I've got a bit of a 'project'

[Coopers]

So much great advice already. Im going to offer nothing really more than to reiterate some good points.

A year ago i faced similar plot. High level i did:
-Draw quick sketch of how i would like plot to look once finished i.e where i want my planting areas, compost bins, shed, greenhouse
- create two long strips 25ft by 5ft ish
- built compost bin
- brought and built cheap greenhouse of ebay
- Covered everything else and left it covered

Then planted things i liked and set low expectations to what i'd achieve. That way you cannot be dissappinted.

-because of not stretching myself the first year, this year i have now prepped the rest of the plot so i now can attempt to cultivate the whole plot.

So i guess in summary, dont push yourself, dont expect everything to work and enjoy it.

Oh and put slug pellets down. I still get nightmares from them...

[ThinkEmily]

Hello again!

Thank you for all your help. I have a few more questions - but not big ones this time.

Greenleaves - A couple of people have mentioned pumpkins/squash - are they easy to grow?

Coopers - I think that's good advice. I'm definitely going to focus on just a few areas this year or I'll get overwhelmed! It's nice to hear that it does actually work and produce a good result in the end.

Now, I went down and did a bit of tidying up today (the things I have found - crikey), and have a couple of questions:

Firstly, this metal mesh stuff, is it worth keeping for growing up? I'll be doing a run (or three) to the dump at some point to get rid of the rubbish, but I wasn't sure if I should hang on to this for something?

Not that I have anything in mind, just that it seems like a weird thing to be there if there isn't a purpose? (although I have found a shopping trolley there today too, so perhaps this logic does not hold)



Secondly, there are a few patches of this grass which I'll be cutting down. I wondered if it should a) be burned because of weeds, b) go on my new compost heap, or c) would work as a mulch type thing on top of the cardboard & compost I'm going to do?

If c) any tips or things I should keep in mind?

[veggiechicken]

1. I'd keep the mesh - just because it looks useful!

2. The grass looks like couch grass. If so, you'll need to dig the roots out and chuck them.
My composting rule of thumb is - no roots and no seed heads, no diseased plants or potatoes. All the rest goes in the compost bin.

[Martin H]

I'm with VC, I'd keep the mesh too. You can use it to grow peas up, to keep pigeons off stuff or to ripen your onions on.

I would compost the cut grass. It'll be dead and there won't be many seeds left on it, they'll have fallen to the ground.

Tips: take your time and enjoy the process. As we said earlier, there are ways to slow down growth on the bits you haven't got round to, don't let the magnitude of the overall job get you down!

[ThinkEmily]

Lovely, thank you!

For those grassy bits I'm thinking I'll cut it down and compost it, and then cover those areas and forget about them.

I went down today just for an hour after work and got quite a bit of the clearing done, so I'm feeling quite positive. I know I can't do everything, but the progress is already visible, which is nice. Just doing it in bits is going to be satisfying.