Hello From Huthwaite

[9000Parts]

As requested, a few photos of my plot.



This is the view into my back garden as you exit my side passage (I dont have a back passage thankfully). The garden is about 3 to 4 Metres lower at the end boundary compared to the height of the patio. The garden has been raised and levelled in the past and I can only assume a large amount of decent quality soil has been imported to fill it up.



This is the bottom left hand corner of the plot (AKA the carp corner). The big wooden box is one of those collapsible things and we get so many at work that they just get thrown away. I have quite a list of these on back order already. To the left are the 2 bulk bags full of seived and 'cleaned' soil. The second bag is now totally full too so that means about 2 tonne of quality loam available. This area will never see and meaningful growing done, instead it will be a working and storage area.



Looking back up the garden from the Carp Corner. I intend to call this the Spud Strip. It is about 1.5M wide and about 13M long (20m/sq) so more than enough growing space for a range of spuds to go in.

[9000Parts]

This is the old pond area which would normally be considered dead ground. However, this will be where the greenhouse (and its extension) will live along with 4 more of those collapsible boxes. Not sure what will be grown in them yet? Suggestions on the back of a £10 in the post please.



No garden is complete without a sunken hot tub installed. This one is even double glazed!

[9000Parts]

The main lawn area, most of this will be turned over to growing edible stuff rather than just grass though. I will keep the bottom 1/3 as a lawned area for the baby to play in and also because that area is shadowed early in the morning. The growing area here is in excess of 7M x 7M or 50m/sq!



Rhododendron anybody? This will be staying in the garden as it is very well established, healthy and an attractive colour. I also found some small blue flowers hiding amongst some weeds in the bed I havent dug out yet and transplanted them underneath. Ive got a load of rockery stones and bricks so will build a small retaining wall around this thing, top it up with soil and give it a coating of wood chippings to keep the weeds annoyed.

Made some more progress since taking these pictures but I need at least one more (but more likely 2) bulk bags so I can carry on processing the soil im digging. Got a bit of work to do levelling down the old flower beds so I can turf them over.

Going off on a tangent a bit, as well as all this gardening I am working on setting up a small Diesel refinery capable of processing 50 litres of waste cooking oil a month. A by-product of this process is a very sticky, waxy substance that is very slow to burn but is packed with energy. Put into a paraffin heater this stuff will be more than ample to keep a greenhouse heated all winter long.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Nice one mate know just where you are. Top of the hill facing south with nothing between you and the sun.

Some good chippies out your way to, trying to think of the name oldish bloke half between Huthwaite and Sutton left hand side near a pub, great fish and chips and to indulge myself a 'spam' fritter every now and then.

[Bal]

Hi and welcome Paul

[9000Parts]

Nice one mate know just where you are. Top of the hill facing south with nothing between you and the sun.

Some good chippies out your way to, trying to think of the name oldish bloke half between Huthwaite and Sutton left hand side near a pub, great fish and chips and to indulge myself a 'spam' fritter every now and then.

Think I know the one you are on about. Looks like its been set-up in somebodies living room, next to the Travellers Rest?

Prefer the White Dolphin in Sutton though we are more a hot spicy curry family at heart. Some great places to eat along Takeaway Alley (Outram Street).

As for the plot, ive got 28m/sq of Solar PV on the roof and it pours down with sunshine all day long on them.

[MyLifeWithAndrew]

Hello n welcome, Paul.

[Bill HH]

Welcome Paul, you have an ideal garden, once you get into producing veg you will probably rethink turfing anything over. Those pallet collars make brilliant instant raised beds. You can stack them two high to grow things that need depth like carrots or parsnips.
Unless someone has already said your pink flower plant is a camelia I think.
You mention calling one bed the spud bed but don't forget you need to rotate your crops. You are not to late for most crops and even if you were you can always buy small plants from the nurserys, leeks are brilliant for a first timer but they do grow slowly and you can harvest them right through next winter.
A great resource for new gardeners is you tube, thousands of how to vids on every veg you could think of. The bed you have earmarked for spuds would be good for fruit like rasberries and gooseberries. lots of possibilities I am so jealous.
.

[9000Parts]

Welcome Paul, you have an ideal garden, once you get into producing veg you will probably rethink turfing anything over. Those pallet collars make brilliant instant raised beds. You can stack them two high to grow things that need depth like carrots or parsnips.

I want to keep a bit of green area for our new son (and future additions) to play on and they get the bit that is shadowed until a bit later in the morning anyway. The pallet collars will be built up on their pallets with some of that weed netting lining the box. Got space for another 6 of them on the concrete base so it makes that area usable and productive again.

Unless someone has already said your pink flower plant is a camelia I think.

My Mum did say Camelia initially but on closer inspection she reckons rhododendron due to the fact you get 2 buds at the end of most stalks. Still happy for a further inspection though.

You mention calling one bed the spud bed but don't forget you need to rotate your crops. You are not to late for most crops and even if you were you can always buy small plants from the nurserys, leeks are brilliant for a first timer but they do grow slowly and you can harvest them right through next winter.

I know I could get some crops in this year but would rather concentrate on preparing the land now and not have to work around myself. There are a few Spuds in already, 5 of them have now broken ground out of the 6 I buried. The Spring Onions went in the bath yesterday too.

A great resource for new gardeners is you tube, thousands of how to vids on every veg you could think of. The bed you have earmarked for spuds would be good for fruit like rasberries and gooseberries. lots of possibilities I am so jealous.

I have got lots of timber posts and bits stashed away with the intention of making a frame up on the opposite side of the garden for things that like to climb. I will have a 10M+ strip that side that is totally unshadowed, should be enough for runner beans, peas, raspberries, etc.

Next year will be dedicated only to stuff we actually like to eat and that we can store. As my confidence and knowledge builds I may well attempt to grow commercially as there is a fruit and veg shop that buys local produce. Totalling up all the space I have, it looks like im close to 100m/sq of land so plenty of opportunity to sector it off and leave areas 'fallow' and rotate things around the garden.

Chilli breeding is my biggest interest, need to get the greenhouse organised for that.
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[9000Parts]

Some good chippies out your way to, trying to think of the name...

Castaways!

[Bill HH]

Sounds like you have got it well sorted, don't forget to keep posting pictures of your progress. I still think that's a camellia but may be wrong. I told my local green grocer he was in for a tough time once my produce began to be ready for harvest, somehow that never happened. Once you have fed your family and given stuff to friends and neighbours plus made donations to slugs, snails, caterpillars and the weather there seems to be little left.

[Jarz]

Hi Paul, just joined this forum a short while ago. I love those pallet boxes you talked about (saw your picture in another thread). My nephew lives in Huthwaite. I'll have to get you two introduced so he can bring some down to me next time he's down for work.

S'okay, joking!!!

[bretty666]

hi paul. as bigmally said ..what a great introduction! sounds like your gonna be an interesting addition to the already wonderful vine crew! loves your pics ..nice garden. keep us all posted on what you get up to in the garden.there are many many different places on.here to post whatever questions you need answering and even just for chit chat.

[9000Parts]

Must be time to set a blog off rather than keeping this in the Introductions area. Not much progress since the last posting although my Spuds are kicking off big time now.