Gardening thread for amateur gardners

[Silvestru]

Hello Forum,

I wanted to start a gardening thread for those passionate about this. I was always passionate about having a small piece of ground and taking care of it but I realise I am missing some knowledge in some areas.

I recently bought a small garden close to my house (click on spoiler) and as you can see it's in pretty bad shape. I am aware that I wont get to plant anything this year but my questions relate to the planing for next year.

1: I need to put a fence around it.
2: I want to remove some small trees and bushes. (don't ask why but I absolutely hate hibiscus) 

3: I want to plant just a few veggies (like chillies) next year.

My questions are, considering winter is coming, what should I start doing this autumn and how. Is there any reason (easier?) why I should remove the bushes that I don't want in Autumn or Winter or Spring? What about preparation for planting the vegetables next year? Should I plow the ground or anything like that?  What is your advice on removing small trees? How to do it?

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

 

Spoiler

 

[studiot]

Let me wish you far greater success in your gardening thread (and gardening) than I had in my recent one, which received no replies..

 

As regards preparing a somewhat neglected patch for cultivation, don't expect too much too quickly.

Yes you should most definitely dig over the proposed cultivated area before winter.
I don't know if you have hard winters since you are a white bear, but frost action kills off many pests and breaks up large clods.
You mentioned ploughing. Yes rotovating can relieve much of the work of digging.
You don't need to achieve what is called a fine tilth before winter, just large clods will do.

Cut back vegetation from around your area, and keep it cut back.
Existing vegetation will harbour a source of pests next year otherwise.

It will take 2 or 3 years to clean the csoil under cultivation of weed seed, roots and pest spores and grubs.
So for the first couple of years you can expect lots of attacks on your plants.

Birds help with the cleaning.

Next sping turn the soil over and break down the remianing clods to a finer consistency (tilth)
It is often said that potatoes are a good cleaning crop because the continual turning over of the soil promotes cleaning.

Something to also consider is the cost of horticultural produce in your shops.
Grow stuff which is expensive to buy, because anything that is 'in season for you' will also be in season for local commercial growers so will be at its cheapest then.

For instance I grow soft fruit, particularly soft fruit,  (strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blueberries etc).
These are financially worthwhile.
But tomatoes for instance are at rock bottom prices when mine would be ready, if I grew them.

Capsicums and courgettes are a profitable crop too.

 

 

Edited August 20, 2018 by studiot

[Silvestru]

Thank you studiot for your answer. I know your pain, gardening is not a top hobby on a physics forum but you guys are the only people that I can ask certain questions. OFC I can google search but I found that raising such topics on this forum opens up a wider perspective and members sometimes go the extra mile and advise you further from your question or bring to your attention something that you were not aware of. (for example you brought my attention to the pests issue and the weed seed)

Are you as knowledgeable  about the fences?  is there any preferred time to do it considering I want to make a cement base?(would a harsh winter affect this much? or should I wait till spring)

[studiot]

20 minutes ago, Silvestru said:

Are you as knowledgeable  about the fences?  is there any preferred time to do it considering I want to make a cement base?(would a harsh winter affect this much? or should I wait till spring)

Choose a dry season/time. Fencing in the wet is unpleasant.

Gardeners are a friendly lot and like to show off the results of their labours.
You can often get free seed/bedding plants and local advice.
Maybe there is a local club, where you can get help with two handed jobs (like fencing).
There's no perfect fence material.
Wood in the ground, even in cement, eventually rots, steel eventually rusts and the ground may give way around either.
Reconstituted plastic bags can be formed into fencing materials, but the look is always plastic, which some don't like.

What do you want the fence to enclose?

[Silvestru]

15 hours ago, studiot said:

What do you want the fence to enclose?

I was thinking about metal but realistically I will go to the local construction shop and buy what is reasonable. A balance between quality, look and price.

Yeah gardeners are always friendly, I noticed that. Not aware of any club but my neighbours(of the garden) are also in the same boat as me but with more experience so I try to inspire myself. 

What about you studiot, are you actively gardening? Is it on a small scale hobby or a more profit driven actual profession?

[studiot]

4 hours ago, Silvestru said:

What about you studiot, are you actively gardening? Is it on a small scale hobby or a more profit driven actual profession?

Never done any pro gardening, but had some sort of garden most of my life.

Coming from a rural area we had gardening classes in my primary school, 60 years ago.
We actually tackled the project of carving out garden from wilderness.
I'm really sorry this went out of fashion and the glorified plant boxes I see in some schools these days is not substitute.

But I am convinced that gardens and their contents/design layout etc should have a purpose.

So my current house faces due South and gets very (for UK) hot in the summer.
Further the downstairs windows are pretty large.

So I have two weeping deciduous trees dominating the front - a weeping silver birch and a weeping silver pear.
In the summer they shade the front windows from the fiercest of the sun.
In the winter they drop their leaves when the light levels are much lower and let more light in.

[Silvestru]

7 minutes ago, studiot said:

Coming from a rural area we had gardening classes in my primary school, 60 years ago.
We actually tackled the project of carving out garden from wilderness.
I'm really sorry this went out of fashion and the glorified plant boxes I see in some schools these days is not substitute.

But I am convinced that gardens and their contents/design layout etc should have a purpose.

So my current house faces due South and gets very (for UK) hot in the summer.
Further the downstairs windows are pretty large.

Yeah, it's pretty sad that some people lost this love of nature and are more attracted to concrete. I'm waiting for the Gardening renaissance. 

Real nice place and setup with the downstairs being protected by the summer sun but I have to ask, is there any legal limitation of what you can and cant plant in your garden in UK.

Are you allowed to plant an actual tree in front for example? Are you allowed to have a vegetable garden in front? (the latter might look a bit weird considering you are in a city)

[studiot]

No Japanese Knotweed or Himalyan Balsam or cannabis.

You might be sued if you planted something too thorny against a public highway and let it grow over causing someone to suffer.

You might also be sued if you planted something poisonous and allowed people or animals access.

Most common sense and common courtesy really.

Edited August 21, 2018 by studiot

[dimreepr]

23 hours ago, Silvestru said:

My questions are, considering winter is coming, what should I start doing this autumn and how. Is there any reason (easier?) why I should remove the bushes that I don't want in Autumn or Winter or Spring? What about preparation for planting the vegetables next year?

https://www.growveg.co.uk/guides/no-dig-gardening-create-new-beds-the-easy-way/

21 hours ago, Silvestru said:

Are you as knowledgeable  about the fences?  is there any preferred time to do it considering I want to make a cement base?(would a harsh winter affect this much? or should I wait till spring)

What sort of fence do you want?

[Silvestru]

1 minute ago, dimreepr said:

What sort of fence do you want?

Well I am new to this but most of my neighbours have a metal rod stuck in a cement base then a chain link or wooden one. I think I will follow the majority.

Most of my neighbours are a bit older (60-80) because this is a garden complex with small houses so I am hesitant to ask for advice because I am an expat and I'm not sure they speak English (ofc this could be prejudice on my side). 

[dimreepr]

1 minute ago, Silvestru said:

Well I am new to this but most of my neighbours have a metal rod stuck in a cement base then a chain link or wooden one. I think I will follow the majority.

Can you show me piccy it's a little vague, or give more detail like how high and is it for security or privacy or decoration and...   

[Silvestru]

8 minutes ago, dimreepr said:

Can you show me piccy it's a little vague, or give more detail like how high and is it for security or privacy or decoration and...   

This is my garden (like I said, very ungroomed)

 

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

 

And this is my neighbours one that makes mine look like roadkill :

 

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

 

[studiot]

Largely an ornamental fence then?

I note your neighbour has a paved path.

I suggest you sketch out a plan for the garden so you can include suitable gate/archways and the provision for future paths etc.

Paths are essential in a garden, it is to easy to create all planting and find you have no access, especially in wet weather.

[Silvestru]

1 minute ago, studiot said:

I note your neighbour has a paved path.

I suggest you sketch out a plan for the garden so you can include suitable gate/archways and the provision for future paths etc.

Paths are essential in a garden, it is to easy to create all planting and find you have no access, especially in wet weather.

You are right, I need a paved path. That's the problem with any investment I guess. Additional things that you need after the initial investment keep piling up.

I think that's what scares many young people from this kind of stuff. The sheer effort that you have to put in to have that final satisfaction later on. Younger generations want short term investments and fast profits which is worrying as they say: 

Quote

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.

 

[dimreepr]

Your garden is at a distinct disadvantage given the slope but it strikes me that it's almost opposite to your op, do you want to grow or show off or both? there's nothing aesthetically pleasing about most farms.  

[Silvestru]

4 minutes ago, dimreepr said:

Your garden is at a distinct disadvantage given the slope but it strikes me that it's almost opposite to your op, do you want to grow or show off or both? there's nothing aesthetically pleasing about most farms.  

Hmm It's really not in a slope, I just suck at taking pictures but you are right, it does look that way. I want to grow just on a small section of the garden. One that does not appear in the pic. The rest was hopefully for show off one day. Maybe next year.

[dimreepr]

1 minute ago, Silvestru said:

Hmm It's really not in a slope, I just suck at taking pictures but you are right, it does look that way. I want to grow just on a small section of the garden. One that does not appear in the pic. The rest was hopefully for show off one day. Maybe next year.

Well then, as Studiot suggests you need to make a plan but don't do straight lines nature doesn't work like that and nature is much prettier than a square; use curves and height and sites like this.

btw, all you need to chop down a tree or shrub is a chainsaw or ax, not a calendar.