Hello from the Falklands

[where2start]

Hi

I am a new gardner but ready to take on any project so will need lots of advice from the experts

I have a completely undeveloped garden, as our house was only built 12 months ago, so we are planning what goes where. The soil is heavy clay at the moment, and the available space isnt big but its big enough for our needs. Our land doesnt have much shelter at the moment and we live on the sea front (sort off!) facing north, so with the high winds we have in the Falklands and salt spray i might need lots of protective fencing etc.

On the plus side we get lots of sun, and we are just heading into summer...whoohhooo!

So today to get the ball rolling i am going to plant some spuds in bags, whilst my hubby builds my raised bed ready for all the other goodies i want to try. We are moving towards turning the whole front garden into a veggi patch, but that will take time, especially when i need to buy so much top soil.

So thats me for now, this time next year i hope to be completly established and like i say will need lots of ideas from those who have more experience than me.

Heres for muddy hands and lots of sun

[tricky]

welcome where2start
Hope you have lots of fun , its so exiting when you first start
I find it best to do a drawing first of what i want and list what i want to grow
hope you do well

[womble]

Can you get hold of some manure? If you can (and get as much as you can) stack it in a corner, it will be great for improving your soil.
An alternative for you, maybe to kill a few seals and compost those? Bit smelly though

Welcome BTW

[lottie dolly]

hi where2start,and welcome,you have already made a good start joining here,lots of info,and general chat,the sundaynight chat has just started up again,keep an eye out in general chat aprox 7 pm british time,aprox 7 hours from now,just join in,if your able,lucky you nearly summer,we are left wondering where ours went to,all the best with your garden.

[where2start]

Well i have just planted 6 seed potatos and then it started raining, and i have dirty finger nails already!!

Womble just a quick question if i get some manure for this year, will i be able to plant or will i have to leave it a year to settle down?

Lottie thanks for the heads up, it helps that i spend a lot of my time on-line as theres never much on the TV. I will keep my eyes open for that one.

OK were all off to go and find some better quality top soil so that i can get some more spuds going.

[littlepooley]

Hi - I went to the Falklands about 10 years (my Dad was in the Navy and was stationed there for a while) I remember seeing a pair of penguins with a little baby Apparently it was the wrong time of year for them to be there but they were there just the same

[womble]

Womble just a quick question if i get some manure for this year, will i be able to plant or will i have to leave it a year to settle down?

Well it depends on the manure you get, if you pick it up of the fields or if you get fresh stuff, then yes it will need to be stored for at least a year.
If you manage to get access to a mature heap that is already there, then dig down until you get to stuff that doesn't smell smelly and you can use that straight away.
I suppose it depends what animal manure you can get as well do they have horses on the falklands?

[where2start]

Yes there are horse's but no stables, so it seems that local gardners just pick it up of the grazing land. So i would be looking for dry bits?

I dont really have anywhere to store it, plots not so big. So i think it might be the idea not to put anything on this summer and dig some in to settle over the winter....does that sound like a plan?

[Two_Sheds]

Hi Falklands,
Manure (whatever kind of animal) needs to be well-rotted before you plant. That means, it must look like earth, and not smell like manure anymore. Add it to your compost heap and it'll be done in a year.

[bobleponge]

Hi and welcome. I was down your way 26 years ago. Remember it being a touch cold and wet then as well.
Enjoy your gardening. It will be a bit of a challenge I would imagine, winter can do some damage over there.

[lainey lou]

My OH was last over there in '95, he just loved the penguins (and all the bars).
Welcome to the vine!

[where2start]

Personally I think the Falklands has changed so much since 95 i actually think the weather is getting warmer for example.

Just to give a relevant example back in 95 loads of people have veggi gardens because we relied on the arrival of the boat once a month to bring in supplies. Then we got an extra air link and more frequent flights and boats so there were more goods on the shelves. Veggi gardens reduced in number. Today though i have noticed more and more people growing their own. Hence the reason for my lack of experience!

We obviously still have lots of penguins....funny little things they are!

[JennieAtkinson]

Hello Where2Start and welcome!

You will probably have very different growing conditions from many of us, but I suspect like us here in Shetland you will have some very cooling and damaging winds. That is my main problem here. How warm does it get in your summer? We normally average around 16 - 18 degrees C but occasionally it is warmer. The wind is however very damaging and most of my time is spent making my veg area wind proof.

I'd love to hear how you get on.

[where2start]

Hi Jennie

Its nice to know i am not the only one struggling with the elements!

The Falklands are very like the Scottish Islands, in actual fact my family 3 generations ago descended from the north of Scotland

Our weather isn't too warm in the summer where the average is between 16 - 20, we have cold winters where the temp can drop -2 dc. Very like Scotland. The main problem is the wind, which always picks up in the summer.

In the winter the wind chill can make if feel more like -20. At the moment we are meant to be in summer, the temp isn't too bad at around 14 BUT the wind was gale force last night and today/tonight due to be 25mph but last wind was about 60mph. Its been blowing a holey for the last three days.

We put up a small fence/wind break around the veggi patch, but i have some pumpkins looking a little wind blown! I planted more than i needed on the assumption that i would loose at least 50%, one looked like it had died because of the wind, but amazingly this morning it was almost revived.

I am trying 4 runner bean plants and probably about 10 pea plants. My view is that i will try them out, and if they cant survive the FI weather then i will not even fight the forces. I don't have a green house or a polly tunnel yet, but we live right on the coast so chances are neither would survive the winds, so probably wont bother.

My house is only 11 months old (Timber frame as all FI houses) and the wind and rain was so bad last night it has blown under the upstairs dormer window and come through the ceiling of the room below. The plaster is spoilt but on the plus side, like i say the garden is still OK.

[Nicos]

Hi there - and welcome to the Vine!!

My brother was out there back in '82...bet it's changed even more since then?...he too came back with loads of photos of penguins!
It's always good to use different types of manure- what animals are available to collect from? You say horses...any sheep etc?? Penguin poo might be worth collecting too ( is it safe to roam freely now- just thinking of landmines??).
I'd start off with making a couple of compost bins- for household waste and leaves etc ...as well as the animal droppings which can be mixed in with newspapers/grass clippings etc.
Collect any herbivore droppings -sloppy or dry and as 2sheds says, leave for a year. I think sheep droppings are very strong and may need a bit longer - either that or mixed in in small amounts.
Might be worth growing dwarf varieties of peas etc so there is less wind resistance...it'll be very interesting to see how you get on!
Do you know others who are growing their own over there- what are they successful with??