Lean to over raised bed

[nickdub]

You're very welcome - maybe if you send some photos in to your local newspaper they'll come round and do a spread on it all entitled "House and garden, a creative approach " or similar :-)

[Jungle Jane]

Looks brilliant! Its nice seeing all that growth I remember it bare,you’ve done so well

[Selymbria]

Looks brilliant! Its nice seeing all that growth I remember it bare,you’ve done so well

Thanks JJ

[Selymbria]

You're very welcome - maybe if you send some photos in to your local newspaper they'll come round and do a spread on it all entitled "House and garden, a creative approach " or similar :-)

or a dude lost his 5 year old son under courgette leaves

[Selymbria]

Hi all,

I have tomatoes growing rapidly and giving fruit but they dont ripen and turn red despite the excellent weather. Am I doing something wrong or is it too early?

[Selymbria]

Out of all the crops in my raised garden, tomatoes are the best followed by the beans and cucumbers. Courgettes grew too big and leafy and even though I had a lot of flowers, most didnt pollinate. Corn surprisingly did well in a container. Lettuce was a complete failure.

Latest pics:

[Jungle Jane]

Those tomatoes look fantastic!! South facing might be a bit sunny for lettuce,have you got room for another bed,that ones been really successful?

[Selymbria]

Hi all, I now got an allocation in our nearby allotment. The below pictures show the condition of the allotment site generally and the second and third pics are the actual plot.

- do you think I should get it? How much work should I put into it?
- given the state, what are the things you would do first? There are 9 raised beds with a lot of overgrown weeds/plants in it.
- anything to grow over autumn/winter? My knowledge ends with tomatoes and cucumbers





Cheers
Sel

[Jay-ell]

Sel - congratulations on the offer. You've definitely caught the bug!

The plot looks as if it's nice and sunny and not overshadowed by trees - which is a bonus as you can create shade for those plants that need it but you can't create sun.

Should you Take It? How much work should you put in? Well, the former depends on the latter. Getting a new plot up the scratch takes more time than maintaining it - do you think you can put in the time to bring it up to scratch? Can you smother some of the beds over winter with manure/compost? How far is it from your home?

Any plot offered is probably going to have weeds, especially at this time of the year. If you get a plot with raised beds and decide you don't want them then you can always pull them out. If you get one without and decide you want them you have to get the wood and time to build them.

Does the site have water? If so how far to the nearest tank/stand pipe?

The first thing I'd do is to walkaround and see if I can identify any of the plants that are growing. If the same plant is growing in most of the beds then it's probably a weed but if there's just one of them it may be a crop. If it's in the paths then it's also probably a weed.

Although there's a chance that any crops that were in it would have bolted and be unusable noting where they are might help with planning for crop rotation (basically not growing the same crop in the same patch for a while to prevent diseases)

You might find some perennials in there, e.g. strawberries, fruit bushes, herbs, comfrey. If in doubt take photos and ask for ID. These may be situated away from the raised beds to leave them free for annual crops.

You could also start striming the paths to cut the grass down, show you're doing something and split the whole plot up into smaller chunks to be tackled bit by bit.

Once you know which are weeds and which might be worth keeping you can start working on the beds and weeds.

Next would depend on your future plans (dig or no dig - although you will probably have to dig out some of the perennial weeds like docks) and resources (lots of cardboard, thick black plastic, horse manure, etc)

Do any of the sheds belong to the plot? A good snooping (with photos) would be required.

You could plant garlic, elephant garlic, over wintering onions and shallots now and overwintering broad beans and peas soon. If you clear an area of weeds you might still be able to sow some green manure to lock up the nutrients and compost/dig in next year.

[nickdub]

Looks like a good opportunity, but it will also be a lot of work to start with - as long as you don't get discouraged you will end up with a lovely plot, but unless you have lots of help its probably best to regard it as a long term project. That said gardening is a hobby which lasts a lifetime, and there is always more to learn.

[Selymbria]

The site is 2mins by foot, very very close. Also the plot is in the middle of 2 maintained plots and the tap is 1 plot away. There are no shadowing trees or plants.

I can see where the shed was, so it is removed. The beds are well made so will reuse them.

The paths in between have barks over plastic sheets but need some tlc.

Well, I think it is worth giving a go for 30pounds a year incl water and almost next to my house. If nothing, I will grow corn, I saw some growing very nicely in neighbouring plots.

I am ok to do digging, it is like a meditation for me.