[ThreeSeasons]

Hello
I'm hoping to start growing some of my own veg this year but am a complete newcomer to gardening of any sort. I live on the Isle of Lewis and I expect that my main problems will be with the weather- driving wind, incessant rain, frequent hail showers too.
My garden is low lying and becomes waterlogged very easily. There is a drain system in place which I will try to rod to see if this improves things at all. I've identified the corner of my garden where I would like to start: it is the highest part of the garden, and is on the south-east corner where it will get the most sun, but there is no shelter from the prevailing weather. The soil seems to be quite good here, a little stony but quite dark and, well, it just seems 'nice'!

Anyway I know I should be planting fairly soon so want to make a start. I've got an old bath and an old water tank which I intend to use as containers to get me up above the wet soil- is this a good idea? I could aslo try building raised beds if they're worth the effort/cost.

I'm willing to try planting anything that has a chance of surviving, but primarily would like some peas, beans, salad varieties, and herbs; I'd also like to try potatoes and carrots.

So do you think I have any hope of making this work? What should I do to provide shelter for my little veggies? As I said I am a bit of a novice, but keen to give this a go. The only step I've taken so far is a compost heap which was started about six months ago with mostly lawn clippings and kitchen scraps, but I don't think it's ready to use yet. I'm also thinking of using seaweed on my compost because I can get barrowloads of it off the shore here, apparently this is what they did in the old days.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Rob

[compostqueen]

It will be a challenge but there will be some stuff you can grow. Spuds and kale should definitely be goers, as will brassicas in general I think as they are hardy. Leeks too, broad beans, shallots

I've seen a website somewhere which sets out how to make lazy beds which are Scottish in origin I believe, to cope with the difficult conditions there, which would be a good place to start. Google will turn up some great info I'm sure, as well as fellow growers on here who probably are north of the border as well

[ThreeSeasons]

It will be a challenge but there will be some stuff you can grow. Spuds and kale should definitely be goers, as will brassicas in general I think as they are hardy. Leeks too, broad beans, shallots

I've seen a website somewhere which sets out how to make lazy beds which are Scottish in origin I believe, to cope with the difficult conditions there, which would be a good place to start. Google will turn up some great info I'm sure, as well as fellow growers on here who probably are north of the border as well

Thanks very much, I like the suggestions. Lazy beds AFAIK are a way of coping with shallow soil. In fact the soil in my garden isn't particularly shallow, it's just that the water table is very high and I'll need to keep well above it. There's only one small patch of ground which is reliably above the level of the water.
I've done a bit of googling but most of the info seems to be focused on people further south.
So far I'm thinking about planting tatties and carrots into the ground, possibly in a small raised bed or lazy-bed, and peas and beans into proper raised beds, and then using the old bath to grow my salads and the water tank for the herbs.

[noshed]

Sounds good - the seaweed should be great too. I think you can just compost it or use it as a mulch.
Put up some pics when you can.

[compostqueen]

I dare say you get very strong, salt laden winds so you could always try and protect your most delicate charges in some way, eg wind breaks or providing some cover.

I just thought,  a good "greens" for coping with bad weather is kale Pentland Brig

[ThreeSeasons]

Here's a 'before' pic. The pic was taken facing East, so as you cna see the house is on the North side of the plot. The area I'm going to use for the garden will be fenced off, forming a 10m x 10m plot, which seems plenty enough for me to get my teeth into at this stage! The whirlygig is currently bang in the middle and I'll probably just work around it until I find myself running out space and wanting to move it.
I'm planning on putting up windbreak netting on the fences and planting some willow wedges inside of these, hopefully soaking up some of the water as an added bonus.

[ditchdigger]

Have you considered moving house.  

[Martin]

I would be inclined to try to get some protection against the prevailing wind. At a guess this is likely (?) to be from the west and north. Your house wall will give protection from the north. Could you put a fence (or perhaps willow or hazel hurdles) from the corner of the house across to the right hand fence in your photo, to give protection from the west? This would give you a relatively sheltered area which would catch any sun.

Then you could grow stuff up the fence (peas, beans perhaps). I would also look at what I could grow up the house wall, which will possibly be a few degrees warmer. Would probably need to be in pots/growbags though, because of the paving slabs. Could also site a mini greenhouse on those slabs, against the wall.

A further thought, do you plan to put in a garden shed, compost heap etc? If you sited them at the westmost point of the garden (ie where you took the photo from) that would give you some more shelter.

[Martin]

I came across this article about growing vegetables in the Outer Hebrides. Seems to have some useful thoughts & be a possible useful contact for you. Unless of course you are the author, in which case, apologies!

[Zak the Rabbit]

I would definately try and establish some form of windbreak system, why not consider stock control hedging? bushes like buckthorn, hawthorne, gorse, pyrrocanthia (sp.), fast growing, thorny, and all intertwined, should make a strong hedge and windbreak, and wont blow down easily, but will take time to establish.

Try and improve that drainage system, but that will only work if the water is due to not being able to drain, ie clay subsoil etc, if the water table really is that high then no ammount of drainage will reduce it, short of pumping! better to raise the growing height with containers or raised beds


but most of all, try it! plant/sow things, and see if they grow, if not, make a note and try something else, thats the fun part

Have you considered moving house.

if you consider this, i'll swap  nice dark skies up there for astronomy

[Zak the Rabbit]

And more pictures! more of the house, and some evidence of gardening in progress!  

[ThreeSeasons]

I would be inclined to try to get some protection against the prevailing wind. At a guess this is likely (?) to be from the west and north. Your house wall will give protection from the north. Could you put a fence (or perhaps willow or hazel hurdles) from the corner of the house across to the right hand fence in your photo, to give protection from the west? This would give you a relatively sheltered area which would catch any sun.

Then you could grow stuff up the fence (peas, beans perhaps). I would also look at what I could grow up the house wall, which will possibly be a few degrees warmer. Would probably need to be in pots/growbags though, because of the paving slabs. Could also site a mini greenhouse on those slabs, against the wall.

A further thought, do you plan to put in a garden shed, compost heap etc? If you sited them at the westmost point of the garden (ie where you took the photo from) that would give you some more shelter.

Yes, my plan at the moment is to put up a post and rail fence from the corner of the house runnign South to the existing fence; that will fence off a 10m square. I will need to do this to stop my puppy from digging everything up! She's already eaten her way through two tubs of daffies!

I'll put up mesh on the fences at first but would like to plant some hedging too- again, I'm a novice on this, but I've been recommended pyracantha or escallonia. I also wondered about willow because of the wetness. Whatever I choose will need to be resistant to damp soil, provide protection, and itself be hardy enoughb to thrive and create a reasoable barrier within a couple of years. Opinions?

I have a compost heap already, in another part of the garden. When we bouht th house in Septmeber it had been empty for nearly five years, and the garden was waist high with thistles, which I pulled up by the roots. Then I strimmed everything else and made a massive heap with it, but I kept the thistles separate in case the seeds survived.

EDIT: On hedging, maybe pyracantha is going to get a bit pricey. Alder sounds good, not as pretty though, but well up to the wet conditions apparently. There's also quickthorn. Any others to consider?

[ThreeSeasons]

Hi again
today I found a chocked up drain/ditch which I have cleared and is now running like a little river, so hopefully I can dry up the garden a bit afterall- hurrah!
I'm going to go full ahead with planting a hedge in the next few days, but need to decide to use willow (recommended by friends, available locally) or alder (recommended by interent sites, available cheap on mail order).
Suggestions?

[Zak the Rabbit]

go with the willow. Locally available so you can get straight on with it, and if you coppice it, it will be a thicker hedge, and the cut sticks make good supports for peas etc, plus once its established a few years you can start using it to make woven fencing as well (not sure what its called, but like wattle and daub type framework?)

if that blocked drain is flowing well now, then that was probably the cause of your problems. Have a good look for any more! make a point of maintaining the drainage system

I would also with the willow, plant fast growing, hardy spikey bushes, like buckthorne and hawthorne, and put in a few dog rose, crab apple etc, it will make a good secure hedge, excellent windbreak and be a wildlife haven. Encourage a couple of song thrushes to move in and you will have a snail control team on hand


and MORE PICTUREs

[Rampant_Weasel]

been reading this post with great interest threeseasons...plz keep pictures coming its not often we see a grower from the isle of lewis.i`d like to see how ur drain arrangement works.
i notice a lack of trees in the pic.i work with a chap who originaly comes from shetland, he says there are no trees there cos its so cold and windy.is it the same on lewis?
out of interest how do u connect to the net? do u have adsl?