Greecko's Veg Garden

It begins! well again, long story short I had plans for a garden last year you can see here, but the discovery of Japanese Knotweed soon put a hold on things, now however I am better kitted out with more knowledge (experience lacking though!) and ready to tackle the other garden, the goal is to plant a selection of vegetables and fruits, really more as a hobby than anything more!

Here are a few pictures of what it looks like currently, photos taken late in the evening so a little dark

This photo shows the original garden t be planted but postponed until the knotweed is killed this year..the tree is an old apple tree, next project to sort out


Looking now from east to west you can see the shed, on the left the big tree and further on the out houses and old house (ill add photos of them later however can be seen in my old project thread-see first line of post)


Looking at the garden from west to east, overhanging foliage is the ivy on the little shed and far end is the gap into our field


This is looking southwest to northeast, reason I took this photo was because it is right below the very tall tree that has littered the ground in leaf litter, nothing grows below the tree, you can see where the grass ends and no doubt where my planting area will too


Finally looking North to south, you can see the back hedge and directly behind that is a road, which sit about 5 feet below the plot and blocked by very thick hedge, there is also a slope running north to south, cant really be seen in the photo


I will be adding a page on a layout of the area to give a slightly better idea.

Any questions or tips I will greatly appreciate throughout this project! hopefully little more luck this year and keep posted for regular updates and photos!

 

Good luck! I'd grow Veg if I thought it'd be a success!

 

Thanks Kyle, still playing with images but hope to have the rest uploaded soon! call back and should give a better image of what im working with

 

How is the knotweed problem now

 

Hi Chimneyrose, I sprayed it last year with roundup tree stump killer however this was late september/october so had only a few weeks life left, so unable to relly tell its effects but hopefully it done some good in damaging it! seems that this stuff can take a lot of battering! im looking forward to march when it starts again to give it another blast!

 

How long after treatment must you wait before planting up the things you want in there Greecko?
Jenny

 

I wont be planting anything where the knotweed is, simpy going to spend the year cutting down and spraying/injecting it, Ill be planting in the larger plot I have pictured. However the glyposphate supposedly allows you to plant quite quickly as once it contacts the ground micro organism make it safe or something, though reasonably it would need months to be sure and safe I would say!

 

Hopefully that gives a little better idea of what I'm working with.

As you see it North is the top and south the bottom, so my rows will be going vertical along this plan, with the land draining again from north to south because of the slight slope from the hill that this sits at the bottom off. As mentioned earlier the plot sits around 5ft above the actual road, so im hoping again this speeds water drainage.

My main goal is definitely some soft fruits such as raspberries and blackberries,with the possibility for gooseberries and blueberies however they may find a resting place in the area un marked at the top of the grassy part.

I have left this area free for the simple reason it as at a slight height to the rest of the plot, hoping not to unearth any rubble...however it would be suitable for planting some fruits bushes and shrubs, should naturally have good drainage and will help as a slight wind block from cold northern winds.

Ive mapped out in white what I feel to be "useable" for the main reason the areas in light brown are dead almost, between leaf litter and being covered by the bushes and tree, I think I will tidy the border for the simple reason I dont want to get tangled with roots.

The North side is surrounded by blackthorn bushes, with the south in the afore mentioned thick "hedges" which are almost like over grown shrubs because they come from one area at the base and spread into dozen of branches.

Next on my agenda is to map out beds and rows and begin toping and digging!

 

Just waiting for the dry weather before any digging is done...

Has anyone any suggestions as to what I could plant in the area currently outside the marked zone, its still grass but at a rise, I was thinking some fruit bushes trees, I would like to hear some ideas! After the potatoes are planted this year to break the ground, Ill be adding raspberries and other soft fruits to the main plot, but would like to get something started ready to harvest next year!

 

So this evening I took into the south west side of the garden below the shed (bottom left of the garden layout pic) and the large bushes that surround the south side seem to spready through runners, and it seems again these were cut down last summer when we topped the field

needless to say Im not simply going to cut them down, I took a pickaxe and spade and spent an hour and a half pulling up large roots some over a metre long..needless to say the back is a little tight after!

Ive set my boundary and Im sticking to it, the rest I can clear when I have time.

On a positive note, the soil is like the compost from the bags, extremely fine but holds its shape when squeezed and will simply crumble if touched, I also dug about 6 or 7 inches down in the middle of the field, and still didn't hit the subsoil, this is a little more compact but still excellent, Im looking forward to ploughing and rotivating it!

 

What a difference a month makes...end of April I was working at my garden pulling out roots of a very persistant thorny plant, with dark pink flowers, which has now burst into life in bits I missed and I've decided I wont use

But commitments at work and he bad weather, I havent seen it since, until today...well compared to the photos above, the grass in places is up to my Knees and areas are completely covered in nettles, as well as cow parsley.

So I was thinking, should I just get my glyphosate and bomb the area? The main buggers are the nettles, cow parsley and a throny short bush that rapidly spreads through roots and has taken over wherever it can! I did have grown elder, but it seems to have been covered over.

The grass will need sorted, but I imagine I can easily strim/top it off, but dont want to do much until I get rid of the weeds!

I couldnt believe the difference! and unfotunately my Japanese knotweed is back, and in that month has grown over 7ft...but im prepared this time!

 

Hi Greecko,

Sounds like you're back to square one! I would cut everything down first if possible, have you got a strimmer you can use? Clear the area and then use the glyphosate, it will get into the roots quicker as you will have taken the top off everything.

The thorny short bush sounds like a bramble....and yes they will spread, the glyphosate should work on that too but will probably take more than one application.

I've just re-read your post, you say the grass needs work on it, if you intend keeping that then you can't use glyphosate as it kills just about everything it touches. Don't use it on a windy day either in case it drifts.

Good luck!

 

It feels like it Sheal! Yeah I have a strimmer, so that will be the first thing that I do! I wasnt sure if I would just make it worse by strimmering and spreading more weeds, bu as far as I know cow parsley and nettles are simply seed spreading, to be fair large swathes that i dug up, havent grown at all, so its obviously all seeds sitting waiting until I took out larger bushes.

What brand or type of weedkiller would you use for the likes nettles or cow parsley then?

Yes it sounds like a bramble, but its actual stems are more woody, there was a more established plant growing against the small shed and it was far more like something youd find in a garden, however I have seen the self same plant at the side of the road around my work, its flowers are a lot bigger than brambles I know of.

Unfortunately Ive no idea what to google to find it, Ill try and get photographs

 

If these weeds are growing in your lawn then Verdone is a pretty good weedkiller that you could use without harming the grass. There are also killlers for brambles too, but I've not used those.

If the plant is not a bramble, the only other thing I can think of at the moment is perhaps a climbing or rambling rose.

 

Really the grass isnt important, and I will likely mow it very short, whatever gets killed so be it, I will be digging most up for veg beds etc.

Looking at pictures I definitely have "wild climbing rose" looks and follows the exact
description Ive seen on this website link

It seems they have spread like crazy by "suckering" because this year, after last years total clearance, there are lots and lots of tiny shoots, and when digging them up, they were often connected with a bigger clump or "base" as best I can describe it.

Glposphate sounds like the all rounder I need for now, its too late and i havent the garden prepared for growing this year, but plenty of work to keep me occupied

Thanks for the help sheal!