The Garden. Where to start.....

[Munter]

The OH has a long weekend. And a desire to start doing something with the garden. We have a standard new build area of grass. Which seems to have taken ok ish over the last 3 years. However when we tried to grow sunflowers....nada.

Also consider that the ground is old industrial land, then an infectious diseases hospital. Suffice to say it's been abused and god knows if it's contaminated with anything.

So what do we do with it. Our 1st thoughts are put some raised beds in. Say 2ft high and fill them with lovely top soil. Then plant with...err....things.

So umm what can we plant at the moment. Whats the best way to build a raised bed. And where should we look for top soil to fill it with. (I think stealing it from my brothers garden will be tricky...)

bugger this was supposed to be a quick question!

[Sheets Tabuer]

Find out what your soil ph is 1st with a simple kit from a garden centre, you could try growing all sorts but if your soil is way off it will never grow.

It may also need good drainage if it is a heavy clay soil.

Without looking it may need a mixture of sand, gravel, topsoil and good old fashioned horse st.

[Munter]

Sheets Tabuer said:

Find out what your soil ph is 1st with a simple kit from a garden centre, you could try growing all sorts but if your soil is way off it will never grow.

It may also need good drainage if it is a heavy clay soil.

Without looking it may need a mixture of sand, gravel, topsoil and good old fashioned horse st.

I think it drains quite well. I wouldn't call it clay by any means. It's more dust with rocks in if it hasn't rained for a few days.

PH test. Have to get one of them.

I might also take a bit of turf off and have a serious dig to see whats there. But the OH is quite keen on a raised bed and filling it with soil from somewhere else. I'm thinking of knocking together some (reject) 4x4 posts into a ~6ft by 3ft bed....

[dreamer75]

Have a look at a website called Crocus - they have pre-designed beds which you can choose then just order the plants

[Sheets Tabuer]

Any wood will be fine but make sure it isn't treated with anything nasty, make it about a spade deep and buy in topsoil out of the yellow pages.

You must study the plants and see what they like, if you replicate what they like you will have triffids in a week

[Simpo Two]

Munter said:

PH test.

That's a 'Pistonheads' test!

You need a 'pH' test. Little p, big H: negative log to the base ten of the hydrogen ion concentration. And to think that chemistry was my worst subject!

[Chrisgr31]

Surely with raised beds after a couple of years the wood will rot and the thing will fall apart?

[HiRich]

Step 1 is a good book - a nice big thick encyclopaedia (including lawn care, general theory, and not just lists of plants). You could do worse than watch Gardeners World for some ideas.

Soil test is a good idea (with the book to tell you what it means and what you should then do).

Then a plan (even an outline of ideas - covering layout, features and types of plants you would like to have - fruit, veg, shrubs, flowers). I would recommend getting a compost area in early. One (or two, especially if you have a lot of lawn clippings) of the large plastic hoppers might do (though the purists prefer proper units). The main thing is to make them accessible for when you take out your kitchen waste, but equally not near the house as they can get a bit whiffy. A proper bin not only gives you somewhere to put the rubbish, but produces proper, cracking growing material. Also allow for a shed/toolshed if you need one, and include paths (grass, gravel or paved) to access everything.
The rectangular shape of a raised bed works well for vegetables (in neat rows), curved shapes work well for flowers.

Raised beds can work very well - not only demarcating the bed, but also putting a clear structure into the whole plan. Brick or stone is the most long lasting. You can buy packs (wood or plastic), but they are a bit functional rather than pretty, and you are restricted to the size and shape the makers supply (BTW, the beds should only be so wide that you don't have to tread in it - so about 1m if you can access from both sides, 0.6m if only one side. 2' tall is quite high, and you might want to go with something a bit lower.

DIY is quite good as well - you get exactly the shape & size you want. I have built mine with 2"x7" (two high with minimal embedding into the soil), and 4"x4" posts, either sunk 12" into the ground (if the structure is stable) or set in Postcrete for long wals that might bow. Rot is the most serious risk, and I have used bitumen primer (as used on flat roofs) where it's in contact with the earth. So far, looks very promising.
Reputable, approved topsoil is readily available on the web (e.g. Rolawn), about £70/tonne (cubic metre) delivered - some sites have calculators.

This weekend is pushing it a bit to get much real work done, unless you know what you really want. I would suggest you focus more on layout than the actual plants (but allow for an early run to the garden centre, and pick up a few plants so you can 'reward' yourself by actually sticking them in the ground). Once you have an idea for layout, and a decent browse of the encyclopaedia, it will quickly become clear what tools and plants you will need for the next bank holiday...

[HiRich]

Munter said:

So umm what can we plant at the moment?

Pretty much anything. It all needs sowing now, or is keen to get out of a pot and into the real soil. As long as it gets watered in well, it will probably take.
Whilst you might buy some seeds, do pick up some seedlings or growing plants, whether veg or flowers. The risk of germination has gone, and you get to see something green immediately. For flowers do pick up a few hardy perennials (hardy=will survive the winter, perennial=grow back every year). Choose plants that are clearly strong and healthy, but not yet in flower.

For seeds, read the back of the pack before buying. Some might need sowing indoors (so buy trays and pots and compost), some might prefer sun or shade, or need support. Just follow the instructions and pray they come up healthy.

[Gingerbread Man]

Make some raised beds out of railway sleepers. Quick to build and they last.

[Sheets Tabuer]

Gingerbread Man said:

Make some raised beds out of railway sleepers. Quick to build and they last.

Because they are covered in loads of cancer causing chemicals, so I read not sure if it's true though.

[HRG]

Sheets Tabuer said:

Gingerbread Man said:

Make some raised beds out of railway sleepers. Quick to build and they last.

Because they are covered in loads of cancer causing chemicals, so I read not sure if it's true though.

So why not do some research before posting it

[Sheets Tabuer]

HRG said:

Sheets Tabuer said:

Gingerbread Man said:

Make some raised beds out of railway sleepers. Quick to build and they last.

Because they are covered in loads of cancer causing chemicals, so I read not sure if it's true though.

So why not do some research before posting it

I don't need to, anything that has had BR effluent discharged on to it for years won't be going in my garden

[HRG]

That's reason enough for me

[pies]

Sheets Tabuer said:

HRG said:

Sheets Tabuer said:

Gingerbread Man said:

Make some raised beds out of railway sleepers. Quick to build and they last.

Because they are covered in loads of cancer causing chemicals, so I read not sure if it's true though.

So why not do some research before posting it

I don't need to, anything that has had BR effluent discharged on to it for years won't be going in my garden

You can buy untreated ones the BR ones are not supposed to be sold anymore,although many places still sell them

[Gingerbread Man]

pies said:

Sheets Tabuer said:

HRG said:

Sheets Tabuer said:

Gingerbread Man said:

Make some raised beds out of railway sleepers. Quick to build and they last.

Because they are covered in loads of cancer causing chemicals, so I read not sure if it's true though.

So why not do some research before posting it

I don't need to, anything that has had BR effluent discharged on to it for years won't be going in my garden

You can buy untreated ones the BR ones are not supposed to be sold anymore,although many places still sell them

You can buy the old BR ones which have had effluent discharged onto them for years.

New hardwood ones without the tar/ oil oozing out of them.

New softwood ones. Tanalised so they last ~25 years.


For information, this random website has the types of sleepers you can readily get.

Edited by Gingerbread Man on Wednesday 29th April 16:40

[Munter]

dreamer75 said:

Have a look at a website called Crocus - they have pre-designed beds which you can choose then just order the plants

Not quite as good looking as some manly bit's of wood. But the mrs has looked at their website and seems to like them.

So my plan is:
A)Draw a plan of the current garden. And then decide where to put the bed.
B)Dig up a piece of the the turf (keeping the "turf" nice so I can put it back later) where the bed will be (Probably infront of the shed as that gets most sun)
C)Assess the soil with a pH test and visually/post pics on to here. Showing a man in a hole much bigger than he intended to start with.

Y)Then either dig up the soil and mix in some compost / other stuff to make current soil good. Or bang a raised bed on there and order me a ton of top soil.

Z)Down the local garden center, grab a poor unsuspecting worker, and get them to point out pretty things what will grow in the improved soil/top soil we now have.

Y and Z to be the domain of the OH probably.