Topic: Cumbrian Garden Project

[Steve.]

Timeline: 4th April 2009

I've now built a composting system in a shady spot behind the wall (all recycled materials), 3 bays each one a little over 2 foot wide, 2 foot deep and 3 foot high. Removable slats at the front for ease of access and top lid opening too for watering and final filling. This should get hot enough at these sizes ( I recently saw a similar slightly smaller version of this on a recent alottment visit, and theirs was steaming)
 
Posts buried 12 inches into soil. Not connected to wall at all..its esentially freestanding.
 

 
Boarding out the bays, each is around 28" wide, 38" high and 30" deep
 

 
Now with a lid, front guides and slats installed.
 

 
Painted inside and out, I ran out of paint so had to go and buy another pot for its final coat. (I'll get to that when/if it stops raining and dries out.
 

 
My plan is to start from the left, and to succesively "turn" from one bay to another. How long do you think I should leave it in each bay before moving the compost into the next, bearing in mind that I suspect it will be a hot heap?
 
Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Thats all for now...I'll add the rest later tonight or in the morning.

Steve...:)

[gwynnethmary]

Steve, I have loved looking at your photos and reading about the tranformation of your blank canvas.  You've worked so hard, and it looks wonderful!

[slyfox-mal]

very well done steve it was a pleasure to look at and also to read i envy you're skills i hope it brings you many years of pleasure.  kindest regards mal

[Duke Ellington]

I really love those composting bins :)
Well Done:)
Duke

[manicscousers]

What a transfomation, congratulations, all your hard work was worth it  ;D

[Carol]

Well done, you have done a grand job there.

 ;D

[beanie3]

What a transformation - and how handy you are with a bit of wood.  You have done a great job.

[Steve.]

Timeline: 16th June 2009

I thought I had better update this topic a little bit, its a work in progress still and I apologise for the mess....you can wipe your feet as you leave. :)
 
The new raised bed at the side of the house is planted with strawberries and is now a small fruit cage to defeat Mr & Mrs Blackbird.
 

 
Greenhouse is now producing as it should do and I have raised from seed quite a few flowers this year, so many in fact I'm giving them away now. I've dismantled some of the staging seen in earlier shots...and placed tomatoes in their place.
 

 

 
I'm growing edibles for the first time this year, mostly the usual suspects but here's a list.
 
Potatoes (3 different)
Carrots
Beetroot
Shallots
Radish
Lettuce (3 different)
Tomatoes (3 different cordon and tumbling cherry)
Strawberries (3 different and a tumbler)
Beans (2 different)
Squash
Sorrel
Courgette (Yellow and Green)
Pak Choi (sowing tomorrow)
Peas (sowing tomorrow)
 
Heres a pci of a relatively untouched area of the garden.
 

 
I've now added another veg bed to this area, temporary for this summer. After the growing season this whole area will be raised around 18 inches and some more paving to the left of the new bed here. Beans, courgettes, squash and sorrel. Pak choi to be adden in next day or so.
 

 
On the other side of the garden I have a little "edibles" area. Potatoes, carrots, Strawberries, Tomatoes, lettuce.
 

 

 
And another new bed the other side of the patio. Beans, Radish, shallots, Beetroot.
 

 

 
Here's a different view showing the two new veggie beds.
 

 
And a pretty shot from a part of the garden planted last year.
 

 
I'll post more when everywhere is a little tidier and grown on.
 
Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 18th September 2009
 
A mini tour around the veg in our garden, here in Cumbria. Its my first time growing edibles apart from herbs so most of the planting/digging has been last minute and some of it is temporary.
 
Area 1: Potatoes, tumbling cherry toms, carrots, rocket, lettuce, Aliccante toms.
 

 
Potatoes chitted and grown in old compost bags (8 of them) a mix of varieties including Vale emarald, Rocket and Pink fur apples. I harvested these last night and we had some PFA for dinner...as good as Jerseys if not better.
 
The tumbin' cherry toms, yet to ripen..
 

 
Carrots in the old bin and in the wooden trough behind it are all the salad leaves, some sweet peas and alicante toms, also yet to ripen.
 

 
New for this summer is a herb trough including mint (in its own fort knox style area) and oregano, basil, chives. parsley and coriander. We have sage, bay, rosemary and dill elsewhere in the garden.
 

 
Another new bed for this year with frame supports holding runner beans and sweet peas, you can just make out some beetroot at the base of the frame.
 

 
The same bed from the other side.
 

 
On this side of the bed there are shallots at the front ( we have grown and harvested radishes in the centre of the a frame when everything was first planted)
 

 
The strawberry bed down the side of the house in front of the compost bin and behind the greenhouse.Half of this has already given us fruit, the other half has yet to and are repeat fruiting (apparently) although right now they are just going crazy sending out runners. (Note to self: Get those runners planted!)
 

 
Another temporary bed for this summer inspired after a conversation I had with a another gardener in the village about the american "three sisters" gardening technique, where you compost and grow at the same time. Basically I emptied my compost heap (no where near ready to use) into this bed and put a couple of inches of soil on top and planted into that...everything is doing incredibly well and I'll have a healthy bed full of compost to use again at the end of the season. (three sisters technique for those interested - http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/teach/2003045238014436.html) We have more sweet peas and runner beans in here, a couple of courgettes (green and yellow) three squash plants, radish, peas and a variegated sorrel.
 

 
Three rows of radish, next to the sorrel.
 

 
And the squashes now heading out over what remains of the lawn.The lawns days are numbered and wont be there next year
 
Yellow and green courgettes
 

 

 
Late planted peas just coming through, for an autumn crop...I hope!
 

 
At the end of may we bought a couple of huge strwaberry plants from a may flower market in cockermouth, these are now re-potted and producing fruits for us.
 

 

 
In the greenhouse we have Moneymaker and Gourmet tomatoes (just starting to crop) and a couple of cucumbers tht got scorched earlier in the year but are recovering now that I have painted on some greenhouse shading...and they are now starting to grow some decent sized cucs.
 
Thanks to kristen with his advice on "layering" my toms we have saved some space on the height and allowed more trusses to grow on the toms.
 
Moneymakers
 

 
Gourmet
 

 
Whole greenhouse.
 
I used a wide angle lens to get as much of the inside space as possible, the tom plant at the end shows how high all my plants would be if I had not layered them as per kristen's advice. Thank kristen!
 

 
This is the end of the gardens veggie tour, I'd just like to thank everyone who has offered advice to my daft questions, and also to those who asked questions and got advice that then saved me asking the question in the first place...this probably includes YOU..if your reading this.
 
Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 26th January 2010

I've just made a new veg bed from Larch slabs, from our local timber mill. Larch slabs are the sides of the log from where they have squared it up for further processing, they vary in thickness from 5-6 inches to almost nothing and cost 10p per foot. I sorted through a pile of these slabs to try and find ones that where as even as possible.
 
To construct this bed I overlapped them from the bottom up on 24 inch lengths of 3 x 3 post offcuts for each side, then dug a small hole at either end with a shallow trench in between them then set both sides into the ground. Then I just cut some slabs up and screwed them to the ends to join up the sides. I've stapled some old plastic inside to aid water/soil retention and I'll continue filling it up today. Its 8 foot by 3.5 foot and cost was less than £10
 

 

 
Please excuse the muddy mess of a garden and wipe your feet when you leave..:lollol:
 
Steve...:)

[Steve.]

Timeline: 18 February 2010

So far most of the work on our garden has revolved around straight out of our french doors into the garden, in that part I made access to the garden so that Anne can get about in her wheelchair as she has decreased mobility, I also raised the garden so she may plant, weed, dead head, harvest, pick etc, as she sees fit or is able. Along the side of the house is the shed, compost area and greenhouse..this latest project was to tie these two areas together and provide access to the greenhouse for Anne and make better use of this side of the garden. Here is how it looked last June.
 

 
Here is the latest project and all hard landscaping is done mostly...just some tidying and finish work to do, for example soil prep and eventually planting. All materials, as usual are recycled and sourced locally.
 
Here I have dug out the topsoil ready for some hardcore to go down, note just in front of the greenhouse the awkward sewer inspection cover, this made things particularly difficult but I manage to get round this as you'll see.
 

 
I had to lay the 12 paving slabs just slightly higher than the inspection cover which is about 5-6 inches higher than the main level of the garden, so the brick pathway leading towards you in the picture is ramped to allow easy wheelchair access, the brick pavers to the left heading down to the side of the greenhouse are also sloping down to the left, leading off the already sloping ramp. I've also concreted in two posts next to the greenhouse for a handrail.
 

 
Now I have added a handrail to the posts..made it ergonomic and also added a planter to help seperate the different levels and define the area.
 

 
And made a platform/cover to hide the drain inspection cover and facilitate greenhouse access for Anne.
 

 

 
To help tie it in with the rest of the garden, I've also continued to build the wall from the main patio area upto and around this new area, the stone I used for this was from an old fireplace (Thanks Jill).

 

 

 
Also with the fireplace that I recycled came a Hearthstone, which has made a splendid seat to finish off the area.
 

 
This was completed just today so the two bits of timber you can see underneath it are temporary whilst the mortar sets. Its taken two weeks in all as some days where just too wet to work..or too cold and the earth was frozen. But I'm really pleased I've got it ready well in advance of planting time.
 
Tomorrow the clean up and tidying starts, I have a lot of digging and soil turning to do the get the area just right of this new area ready for planting (where the soil heap is now).
 
Steve...:)

[Digeroo]

Many thanks for this.  It is so inspirational.  Lovely so see your OH is able to get stuck in as well.

[Steve.]

Timeline: 17-03-2010

I've just added another bed for veg this year on the other side of the patio to where the last work was completed...here's how it looked last June.



I've dismantled part of the pergola to allow light to get across to this new bed, moved the path over then built a substantial bed against the fence, complete with posts and trellis (from the dismantled pergola) to grow squashes up, I've just got to top it up with soil before planting starts.








Steve...:)

[Digeroo]

I like the compost bins but does the compost stack against the church yard wall.  Not sure I would be happy if someone stacked compost against my booundary wall.

The raised beds are great.

[beanie3]

OMG - do you ever stop.  I just love the fact you are using every nook and cranny.  You are an inspiration.

[GREENWIZARD]

it's abosolutely fantastic =]