scotland in wick

[katie]

hello eveyone long time no see ....
my house fell throw in the cotswolds so we are now moving to scotland in wick ( right at the top )
im new to this and i am planning in a few years to live of the land !!!!

so i have every book and magazine ready to read and study ..

any one live in scotland on this grapevine would be great to hear from you ..

also what veg would you recomed to grow up there as it can get very very cold and windy ..

all in green houses or some outside maybe please help with veg ideas
love katie

ps... i have 20 arces of land and 8 stone barns to play with ..oh and two wooden boats and half a dead tractor....he he he x

[Birdie Wife]

Hi Katie, I'm another Katy, and I live not a million miles from Wick! You've got some lovely ground up there, very fertile for the most part, but the wind is the biggest problem. Most people up there grow behind walls and/or undercover. Think about getting a polytunnel or two in asap!

Congrats on the new place, it sounds lovely. You should be able to grow just about anything except for things which need a long hot growing season, but even then you can start things off undercover to make the most of the season. There are a few Grapes apart from myself up this way, including CaithnessGardener, Sewer Rat and Mucky Lizz.

Good luck!

[katie]

thanks honey thats made me feel much better x

[JennieAtkinson]

Hi Katie - bit further north than you. Its pretty windy here most of the time and I think similar growing conditions. If you can afford it get a polytunnel! The best thing I have. Love my greenhouse too, but the poltyunnel gives me an outside garden inside - if you know what I mean. I still grow brassicas and potatoes outside and a few beans with shelter, otherwise most other things inside the tunnel. But its enough for both of us pretty well 12 months of the year.

Good luck - keep asking us questions!

[Digger-07]

One day

Hello Katie

I envy any of you grapes living that far north. One day, perhaps in the not to distant future, I may join you.

[sewer rat]

Hi Katy
You're about 90 miles north of me but weather not too dissimilar. I grow on 5 acres , with a polytunnel to start thigs of and to grow my toms, cukes and peppers in - and winter salad stuff too.
If you wanna know what you can grow up there - and it's really pretty much everything if you choose the right varieties, then the first thing you should do is visit the kitchen garden at Castle of Mey -they grow all sorts of things you would imagine would not thrive up here.
We might have a shorter growing season than our compadres further south, but we have longer daylight hours to compensate.
Good luck with the new place - sounds like a bit of heaven to me.

[Alice]

Hello Katie, I'm in Scotland too, but not as far north as Wick, and maybe with a milder climate. I can grow everything here. You just have to decide what you want to grow, and make arrangements for it.
You can see my garden here.
http://wwwaliceinwonderland-alice.blogspot.com/