Hello From A Newbie :)

[ceres]

Hello thanks for the heads up on the blight lol I told you I was a newbie ha ha ha, seems like a gret service that site offers am going to register, am now thinking of throwing some main crop potatoes in the very clay'y parts in the hop it will break some of it up, with the best will in the world on my own there is now way all the beds are going to be created and filled quickly so might be a good way of doing a bit of soil conditioning??

It's too late for maincrop potatoes now, there isn't enough of the growing season left.  You could try some second earlies for Christmas potatoes which will crop in around 10-12 weeks.  It's a fallacy that potatoes break up the ground.  It's YOU that breaks up the ground when you prepare it for planting, earth them up and harvest them.

Dig some small beds and get planting.  There's nothing like seeing (and tasting) your crops to motivate.  You should still be able to buy courgette and squash plants and they are great ground cover.  You can sow over-wintering brassica seeds or buy plants.  There is plenty of time to get sowings of carrots, salad leaves, spring onions, radishes etc.  Oriental salads like pak choi can be sown soon.  Then into the autumn you can put in garlic, onion sets and into winter broad beans and peas.  Autumn into winter is the time to put in fruit trees and bushes so get those beds ready in time.

[ceres]

[littlebabybird]

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments_Deep_bed_building.html

a link to some pictures of the raised beds

lbb

[BarriedaleNick]

Damaged scaff boards cant be sold cos of the good old Health and safety regs  >:(

We have bought hundreds of planks of slightly damaged scaffold planks (and rusty poles) from a local firm - in my experience local firms are quite keen to get rid of them for cash.  Didn't realise it was technically illegal.  Our whole site is held up by them!!

[ChrisBro]

Hello thanks for the heads up on the blight lol I told you I was a newbie ha ha ha, seems like a gret service that site offers am going to register, am now thinking of throwing some main crop potatoes in the very clay'y parts in the hop it will break some of it up, with the best will in the world on my own there is now way all the beds are going to be created and filled quickly so might be a good way of doing a bit of soil conditioning??

It's too late for maincrop potatoes now, there isn't enough of the growing season left.  You could try some second earlies for Christmas potatoes which will crop in around 10-12 weeks.  It's a fallacy that potatoes break up the ground.  It's YOU that breaks up the ground when you prepare it for planting, earth them up and harvest them.

Dig some small beds and get planting.  There's nothing like seeing (and tasting) your crops to motivate.  You should still be able to buy courgette and squash plants and they are great ground cover.  You can sow over-wintering brassica seeds or buy plants.  There is plenty of time to get sowings of carrots, salad leaves, spring onions, radishes etc.  Oriental salads like pak choi can be sown soon.  Then into the autumn you can put in garlic, onion sets and into winter broad beans and peas.  Autumn into winter is the time to put in fruit trees and bushes so get those beds ready in time.

Hi Ceres thanks for your post, this is exactly what I need I am a learner but a quick one and the more step by step easy instruction I get the better lol.

Where I live we dont have much on the way of your traditional garden centre theres is one locally in Fishguard I went yesterday to have a mooch but the price of the plants was ridiculous, typical small town attitude because they have no competition everything is top dollar there is a lot of that round here. So I headed off into Haverfordwest our local "big" town thats about 20 miles away from me, there we have a Wickes and a Homebase, Wickes was pitiful good for building stuff but no live plants whatsoever in their so called garden centre lol and Homebase well what can I say lovely stuff but need a second mortgage for most of it.

My next plan is good old Ebay see what I can pick up on there or I live near something called the real seed catalogue  http://www.realseeds.co.uk/   they are out in Newport, I have read a few good things about them on here and other sites so going to take a drive out to them tomorrow see whats on offer if not it will have to be cyber plants :)

Also there is a Wilkinsons in Haverfordwest they seem to sell a good selection of seeds and things cheaply so will have a look there as well, will try the second earlies on the spuds I'll get some of them ordered ready to go in.

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments_Deep_bed_building.html

a link to some pictures of the raised beds

lbb

Hello thanks for your reply, I like that a LOT thats exactly what I have in my head so glad to see I am thinking along the right lines, I was going to use gravel in between the beds put the paving stone idea is great much more tidy and pleasing to the eye, I have 3 small children that will be "helping" (if you can use that word!!!!) out so the cleaner the better lol. Great effort you put in there it looks great.

Damaged scaff boards cant be sold cos of the good old Health and safety regs  >:(

We have bought hundreds of planks of slightly damaged scaffold planks (and rusty poles) from a local firm - in my experience local firms are quite keen to get rid of them for cash.  Didn't realise it was technically illegal.  Our whole site is held up by them!!

OOOOOPPPPPSSSSS ha ha ha well as long as the health and safety nuts dont find out Im sure all will be well, as long as they arent used for scaffolding again I really cant see the problem but hey common sense never prevails with these matters unfortunately lol

[thifasmom]

your idea of ebay for a good cheap resource of ready to plant plants is a good idea. in 2007 when my beds were ready it was to late to sow most of the things i wanted to grow and so i used ebay with great success both crop wise and wallet wise.

[ChrisBro]

your idea of ebay for a good cheap resource of ready to plant plants is a good idea. in 2007 when my beds were ready it was to late to sow most of the things i wanted to grow and so i used ebay with great success both crop wise and wallet wise.

Hello thanks for your reply, I have been looking on Ebay this afternoon and there are some great plants at very good prices my only concern is the sending of them ie Royal Mail not very good at the best of times but I suppose its more down to the seller and the way they pack them. Will have to try and see what happens.

[Bjerreby]

Chris.

I see you have sorted out your user profile, and you are close to the sea.

GET A TRUCKLOAD OF SEAWEED!

[ChrisBro]

Chris.

I see you have sorted out your user profile, and you are close to the sea.

GET A TRUCKLOAD OF SEAWEED!

Ha ha thanks for the reply I have just commented funnily enough on another thread about seaweed supposed to be great stufff, do you just mix it in with your compost or dig it in the ground or both?

[manicscousers]

Hiya, chris, what a site, look forward to the pics as you progress, our site used to be under water for 3 months a year so raised beds was a must  ;D
ours are made from old pallets, the boards last about 7 years if treated first, we used the same method of cardboard on the couch grass, marestail etc, very few bits coming through

[ChrisBro]

Hiya, chris, what a site, look forward to the pics as you progress, our site used to be under water for 3 months a year so raised beds was a must  ;D
ours are made from old pallets, the boards last about 7 years if treated first, we used the same method of cardboard on the couch grass, marestail etc, very few bits coming through

Hello thanks for your reply, lots of lovely produce in that pic looks great cant wait to see mine looking something like that, its funny you should mention pallets I have just been to se a local animal feed supplier down the road and he has a stack of old pallets just sitting in his yard a good couple of hundred anyway he's told me I can help myself so raised beds here we come lol oh and also a couple of good compost bins of course.

Cant wait to get started now got the brush cutter booked for weekend, just running around sorting the gardens out at home so I can have the weekend away from them dam grasss grows so quickly!!!

Nearly done now :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

Don't burn the ragwort, compost it. It's an annual weed which will rot down to non-poisonous compost; if you burn it you're wasting organic matter. Dig what you can and either strim the rest or cover it with black plastic. As long as you persist, you'll get there!

[ChrisBro]

Don't burn the ragwort, compost it. It's an annual weed which will rot down to non-poisonous compost; if you burn it you're wasting organic matter. Dig what you can and either strim the rest or cover it with black plastic. As long as you persist, you'll get there!

Hello Robert thanks for your post, I will do that am going to collect a load of pallets tomorrow so fingers crossed should be able to at least get the compost bin built and started off so I will throw it in there.

[shirlton]

 Hi Chris. Welcome to the forum. Now don't you get buying all that stuff from Wilkies without lettin me know whats going cheap. I'm famous for havin shares inWilkies. Ask anyone ;D

[littlebabybird]

Hi Chris, sorry just to clarify the link i posted isnt my plot,
it belongs to the good dr that the other posters were refering to,
you said you would like to see it so i posted the link for you.
mine is no where near as tidy  :-[
lbb

[ChrisBro]

Hi Chris. Welcome to the forum. Now don't you get buying all that stuff from Wilkies without lettin me know whats going cheap. I'm famous for havin shares inWilkies. Ask anyone ;D

Ha ha ha thanks for your welcome, Im a typical bloke TBH dont do shopping lol only under the threat of death unless its a car or something dangerous ha ha ha thats different, it was my good lady that was telling me about Wilkies sounds like you 2 would get on famously lol she is another bargain hunter.

Hi Chris, sorry just to clarify the link i posted isnt my plot,
it belongs to the good dr that the other posters were refering to,
you said you would like to see it so i posted the link for you.
mine is no where near as tidy  :-[
lbb

Ahhhhhhh I see thanks for adding that link I appreciate that and all credit to the good Dr whoever you are........

[sarah]

get thee to the car boot sales on sunday morning and you should find plenty of ready plants at very cheap prices.  good luck with your project, i hope it comes together.  :)

[ChrisBro]

get thee to the car boot sales on sunday morning and you should find plenty of ready plants at very cheap prices.  good luck with your project, i hope it comes together.  :)

Ji Sarah thanks for your post, thst about the only shopping I do partake in volluntarily these days car boot sale I love them, there are usually a few sellers with plants etc never paid much attention before but will be doing this weekend great idea.

Thanks

Chris

[cornykev]

Hi Chris and welcome, I think you've had sound advise, the two things I will have to definitely second is no to rotavating and Shirl's definitely got shares in Wilko's, all the best and keeeeeep digging.     ;D ;D ;D

[ChrisBro]

Hi Chris and welcome, I think you've had sound advise, the two things I will have to definitely second is no to rotavating and Shirl's definitely got shares in Wilko's, all the best and keeeeeep digging.     ;D ;D ;D

Hello thanks for your welcome its very much appreciated, I am a web designer by trade and got all excited this afternoon, registered a new domain and have thre a site together to document my adventure, god I feel like a kid at christmas sure it will wear off when the diggin starts lol

thanks again for your welcome :)

[thifasmom]

your idea of ebay for a good cheap resource of ready to plant plants is a good idea. in 2007 when my beds were ready it was to late to sow most of the things i wanted to grow and so i used ebay with great success both crop wise and wallet wise.

Hello thanks for your reply, I have been looking on Ebay this afternoon and there are some great plants at very good prices my only concern is the sending of them ie Royal Mail not very good at the best of times but I suppose its more down to the seller and the way they pack them. Will have to try and see what happens.

yes it does depend on the sellers packing ability/ skill, also stick to sellers who specify that they only post items Monday to Wednesday, that way your purchases stand less chance of being stuck in the sorting offices over the weekend.