Shiny New Lots to Do

[Spirited Mama]

Hi, this is my first post, though I have been reading for a week or so.

I have decided to tackle my garden and do something productive with it. I have never had much interest in gardening, I suffered with hay fever for many years, which always kept me out of the garden. But I seem to have outgrown the worst of the allergies and would really like to grow food with my two small children, the eldest of whom is really interested in helping, he is four.

I have a south facing front garden with a lawn and three small border beds, I have a tall hedge and tree that keep one bed very shaded and damp.

In the back I have a thriving apple tree and several blackberry bushes, neither of which can I claim credit for, the apple tree was planted by a previous owner and the blackberries are wild. My ex-husband started growing potatoes in a bin, but I haven't done anything with that, not even looked inside. I may have to start from scratch with that.

Most of the back is paved, but there are three large-ish beds, one of which is against a very tall wall and is slightly raised. My cat is buried along here, I am not sure what to do about that! The blackberries are along here, I was hoping to tame them a bit as one in particular is growing out onto the paved area, so any tips on cutting that back without harming it would be gratefully received. Any foods that grow well up walls and in sun would do well here. I was wondering about beans.

The other two beds are terribly overgrown. I have a large rose bush and several other unknown plants but I really want to get rid of the lot and start from scratch. I was thinking of raising the main bed and using it to grow vegetables. It gets good mid-day sun but is in the shade of the house by early evening in summer.

I already have one large compost bin, I don't have much space for a second, but could possibly find space during the clearing process. I read something about turning the compost to help it rot down faster. Can anyone tell me more about this please? How is it done? I've had it for about 18 months now, never used anything out of it and it is about half full. How do I know when it is ready to use?

I'm assuming that, given the time of year, the main thing to do over the next few months is clear and prepare the garden for planting. When is a good month to start planting?

Thanks in advance!

[veggiechicken]

Hi Spirited Mama and welcome to the Grapevine.
Clearing your beds would be a good start and you could empty the compost bin onto one of them and let the worms drag the compost down into the soil over winter.
If you're not sure what plants you have, post some photos up and we'll have a stab at identifying them for you. It would be a shame to rip out something that is worth keeping.
One thing we would appreciate is your approximate location added to your profile. It helps us a lot when giving advice

[chris]

I would have welcomed you, but you didn't post any pictures for us to nose at your garden

[Bren In Pots]

Hello and welcome to the vine Spirited Mama

[rustylady]

Hello and welcome, from me and my faithful companion (the dog)

[Two_Sheds]

My cat is buried along here, I am not sure what to do about that

There's probably not much left of him. If it was me, I'd avoid digging around in his bones, maybe plant something permanent & pretty on top of him?

The other two beds are terribly overgrown. I really want to get rid of the lot and start from scratch

I would. Start clearing it, chop up all the plants and just leave them in the bed, then cover with cardboard for the winter. It'll all rot down by spring, then you can get cracking

turning the compost to help it rot down faster.

Yep, that's right.
It's aerobic composting, so the more air you get in there the faster it rots. Is it one of the black daleks?
If so, take the whole thing up & off, and put it somewhere else (in the middle of one of the beds, if you like). Start filling it back up with unrotted stuff, and put the rotted on top of the cardboard

Compost doesn't have to be really fine & crumbly to be useful: lumpy is fine

[Spirited Mama]

Thanks folks. Location added to profile

I'm not posting pics just yet lol! No really, I cringe every time I go out there so I'm not putting pics up on a gardening forum for you fine people to see

I think I will have to re-bury my cat. He's not buried deep enough to plant on top and his skull has surfaced a couple of times. I don't think that bed is very deep, so it may need raising further, it is already raised half a foot but I suspect it doesn't go much deeper. I'll have to go digging and find out.

My compost bin is a dalek, yes. The grass cuttings are rotting down nicely, but the food waste isn't. Could my caddy liners being slowing the process down even though they are supposedly home compostable? I don't tie the bags up before putting them in, but still...

[Two_Sheds]

I used the caddy liners once, then realised I was wasting my money. Just wrap your scraps in a sheet of newspaper, then add that to the compost heap

[WendyC]

The corn starch liners are a nightmare. I haven't used them for years and still keep finding remnants of them. Paper ones are fine, or as Two Sheds said use newspaper.

[Spirited Mama]

I used to use newspaper when I lived in Bristol. We didn't make our own compost then, but the council recycled household food waste, so we had a caddy and larger bin for collection. The council advised us to use newspaper, so that's what we did. But oh my, what a rank job it was moving waste from caddy to bin

But I will definitely stop using the cornstarch liners if they are the problem. Better start keeping the free local advertising rag instead of putting it straight in the recycling!

[rustylady]

Even if you don't use it for wrapping waste you can still compost your free newspaper. Don't send it to the council.

[Muppet194]

Hello and welcome to the vine. You'll get lots of friendly advice to your problems here. I still feel like a newbie but everyone's been very welcoming and helpful.