EADD Gardening Club: Ploughing FUBAR's infertile Fields

[Fishface]

Over the past weekend, I made a start in our garden, clearing out elders, brambles and ivy. It’s only a small courtyard garden, slap-bang in the middle of a city, but it has the potential to be a corner of Paradise and that’s what I hope to be able to turn it in to, especially with a wee one on the way

Gardening is such good therapy: physical work, fresh air, a connection with nature, all great antidotes to the unnatural pressures of so much of modern life.

So, I wondered whether there were any other EADD-ers who were into gardening and had knowledge, enthusiasm and encouragement to share?

Paradise is here for the making – let’s get on with it! %)

 

[B9]

^ True! Send me a large dose of motivation please.

 

[The_Idler]

When do you sow your poppy seeds?

 

[Fishface]

^^Okey-dokey, I'll see what I can muster

Tell you what, though, the arrival of a wren in the garden for the first time on Sunday certainly lifted my spirits

^ May onwards, I'm reliably informed

 

[B9]

^ You couldn't see a wren, or even a large bird, the fog is that thick at the moment erm & it's dark as well.

 

[Fishface]

Sounds delightful 8)

Pouring with rain here - serious concerns for folk a little north of here, where they were flooded out last year - perhaps an EADD Carpentry club with free blueprints for an Ark may be called for

 

[We_come1]

The last thing i grew were some beans for a school projects when i was 12 i think, and what little we had of a garden (patch of concrete with some plants in) has since been half covered by kitchen so can't see myself taking it up any time soon.

 

[B9]

^^ You gonna oversea the operation then, coz i cut corners - not good for ark construction at a guess.

 

[We_come1]

Cutting corners not such a huge problem in Ark construction really. Only got to last for 40 days, hardly the QE2

 

[B9]

^ Heavy seas tho by all historical accounts, one can easily sink on day 39

 

[We_come1]

I'm sure the folk North of Fishface can tread water for a day and be glad they had an ark in the first place. Ingrates!

 

[fastandbulbous]

This is not a good thing to admit, but this thread has reactivated my latent garden envy. There's only so much satisfaction to be had growing things in shrub tubs in a back yard.

Colour me green with envy!

 

[Fishface]

^^ You gonna oversea the operation then, coz i cut corners - not good for ark construction at a guess

No time for overseeing duties, I'm afraid

I'm sure the folk North of Fishface can tread water for a day and be glad they had an ark in the first place. Ingrates!

The rain eased, so they can get on with making their own now

There's only so much satisfaction to be had growing things in shrub tubs in a back yard.

What do you grow in them, mate? I'm going to have to use a lot of tubs as the beds are quite limited. Even considering growing some taters

in my mams house my dad used to always do all the gardening, he planted lots of trees and stuff but since hes been gone the place had been gettin a bit overgrown, the neighbours come and cut the grass and stuff for my ma from time to time but this summer or spring even i intend to sort the whole place out.. maybe chop down or or two trees (theres loads) and get it all back together again! give me something to do anyway hehe

I could've sworn me Mum was in the garden with me at the weekend

Yeah, get out there and make a start, RA, sure you'll find it inspiring %)

 

[happyus]

i loves trying to grow things
at the moment we have (in pots) carrots, parsnips, potato, cucumber,tomoatoe and lettuce- all out of season but all doing loverly!!
this year i'm going to grow some sweetpeas which should be fun cos they take a little more care than just bunging them in a pot!!
we also have heather, lavender and orchid, cacti a rose bush and no space is wasted in our house there's an old box freezer abandoned outside and we left a packet of cat grass on top- after two nights the slugs had eaten the packet and after a week the grass started to grow, so we have a patch of grass growing out of soil on top of a freezer *thinks nature is amazing*

 

[Fishface]

*thinks nature is amazing*

Absoluelty!!! :D

What kind of size pots are you growing your root veg' in, happyus?

Also, any recommendations on composting 'apparatus'? We haven't room for traditional bins or heaps, so have been looking at various 'compact composters' - just wondering whether anyone's got experience of them.

 

[happyus]

ummm medium size ones,i'm not a technical gardner really!! having said how great they were doing the kittens shot out the door just now and ran along the window sill knocking the carrots and parsnip pots over....little buggers!! so there is soil everywhere....however seeing both them upside down made me realise both of the plants are outgrowing their pots so we may need to split them down and re-pot them this weekend.

i really want a composter too, but chris is saying no because of the smell it would make and our lack of need for the compost..........(i might buy one anyways)

oooh!! has anyone got a cherry blossom tree? i really want one but am scared that it wouldn't last without constant care, are they difficult to keep happy?

 

[B9]

^ Flowering cherries come in all sorts of shapes & sizes. They don't take a lot of looking after - simply a good choice of planting spot, correct prerparation & judicious watering for the first year (or so, weather dependant). One thing to realise is that the English flowering cherry grows to a good sized tree & has fairly invasive roots. what you want is probably a dwarf japanese cherry - which number several hundred different species.
Decide on size & when you would like it to flower (some do so at christmas) & I'll look in my Big Kids Book of Trees & send you the details of the ones with relevant spec.

 

[Fishface]

^ See - our brethren share a wealth of knowledge on all manner of subjects

So, B9, what would you recommend in the way of espaliered fruit trees for a south facing wall, approximately 6' high and 20' long?

 

[haribo1]

I'm wondering about growing Califonian poppies (not the morphine containing ones) for a laugh... it's the limit of my ability..

 

[B9]

In your area you may well get away with something as exotic as peach - greengage would do well in the south west as well - they only ripen up here in the longest hottest summers. Go to a local nurseryman ( reputable - hard to tell at times) & ask him for info on what & where - be aware that many of the higher yeil;ding trees would requiire fancy ( expensive) chems to kill pests & feed the thihg.