Another new plot thread...questions, questions

[funstuie]

Anyone got any suggestions for a good source of loads of cardboard? I need a lot as I want to cover the paths as well as make up some more beds.

[Sanjo]

Tesco,local bicycle shop. places like Comets where they have large domestic items such as fridge freezers perhaps.

[becslb]

Ask at a supermarket? They usually flatten it and put it in a skip/bin so if you don't want it as boxes just say as that will make it easier for them.

Your plot looks good - yes a bit of work but you'll get there!

[funstuie]

I might be starting a new job next week so I have been going at it big time this week to get the plot cleaned up and sorted as my time down there will be less if the job works out.

So anyway I went down there yesterday and the bees were swarming which was a bit frightening. The eventually settled in one of the apple trees which overhang my plot:



I was like some sort of bee orgy. So I did all my work down the front of the plot yesterday. They started swarming again about mid afternoon.

Today I finally got the brambles hacked back and cleared some of the ivy so I put in my compost heap:



I got a lot done over the past couple of days, I cleared all the brambles from the front of the plot (I kept the fruit canes that didn't have thorns - if it hurts it went), I strimmed the all the couch grass and dug up most of it. I cleared all the carpet (there was a lot) and sieved all the soil which was covered in rubbish and years of crap. I covered the front section as I wont get anything down there this season, I also covered the middle section as the weeds seem to be be pretty bad in there.

This is what it looked like this afternoon:

From the back of the plot -



From the front (the bed on the left is full of bags of carpet waiting to go to the tip, the pile on the right is all the brambles I pulled out yesterday) -

[Two_Sheds]

good job, you should be pleased

[frogdoctor]

Building site

Hey Stuie..love those last two pics, looks like a building site......
only joking...well done Stuie, its great to see guys like you getting stuck in and making something worth-while. I think we need a few more like you on our site
Please keep updating us with your progress.


watch those bees..they make honey, it can get rather sticky..

[snakeshack]

Marestail... would you believe it I am actually looking for it to make a "soup" to spray potatoes and tomatoes as it contains silica and prevents blight. So save some for your lottie pals.Typical I cannot find the weed for love nor money!!

come and see me you can have as much as you want I'll even supply the bags!

[funstuie]

I finally spoke to the guy who owns the bees. I think he must have been a bit worried about me stealing some of his plot. The brambles at the back of the plot are technically his plot and I had hacked them back as they were overgrown into my plot (which meant I got scratched every time I went near). Cheekily I moved some wood and pallets over my plot line slightly (mainly to keep the brambles back). He was down there yesterday to tell me he would be creating a maze for the bees to use??

[funstuie]

I am really struggling to get cardboard. I am stupidly shy and hate asking for stuff. When I asked in my local sainsburys for cardboard the guy looked at like I was a weirdo and then told me customers are not allowed in the loading area where the bins are. I got a couple of boxes from my neighbours but I need a lot more.

[Sanjo]

I am really struggling to get cardboard. I am stupidly shy and hate asking for stuff. When I asked in my local sainsburys for cardboard the guy looked at like I was a weirdo and then told me customers are not allowed in the loading area where the bins are. I got a couple of boxes from my neighbours but I need a lot more.

I've had a similar reaction in Tesco, but I take it from the cage they shove it into, or sometimes at the back of the store they leave boxes for folk to take.
Why not telephone (so less personal than face to face!!) a local bike/white goods shop and explain that you need cardboard in large quantities for your allotment. They should be glad that you take it off their hands. Go on - you can do it!!
I was hesitant to approach Costa coffee for their used grounds, although many grapes on here do so. May darling son in law presented me with telephone number of their local one based in Tesco, together with contact name, having rung them and explained what I wanted and why.
Now when I go to visit my daughter and family I telephone young Lauren,tell her I'll be over and she has a large bag of grounds for me to take away.
It's just taking that initial step - but it's easier by telephone first.

[susieq100]

I am really struggling to get cardboard. I am stupidly shy and hate asking for stuff. When I asked in my local sainsburys for cardboard the guy looked at like I was a weirdo and then told me customers are not allowed in the loading area where the bins are. I got a couple of boxes from my neighbours but I need a lot more.

I work in a high school and our site staff are always glad to get rid of cardboard - we have a special 'skip' to put it in - if you don't want to go to a local shop you could always call in at a local school.

[Mrs Dobby]

Try your local Halfords branch, we have lots of big bike boxes that we empty to sell the bikes built, I'm sure they would be more than happy to let you take them, especially if like my branch they have to be cut up and put into a compactor and shipped back to HO!

[Liza]

Have you got a local supermarket with recycling facilities ? If so you could have a rummage in them for your cardboard.

[singleseeder]

Cardboard? Ask on Freecycle. Anyone who has had a new kitchen will be only too pleased if you take away the packaging.

Loads of other lovely things to be had too. Tools, pots, sheds, greenhouses! Also, if you want to get rid of that old shed of yours, anyone with a wood burning stove would bite your hand off to be allowed to take it away.

[Snadger]

Try your local Halfords branch, we have lots of big bike boxes that we empty to sell the bikes built, I'm sure they would be more than happy to let you take them, especially if like my branch they have to be cut up and put into a compactor and shipped back to HO!

Good thinking Mrs D!