I got my first half allotment in 1977,once had six and now just a very large garden. For several reasons I will have to downsize in the next year or so.
The question-how much garden to want ? I would go mad in a modern house with a postage stamp but I have to be realistic-I cannot afford to run this pile much longer. No chance of an allotment-so----how large would keep me sane?? Greenhouse essential but what veg size??
Sorry no estate agents fees-just tea and sympathy
Such a shame but you have to do what is best for you. :coffee2:
We still have our plot but are giving up the second. We have 6 raised beds in our back garden, various sizes and are working on moving the fruit home. I suppose it depends on what you want to grow. Hope you find somewhere you feel is right. :happy7:
Oh dear.. You've dropped some questions that are impossible to answer..only you know what you can manage with.
BUT..all is not doom and gloom. It really is surprise how much you can achieve even with 'postage stamp' area. All you need is lots of imagination for different growing systems/methods and sky is you limit :icon_cheers: You are restricted only sideways :sunny:
I started my gardening and growing with postage stamp and outgrown the space many times.. now I've got 1/4 acre. I do realize I'm not getting younger and I've already started to dread the time ahead that I cannot cope with it all anymore.
But as I've known what it is like with postage stamp..I know it can be done..limited as you maybe in smaller space, but you can still grow LOTS..you just have to be very organized about it all. And if you are able to pick the house and it's garden situation regarding the sun and light..choose the best and avoid shade, that would limit your growing a lot.
Downsizing is not really that bad...honest!..at least you are still able to grow stuff ..you just have to learn to grow in more 'squeezed in' manner :icon_cheers:
I suppose it depends on what gardens are available in the houses you are looking at. Have you looked into vertical gardens?
Just up the road from a friend on mine is a small front garden which is truly amazing. Every inch of it is bursting with colour. Climbers, hanging baskets, raised beds, pots, you name it and they have got it. It must take an enormous amount of effort and it is a riot of colour.
Instead of a small number of large plants, perhaps what is needed is a large number of small plants.
Sounds like is could be an interesting challenge.
Hi Cleo
We have 6 raised beds 4' by 10' in our garden, one bed with early potatoes then leeks, the others, general veg, this more than feeds us throughout the year. The beds have been well composted and can be dug without the use of a foot even though we are on clay. We still give away quite a lot of veg during the season. With extra compost and feed it is surprising how much you can get out of a small plot.
Tony
We have 3 raised beds at home which equate to approximately 18' x 9' & a half plot 50' x 18'. I have decided that this year I'll grow in the flower bed too. There are some pretty peas & beans that won't look out of place there also kales. Lots of books will give you ideas too. Think Alys Fowler & The Edible Garden. Enjoy your search.
Onwards and upwards cleo yes its sad but a new challenge will get your juices going hehehe When i gave up my allotment i was really sad and i still miss it as i had just got it to a point i was happy with it. But my new garden opens up new challenges but some of things i was not happy about my allotment i don't have to worry about now.
I have space for a greenhouse 8x10 which i have put slabs around so i can move around the space for maintenance. And i have 3 raised beds (or will do) which are 4ft by 14ft there this size as i have essentially partitioned off a part of my garden so i have a traditional garden and then a veg area. It does limit what i can grow so i don't really bother with potatoes any more as i can buy then quite cheap locally as they grow them around here.
You need to think about what you get out of your plot now that you want to keep growing and if you feel given the reason for the move can you still grow it or do you need to make some adjustments. This should help you dictate the size you need.
If for example you just want to grow tomatoes, chillis and salads you just need a large greenhouse but if you want to grow spuds but digging them is going to be a problem then maybe some spaces for large boxes for potatoes to be grown in with removable sides would be a plan?
Either way you will find somewhere and when you see the garden you will see its possibility and you all know its right :)
Not much sympathy just excitement for your new adventure :) Hugs xx
I grow fruit and veg in effectively an 8 x 80 feet space and I plan very carefully. I have enough for 2 for the whole year
I will be interested to hear what you buy. When we down sized from a large Edwardian house and huge garden, I made a list of the 10 most important requirements. I got 8 of them. The garden was one of the compromises. However I was lucky to get a nearby allotment. If you stand no chance of an allotment I think the garden needs to be big enough to keep you happy, and south facing. Best of luck.
Move back up to Yorkshire, Stephan! Then you can get something as big for less money!
Thanks all. My plan is to tart this place up this autumn/winter and then put it on the market early next year. As is sods law there is a lovely chalet bungalow on the market 3 miles away with a decent garden and backing onto the river with it`s own fishing rights-hey ho hopefully something similar will crop up next year.
Hey, Stephan, long time no chat!
Hi Eric
It`s taken a very long time to get over Jenny passing-has it even now? But life has to go on.
It will certainly be hard to leave that lovely place, with all its memories. Who knows, the bungalow might still be on sale by next year the way the market is at the moment!
Personally I would arrange to see the bungalow. Maybe there are other reasons to reject it and you will not always be thinking of the one that got away. Maybe you could sell your other house now.
Selling now is not really a viable option. Even a mere male can see it needs a bit of redecorating-and that is without the comments of a lady friend I see. First impressions and all that.
Hi Caroline. Yorkshire is a bit far away from the aged mother. You may be interested to hear Cleo is still with me and getting old gracefully.
Why wait if you've seen a place you like. Put it on the market as it is ,some one may want to do their own decorating and you could also be doing the decorating as you wait for a buyer.just weigh up the cost of the decorating and be prepared to drop that much off the asking price if need to, Best of luck
We are rapidly approaching the same sort of decision too. This place is getting out of hand in many ways and neither of us are as fit as we need to be to keep it in the condition in which we want it to be.
The question is, does one look for something in the Village a mile or three away or move to somewhere far distant?
Our old garden where we lived before here was superb, to the extent that people used to walk down the road to look over the gate at it, the new owners ripped it all out so they could park their car there instead of driving up the drive.
We were told a while back that we would be better clearing all the plants out and turning this into a field, to make it more saleable. (Horse folks).
At least we have a while to think and we definitely do not want a garden at all next time.