HI Guys,
I am recovering from my strimming fun and games yesterday.
It took almost and hour and a half to cut all the weeds down and we managed to get the petrol stimmer back in the car before the heavens opened.
Most of the weeds are cut now cut to 2 inches above ground instread of 6ft :-)
I am going to spend tomorrow picking up all the cuttings and put it into my compost bin and i have more wood ordered to build more rasied beds where the weeds were growing.
I need some advice now on what i do with the weeds left on the plot as i cant cut them any lower my plan is to dig out the ones that are inside the new raised beds and to treat the weeds on the new paths with pain on weed killer cover in more weed membrane ( most of the weeds have grown on weed membrane or cut though the membrane into the ground ) and then cover in wood chips.
The new paths will be approx 2 ft wide and the new beds consist of seven 4x10ft beds, Eight 3x10ft beds, two 6x6ft bed with a 2x2ft bed in the middle of each of the 6x6ft beds ( these willl be filled with acid soil blueberrys on the bottom and cranberrys on top).
The wood is being delivered either friday or the following monday so you might not hear much from me while i do this!
Cambourne7
Hello. Snap i've had a busy day with the petrol strimmer,managed to get half of it done before the heavens opened up again. Sounds a good idea this raised bed gardening. Where the beds are going i'd put membrane down where the paths are going weedkiller.How high do you build em? Are you importing soil? Hope it goes well
Hi
I most will be 6inches i would like to make my main beds 1ft high so i have less bending to do.
I am trying to be organic so do not want to use weedkiller if i can avoid it.
Soil - I have heavy clay and the plan is to dig in a bag of spent hops and a wheelbarrow of horse manure and some compost. Then top it off with more compost. I was also going to add a 1/3 bag of peralite to the soil as i though it was going to be a dry summer but i have avoided that so far this year as the ground is so wet.
Cambourne7
All sounds like a lot of hard work, don't overdo it! Guess the rain will give you some enforced rest breaks! Good luck with it all!
hiya, cambourne, our paths are covered with heavy card, chippings or ash and then, as we get flags, these are laid on top
we also cover the raised beds we're not using in autumn with old cardboard and put bricks or weed control over them, the card keeps the weeds down and the worms disintegrate the card over winter, we have the best, most friable soil in the new growing year
I know, it's wierd but it works for us ;D
Scousers what are them white semi rings holding up your netting and is that the scaffold / builders netting. ;D ;D ;D
yep builders netting, sewn up by ray with fishing wire when i gets ripped
white stuff is trimmings from double glazing, it stays bendy for a few years before it goes brittle ;D
I've got the same netting but I'm trying to find something decent to hold it up. ;D ;D ;D
Hey Kev have you seen the frame my Tony made from wilkie's arches. Its under pests and deseases
Going in now. ;D ;D ;D
Should have stuck it in the "tips" and I would have seen it. ;D ;D ;D
It looks quite cool!!
Thanks for the tips guys i will take this on board ;D
Cam - my labourer (aka my darling hubby ;D) has had more luck keeping the weeds down on our plot with a mower than his strimmer. Its meant, even with our rather undulating plot he has been able to cut them much closer to the ground. He's been going back every week/fortnight & mowing this "lawn" & then its just a case of de-turfing the bed bits & keeping the weeds mowed in between them until we can get something a little less maintenance-heavy. How big an area have you got to clear?
Saz
Quote from: cornykev on June 29, 2007, 18:05:51
Scousers what are them white semi rings holding up your netting and is that the scaffold / builders netting. ;D ;D ;D
I use bendy plastic electric conduit. Cheap, strong and can be used for plant support etc.