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  • Hello from a new grower

    Just thought I'd say hi and introduce myself. I'm a bit of a newbie gardener. When we moved into our house a few years ago we neglected the garden. When we finally tidied up I got bitten by the gardening bug and especially took and interest in growing fruit and veg.

    So far I've just dipped my toe in, we unsuccessfully grew some courgettes last year and some strawberries that didn't amount to much, though we did have some success with some Autumn raspberries. This year we grew a good number of chillies.

    As the garden was pretty tired and not very family friendly, we had it redesigned and re-landscaped. Despite having a lot to fit into a modest amount of space, I've finally got my garden office (yay), a lawn (we've never had one) and a decent space to grow some fruit and veg. Here's a photo of my new (and empty) fruit and veg garden.

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/2da63vrkcy..._1706.jpg?dl=0

    I've got two raised beds that I'll be using with the square foot gardening system and two ground beds in each corner that we'll be using to grow some soft fruit. I just planted a Tayberry in the right hand corner yesterday which we will be training along the fence, and I've still got my raspberries sitting in pots waiting to go in the other beds. I'm also going to be planting a dwarf Blackberry ("Little Black Prince") next to the Tayberry.

    Of course, not a huge amount of stuff to plant at this time of the year, but I've got some bare root Strawberries "Flamenco" to go in three squares, some onion sets, some garlic and some broad beans to sow. I can't wait to see the fruit and veg garden come to life (as well as the rest of the garden, when all of the other plants and bulbs in our borders start to spring to life).

    I'm trying to get my eldest daughter (6) to help me whenever possible, my parents never really did any gardening as a child and I want her to grow up with an interest (and my youngest, who's only 19 months, when she's a bit older).
    Last edited by Bren In Pots; 02-11-2017, 03:59 PM. Reason: added correct link

  • #2
    Welcome along...

    looks like I'd have to sign in to dropbox to see your image.
    sigpic
    1574 gin and tonics please Monica, large ones.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Baldy View Post
      Welcome along...

      looks like I'd have to sign in to dropbox to see your image.
      Whoops, looks like I copied the wrong share link. This should work:

      https://www.dropbox.com/s/2da63vrkcy..._1706.jpg?dl=0

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      • #4
        Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to edit my original post - if I click "Edit", none of the buttons that appear ("Save", "Cancel", "Go Advanced") do anything when clicked. Is this a known problem?

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        • #5
          Hello and welcome.
          You will need to have made a few more posts before you can Edit or add photos. Its how the system is set up for new members as some are not quite what they seem.
          Thanks for the photo of your garden - I can stop trying to imagine it now. We'll need more photos through the year as the beds fill up.
          I don't know how much sun your fences receive but maybe you could grow climbing beans and peas against them?

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          • #6
            The orientation of the photo above is roughly South-West, so the fence on the right will get a decent amount of sunshine. Unfortunately the ground beds are reserved for soft fruit, but I do have more space behind the fence at the back that I could possibly use for some more containers at some point.

            My project for next year is to turn the space down the side of the garage at the back into my potting area.

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            • #7
              Hello and welcome to the vine TheCyclingProgrammer

              Originally posted by TheCyclingProgrammer View Post
              Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to edit my original post - if I click "Edit", none of the buttons that appear ("Save", "Cancel", "Go Advanced") do anything when clicked. Is this a known problem?
              ps. I've edited your post with correct link.
              Location....East Midlands.

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              • #8
                Welcome to the vine

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                • #9
                  Welcome and look forward to seeing your progress

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                  • #10
                    Hello and welcome. Sounds like you've got a good plan. Hope you and your family have lots of fun.

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                    • #11
                      hello,welcome to the vine
                      sigpicAnother nutter ,wife,mother, nan and nanan,love my growing places,seed collection and sharing,also one of these

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                      • #12
                        Hello & welcome to the forum,garden looks great,if the sun catches the right hand side fence most of the day south facing,you could make a border & fan train a dwarf apple tree & a grapevine onto wires on the fence,you'd still have the space to manage & reach all areas of the raised beds. I think trees etc like the protection of the raised bed,like a huge piece of mulch,keeps the roots nice but you can design it how you want & you have a lot of choice
                        Location : Essex

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                        • #13
                          Thanks for all your comments and thank you for editing my original post.

                          Jungle Jane - introducing borders down the side of the raised beds is an interesting idea, although I think for now it would be better to keep access on each side.

                          I do already have a plan in mind for the fence though, I'm going to set up a stainless steel wire system to train my tayberries along the fence. I was going to train the previous years growth along one fence and the current years along the other. Depending on how well it fruits on the east-facing fence, I might move the canes each year so they fruit-producing canes are moved onto the south facing fence and grow the new ones along the back.

                          My second order from Blackmoor arrived today, a dwarf blackberry and my strawberry runners!

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                          • #14
                            My blackberry is now planted and so are most of my strawberry runners.

                            I've never ordered strawberry runners before, I know its normal for them to look a bit sad. I removed any completely dead foliage, the leaves remaining are pretty leggy/floppy - should I remove these too and just leave the crowns?

                            I had planned to soak them for 20 minutes before planting but the instructions supplied by Blackmoor said explicitly not to soak them as it encourages rot, so I just worked a bit of BF&B into the ground, planted them without burying the crowns with a small scoop of RootGrow and gave them a good soak. I assume that's all they need? Should I expect to see any new growth before winter or is it a bit late for that?

                            I was also planning to mulch around them with some Strulch (I've got loads of it left from the landscaping) just to give them some extra protection and keep weeds away.

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                            • #15
                              Everything you've said sounds really good,I'd leave the good limp leaves on the plant,Ive never bought plants through the post but I wonder after a week of being in the ground & the roots settling into their new bed,the leaves might show a bit of happiness maybe,better to leave on than take off I think?
                              Location : Essex

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