[Parsley The Lion]

Shaun/Photoboy - don't you think Parsley has put enough photos on the site already? Wow, Winsford looking better than I remember it from going to footy matches there a few years back (Parsley, is that really you?)...(soz, that'll be my age!!!)
Parsley, well done for the Northeners thing - I was trying to fork my plot over at -4C over Christmas, but after jumping on the fork for a bit, I went to the pub instead...eee its grim oop North!!

 :oops:  its me, pulling the old fuzzy dark photo trick    defo not my allotment look, usually look like a tramp that has fallen on good times and found some natty blue wellies! Whereabouts in the lovely Cheshire are you Phill? I made the mistake of putting a book shelf in my shed so now I give up every two seconds for a brew and a read   Oh btw, I saw somewhere you said about that Andi whatsits book, you should try Carol Klein, she grows in Yorkshire or somewhere so she always takes the northern growing season into account

[Parsley The Lion]

where you getting cheap sleepers from Phill? Could do with some for a greenhouse base

[photoboy]

Thank you all for your advice. I have decided to go for 4ft sq raised beds but will take of the turf and double dig inside first, I have sourced some old scaffold planks for this and also some local rotted bagged cow manure. I will make sure I supply a good drain, but obviously living in the English Riviera I am sure this will be uncalled for :roll:
Will post photos when the hard work is done....

[Salmo]

Sorry to dissappoint you Parsley but Carol Klein lives and gardens in Devon. I am sure her advice is OK for you "Up North" as she is still a lovely Lancashire lass.

[woodburner]

When we took our plot on last June we started with raised beds and was going to do the whole plot with them but have since changed my mind because I worked out all the wasted growing area

If you do go for raised you really need to throw the spacing rules out of the window, you can merrily shove loads into a bed and it has been shown time and again that you do not lose yield this way

That's true for any no dig system, actually.

[Parsley The Lion]

Sorry to dissappoint you Parsley but Carol Klein lives and gardens in Devon. I am sure her advice is OK for you "Up North" as she is still a lovely Lancashire lass.

Hello, in the book I'm thinking of, the test plot is in the grim north so there's lots of references to varying growing seasons. Ive always thought she was too cheery for the north, no wonder she escaped

[Parsley The Lion]

That's true for any no dig system, actually.

Excellent, down with digging  :cheers:

[Cheshire Phill]

Bahhhh - my cheap i.e. free railway sleepers haven't materialised, so its back to the drawing board, they want £10 each for them...it was from a local golf club.

Parsley, I'm in Macclesfield, have just taken over a plot, been left for a year or so, so will take forever if I dig it by hand, but I have been enjoying getting the 3ft long dock roots out since it thawed, so perhaps it needs a good bit more digging yet before I let a machine loose on it!

Will try the scaffold boards route, but as I have builders in the family, know these are usually prized possessions and also hard to get for free...

Phill

[Cheshire Phill]

Shaun - that Howard machine looks a beast! Might actually try to rent one for a w/end, haven't seen any cheap enough or local enough fleabay ones so far...

Parsley - yep, have the Carol Klein books, Grow your own veg is my fave book I think, by the way, just got CK "Grow Your Fruit" from the Book People for £5...

May go for sleeper-ish wood for a greenhouse base meself...

Phill

[Parsley The Lion]

by the way, just got CK "Grow Your Fruit" from the Book People for £5... May go for sleeper-ish wood for a greenhouse base meself...Phill

Hmm, might give the book people a whirl, I've inherited two huge plum trees which I've just ignored so far. Ignored the green house too, got it on the cheap, wrecked my hands pulling it apart in the rain then after all that messin I couldn't be bothered to build a base so now it's just sat there accumulating weeds  

[Parsley The Lion]

Thank you all for your advice. I have decided to go for 4ft sq raised beds but will take of the turf and double dig inside first, I have sourced some old scaffold planks for this and also some local rotted bagged cow manure. I will make sure I supply a good drain, but obviously living in the English Riviera I am sure this will be uncalled for :roll:
Will post photos when the hard work is done....

sounds brilliant, keep us updated  

[RGManby]

I have no choice but to do raised beds, as with parsley the lion, we have about 12" of soil and then hit blue clay, the locals use it as fire clay, and in the wet season its raining 6 out of 7 days (Sept - March). I never thought about it being pretty, just a necessity for the ground we have.

6 x 10' x 6' veg, 2 x 4' x 40' pots and a 36' x 16' poly tunnel all raised beds, the thing is finding the soil to fill them. Ohhh did I mention the herb garden   :oops:

[des]

the thing is finding the soil to fill them

When I made mine, I dig quite deep and burried various stuff, trees, rubble love-rivals etc.. this helps fill them up, I also mixed in lots of manure and B&Q compost and riddled all the soil that went back in. It was hard work but well worth it.

[Minty]

Bahhhh - my cheap i.e. free railway sleepers haven't materialised, so its back to the drawing board, they want £10 each for them...it was from a local golf club.

Parsley, I'm in Macclesfield, have just taken over a plot, been left for a year or so, so will take forever if I dig it by hand, but I have been enjoying getting the 3ft long dock roots out since it thawed, so perhaps it needs a good bit more digging yet before I let a machine loose on it!

Will try the scaffold boards route, but as I have builders in the family, know these are usually prized possessions and also hard to get for free...

Phill

Hire a van for the weekend and get yourself down to Ramsgate,plenty of wood down there.  

[RGManby]

the thing is finding the soil to fill them

When I made mine, I dig quite deep and burried various stuff, trees, rubble love-rivals etc.. this helps fill them up, I also mixed in lots of manure and B&Q compost and riddled all the soil that went back in. It was hard work but well worth it.

Aye the problem here is 12" of soil then blue clay, its like brick when you hit it, so the only option I have is to get more soil and raise it in beds.