A patch from scratch...!!

We've just bought our 1st house in Mold, North Wales and it has a nice little SSW facing long, thin garden split into 3 tiers.

The 1st is a patio area, with potential for growing in tubs i presume, suggestions welcome...??

This steps down to tier 2 which is 1/3 pond, 1/3 lawn, 1/3 shrubbery. I plan to leave this tier as it is.

Tier 3 is the puzzler. It is largely lawn with a narrow border containing small plants and shrubs. I haven't measured it but from my amateur eye i would say T3 is 7m x 4m 'ish.

Heres where i need your help. As with most house moves there is plenty to do inside (ive almost decorated the living room then I have 3 bedrooms to do). This is my priority and will take me till April but i dont want to find out its too late to start and ive missed out on getting some good growing results this summer.

I may be able to negotiate a satday morning every other weekend to devote to the garden (gf permitting of course).

Therefore what should i be doing 'now' that i cant do in april/may to ensure results this summer?

 

HI Jonathan2845.
We live jest down the A55 from yiou on Anglesey.
And the weather is the same for both of us on the whole.
Well Q 1 what are you thinking VEGE OR ??.
If it is Vege, then you can start puting vege in tubs/ bins, I have spuds in 2 barrels planted them last weeek.
let me know what you are thinking of puting down.
Remember we can have a late season down in N Wales, so don't worry to much.

 

My mums family is originally from Anglesey. Not sure where though. They moved to S. Cumbria about 50+ years ago.

Yes, veggies for definite, fruit if possible, and a few herbs would be nice.

Spuds in tubs sounds good! Might be able to steal a some time for a bash at that this weekend.

Not looking for anything too exotic or unusual, for starters i'd like home grown versions of what we eat already. So it would be carrots, leeks, onions, peas, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce.

Until the inside of the house is done I will be without greenhouse (maybe even longer) so as a novice i'm not entirely sure what's possible.

 

Get it all dug over ASAP.
You can put some early potatoes in early february.
Also fruit bushes such as redcurrent or blackcurrent can go in . They only cost a couple of quid from wilkos / nettos etc.
Once in there is very little you have to do apart from reap the rewards.
Then next year when you have more time the world is your oyster and start being a bit more adventureous.

 

Hi again.
If you don't want to make raised beds, then mark out a patch with a path on one side or both.
Then take your time to turn it over ( dig ).
leave for the frost to get to it.
Remember to put the turf under the soil as it were.
You can grow carrots in tubs, get good compost, and sow the seeds, when the weather is better no frost.
When the carrots show leave till they grow a bit more then thin out, you can eat the thined out ones, or transplant them to another tub.
You can put some poli over the tub tops to make like a cloch.
to early for peas,
Get Onion sets and when the frost goes put them in rows, but leave say 2/3 weeks then put another row/ rows.
This way when you are eateing the firt lot, the others are growing. Onions will grow in tubs as well.

 

http://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/techniques.asp#soilprep
Take a look at this site great info to help you.

 

Relax! You've all the time you need. I took over my new (uncultivated) plot in May 2004 thinking it would be 'too late'. There was still time to sow and plant pretty much everything, and to buy plug plants of anything that needed a long growing season. We have such extended seasons now.

In terms of preparation, if you act now you can leave the worms to do their work until April:

http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/schools_organic_network/leaflets/NoDigGardening.pdf

Good luck with your new garden