Where should I start?

[Tori]

Ok so I have cleared out the shed and installed the essentials. Then I found myself leaning on fork looking at it all!

Where should I start? It all looks so big and I only have 45mins of daylight after work 3 nights a week and a couple of hours at the weekend! Aggghhh!

Shall I hire a strimmer/brush cutter?

Thanks!

[Snadger]

It looks to have been recently cultivated? If you have no plan........devise one.
A few questions you need to ask yourself are:-

Am I going to grow organically?
Am I going to grow traditionally or using beds?
In which direction does the sun rise and set?
Am I going to grow softfruit?
Crop rotation?.......if so and using beds they can be rotated quite easily!
What veg do my family like?
What veg can I grow that are expensive to buy?

Put it all down on a rough scaled drawing and:-

Visualise the plot when it's finished and start digging the area you will need to plant first. At this time of year weeds aren't growing so fast so you can make good headway with half an hours digging each evening!

There is loads more information on the vine but most of all enjoy your little piece of Eden!

[Alice]

Start with a plan Tori. What is it you want to achieve.
After that, do it square yard by square yard.
It will all get done - but not in a day, or week or maybe even year.
Gardening is a long term project - but you can make short term gains.

[Two_Sheds]

As t'others have said .. you need to plan where you will plant what veg next year. Probably your earliest crops will be onions, followed by spuds at Easter.
So clear that patch first. Don't even try to do it all in one go. Little and often.

Clear a patch, then cover it, with cardboard or other weed suppressant.

[Carrie G]

Hey, what's wrong with looking at it? It's your new baby - enjoy. As everyone says planning it the main thing that you should be doing. And do take it a little bit at a time, that way you'll do it right. Patience is a virtue and it makes the journey last longer and more fun!!

[Kayt]

I too have a new lottie and feel a little overwhelmed/confused as to where everything should be. Having spokent to my Dad who is 84 and has gardened all his life I now realise it is a long term thing and I will keep making changes. He has lived in his bungalow for 19 years and says it took him 10 years to really get things how he wanted in the garden and is changing things again now to make it easier for himself. Little and often is certainly the key to digging! I went all out to get lots done a few weeks ago and felt fine at the time but then could hardly walk for 10 days because of my back!! On the other hand, maybe you are younger and fitter than me But enjoy it. Its yours to do as you wish with

[Tori]

Possibly younger - definately not fitter! Hoping to get down there on thurs after work, in the meantime I will formulate a plan!
I think its the only thing that is going to keep me sane between now and the end of term! (I am a reception teacher and director of the nativity play - Mary is already off sick!)

[rainbowminx]

I think it's lovely that you have got your lottie at this time of year so you have time to ponder and plan. I got mine at the beginning of May so it was a race against the clock to get some stuff in it and growing. I've just done a blog of my journey from then to now which will show you what is possible, even if you are rushing! Apart from a tiny bit of digging by my OH and a bit of strimming by my sister, I've done it all myself, and that has been fitted in around raising children and working a paid job too. Take a look and I hope you pick up some ideas, if not some enthusiasm for what can be achieved!

Pinky's lottie

Kris

[Tori]

Wow thanks Pinky. Just read though your blog - that was really helpful. I am definately going to mark out the beds with string and canes.

Thanks

[JennieAtkinson]

Just a little bit at a time Tori and think ahead. It has taken me four years to get my garden veg plot how I want it, but it was worth the wait and in between I've managed to grow some veg in pots.
Good luck!

[Novice Gardener]

Hi Tori, where abouts in Ashford is your lottie? I'm on William & Jemmet near the park. I got mine at the end of May and quickly dug over a bed for potatoes and sweetcorn, then I started at the far end of the plot and just started digging and weeding bit by bit. I put in a few bits like chard which is fairly quick growing along with carrots and some salad leaves just to give me something over the summer but now I've got more or less a blank canvass to work with so I'm busy planning what to put where. I've got some onions and garlic in already and am planning to put in some broad beans either this weekend or next depending on the weather. I've also built 4 raised beds - one for strawberries, two for asparagus and another for salad leaves. Good luck with yours

[Alison]

I got mine at the end of the summer. Me and OH took a few days off work at the beggining of October and hired a heavy duty brush cutter to cut it all back down. This really helped as we could then see what we had to work with. Cleared all the rubbish and cut back stuff away, installed a shed and IBC for water collection. The only thing worth keeping on the plot was the compost bins and a huge row of raspberries (although I've removed some as it was a bit too huge!). There were the remenants of some old raised beds but now where I wanted them so I've levelled those areas rather and covered lots of it with tarps. OH has put a simple fence round the outside to stop the locals using it as a cut through (but left them a path round the edge as they'd make one anyway) and I've planted up a few fruit trees. Have some soft fruit bushes in pots at home at the moment which will be taken up there in the spring when that area is dug over. I did a rough plan when I first got it but have revised that a bit following working up there as I now have a better idea of which parts are full sun, where the winter shade extends and I now know the bottom corner can get a bit boggy as it's rather lower than the rest. I'm now pretty happy with my plan and intend to source some cheap (fingers crossed) wood for raised beds over winter and have set my plan into segments ie what I'm going to acheive next year and then the year after. I have the top third down to soft fruit which won't take too much work, the middle section to a four bed veg rotation and the bottom section nearest the path will eventually contain a polytunnel but that is a while off. Next year I intend to grow pumpkins and squashes over quite a bit of that area as they will cover the ground and supress weeds (and I really like them!), already have my friend's three kids lined up to have a pumpkin growing contest there.

Basically I'm not intending to be up there much between now and spring this year but will be making sure I have everything ready to start as soon as the weather starts to warm up a little bit.

[Tori]

Thank you guys - It all gives me good ideas. My plan has changed about 5 times now!

Hi Novice, Mine is on the William Jemmett site too! The bigger bit off Musgrove, mine is the one with the worst looking shed!! I had hoped to get down at the weekend, but christmas shopping, a bad cold and rain got in the way. Now I am busy up until xmas then we are holiday until the new year! Oh well it will have to be my new year project.

I am hoping to grab a couple of hours to sneak down there - at the very least to cover up the weeds with plastic.

Small world!

[Novice Gardener]

Tori, Mine is on the Jemmett bit - opp the park, as you look at the site from the road, mine is the one on the right hand side - looking very bare at the moment, but have done loads of digging/weeding/manuring etc so hopefully next year i'll really get going. If ever you need a hand, or fancy a seed/seedling swap, give me a shout - I can only do weekends at the moment, but am happy to lend a hand if I can. PM me if you want and I'll give you my mobile number.

[Tori]

Thank you very much Novice. Would love to meet up to be nosey and discuss plans/swapseeds/pick brains. But will have to be in the new year now though as I really am too busy! I might have time to peer over the fence on the way to work though!

I did manage to get down there for an hour this weekend and I marked out the beds and covered some of the plot up with weed suppressing material. Marking out the beds really made me feel like I had acheived something!
Had a general tidy up, next job to build a proper compost bin. I also have a boot loadfull of horse manure which I must take down there tomorrow - beginning to humm a bit now. So hopefully can sneak off at 3.15 and get in 45 mins before dark!