post and enjoy

Yeah, pookey munty's right, just look at how many posts he's done in the past year!!!!!!!

[muntjac]

heyyyyyyyy lol im just passing on usless info and getting usfull stuff inn return  

[pookey]

I have the land registry map and a hand drawn rough map.  
on the land registry map the house is the l shape on the lower half of the centre line and the large trapezium area is the field.

 

my land is marked by the red border.  the land around mine is used for grazing cattle (the house was a 52 acre dairy farm but we bought just the house and outbuildings with a few acres).



this map might make a bit more sense of the building layout.  The grass labelled 'Field' is the area in question.

[muntjac]

want a  lodger with a few chickens ducks dogs n turkeys n ferrets  tools galore n 3 grenhouses n a smart new trailor in h making from freecycle?

[muntjac]

check out i  your area for roadworks hwre they are removing topsoil and see about getting it dumped on your land . they usually pay for places to get rid of it    and i can smell the rabbits on tha land lolo

[WG.]

Is North at the top of both maps Pookey?

[pookey]

i'll swop ya for 2 kids, 2 cats and a dog!  - 1 cat is deaf, one is absolutely obese and the dog is a bit of a wierdo.  The kids arent to bad though!

[muntjac]

ah but do i get the land lolo

[pookey]

yes, im pretty sure north is at the top.  i have an orientering compass but it seems to be a little tempremental!

[pookey]

check out i  your area for roadworks hwre they are removing topsoil and see about getting it dumped on your land . they usually pay for places to get rid of it    and i can smell the rabbits on tha land lolo

Good idea, my 3 cu metres of topsoil cost me £70!!!  seemed very expensive to me, but I needed some for my beds, at least my manure will be free, and theres loads of farmers about so i will probably beable to get a constant supply.