Hi from Wales, Uk

Barkie 3/28/2011, 8:06 am

Hello all,

I'm Barkie, I live in West Wales, Uk. This garden is south facing, heavy clay and had very little growing in it but weeds and self sown trees when I took it on. We did some major clearing work last year. About half of the garden will be fruit and veg. Some of it for wine-making. Last year I got some already well rotted horse manure, made a small amount of compost and some leafmould. This month (March) we had tree stumps removed from where my veg beds will be and we are halfway through with the hard landscaping and backfilling. Our next job, which I'm looking forward to doing, will be to construct the veg beds so I'd better go and do a bit more now while it is still dry out there!

Goosegirl 3/28/2011, 8:12 am

Welcome from South Dakota, USA! Hi from Wales, Uk 396615

Sounds like you have a great start! Our area is still waiting for snow to melt - but seedlings are under the lights and spring HAS to be coming soon.....

**WardinWake** 3/28/2011, 8:20 am

Barkie wrote:Hello all,

I'm Barkie, I live in West Wales, Uk. This garden is south facing, heavy clay and had very little growing in it but weeds and self sown trees when I took it on. We did some major clearing work last year. About half of the garden will be fruit and veg. Some of it for wine-making. Last year I got some already well rotted horse manure, made a small amount of compost and some leafmould. This month (March) we had tree stumps removed from where my veg beds will be and we are halfway through with the hard landscaping and backfilling. Our next job, which I'm looking forward to doing, will be to construct the veg beds so I'd better go and do a bit more now while it is still dry out there!

Howdy Barkie: Looks like you are on your way to a very sucessfull Square Foot Garden. Do you have the "ALL NEW Square Foot Gardening" book? It is the best way to garden ever invented this side of the Garden of Eden. The raised beds will keep your Mel's Mix separate from your native soil and your garden will grow, grow and grow.

What will you be planting and will you be starting from seed sowed directly in the garden or do you start seed indoors? We do some of each and also have purchased started plants from the local garden centers.

A great big Hi from Wales, Uk 396615

to the best gardening forum on the web.

God Bless, Ward and Mary.

**walshevak** 3/28/2011, 9:03 am

Welcome. I loved my weekend in Wales and the through trips to get to the Holyhead Ferry. I even did a cross stitch of the Welsh Dragon.

This is my 1st year of SFG but the people on this forum have been super nice and helpful. What size beds are you planning and how many. Keep us informed and we love pictures.

Kay

NC USA

Barkie 3/28/2011, 9:31 am

Goosegirl wrote: Welcome from South Dakota, USA! Sounds like you have a great start! Our area is still waiting for snow to melt - but seedlings are under the lights and spring HAS to be coming soon.....

Thanks.

Must be awful when someone like me pops up and says its been warm and dry and you are still looking at snow. I hope your growing season is still going when mine is done. It's been unusually dry here this month - only a quarter of the usual rainfall. I can expect ground frost until mid May. You have got set up well with lights to get a flying start with strong seedlings. I've only got windowsills and a portable plastic greenhouse up against the house wall right now but I'm running out of room so on the "To Do" list is build a cold frame.

Goosegirl 3/28/2011, 9:51 am

Barkie wrote:
Goosegirl wrote: Welcome from South Dakota, USA! Sounds like you have a great start! Our area is still waiting for snow to melt - but seedlings are under the lights and spring HAS to be coming soon.....

Thanks.

Must be awful when someone like me pops up and says its been warm and dry and you are still looking at snow.

Nah, we're used to it! Our Texas members have pretty much year-round gardening (not without their own weather issues, though!) and then there are others that have even less of a growing season than we do here in SD (think CANADA!). My 'lights' are 3 little 12" fluorescent 'under-counter' lights that I have set up over my seedling tray. Not high-tech but they work!

TC

Barkie 3/28/2011, 10:52 am

WardinWake wrote:
Howdy Barkie: Looks like you are on your way to a very sucessfull Square Foot Garden. Do you have the "ALL NEW Square Foot Gardening" book? It is the best way to garden ever invented this side of the Garden of Eden. The raised beds will keep your Mel's Mix separate from your native soil and your garden will grow, grow and grow.

What will you be planting and will you be starting from seed sowed directly in the garden or do you start seed indoors? We do some of each and also have purchased started plants from the local garden centers.

A great big to the best gardening forum on the web.

God Bless, Ward and Mary.

Hi, thanks both of you for the welcome.

No, I don't have the book but it's not all new territory for me to learn from scratch fortunately. It just makes sense to either limit what you grow to what likes your soil and conditions or go out of your way a bit to provide the plants you want to grow with what they need to do well.

Me too, the ornamental side some from seed indoors, some will be sown direct and some bought plants. I bought a couple of variegated holly this month which will form part of the windbreak and privacy planting at the top of the garden. The fruit and veg side I've only bought rhubarb crowns and a gooseberry bush so far. The rest of the veg I've started indoors. A few early potatoes, garlic, onions, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, salad leaves and peas. I am going to risk some radishes and spring onions in deep trays and put fleece over them at night.

Barkie 3/28/2011, 11:16 am

walshevak wrote:Welcome. I loved my weekend in Wales and the through trips to get to the Holyhead Ferry. I even did a cross stitch of the Welsh Dragon.

This is my 1st year of SFG but the people on this forum have been super nice and helpful. What size beds are you planning and how many. Keep us informed and we love pictures.

Kay

NC USA

Cheers Kay. I like Wales too. We are about 25 miles from the coast and two small cities with farmland within walking distance, the only downside is that the roads are so narrow and bend round the hills so much that it takes an hour to travel those 25 miles.

What size beds? Tall enough to tend without backache, 3 feet wide and 6 feet long I think. How many I'm not sure, at least two. I like pics too. I'll see if I can figure out how to post some before, during and after pics when it rains this week.

**Furbalsmom** 3/28/2011, 12:18 pm

Barkie

So glad to have you join us. Wishing you the best for your new garden. I like that you are keeping the beds high enough to help prevent backaches. I am actually using Table Top Gardens for the same reason. 3 X 6 will be easy to reach into and tend.

Barkie wrote:No, I don't have the book but it's not all new territory for me to learn from scratch fortunately. It just makes sense to either limit what you grow to what likes your soil and conditions or go out of your way a bit to provide the plants you want to grow with what they need to do well.

Hope you are able to pick up the book, because the information is so easy to read and use. To provide your plants with what they need to do well, Mel's Mix is placed on top of the soil and enclosed by your SFG beds. It is a friable, loose, nutritious mixture that will provide you with a gorgeous crop of veggies.

Please keep us updated on your progress, and have fun.

quiltbea 3/28/2011, 8:17 pm

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have great ideas.
Happy Gardening.

Barkie 3/29/2011, 4:30 pm

Furbalsmom wrote: Barkie

So glad to have you join us. Wishing you the best for your new garden. I like that you are keeping the beds high enough to help prevent backaches. I am actually using Table Top Gardens for the same reason. 3 X 6 will be easy to reach into and tend.

Barkie wrote:No, I don't have the book but it's not all new territory for me to learn from scratch fortunately. It just makes sense to either limit what you grow to what likes your soil and conditions or go out of your way a bit to provide the plants you want to grow with what they need to do well.

Hope you are able to pick up the book, because the information is so easy to read and use. To provide your plants with what they need to do well, Mel's Mix is placed on top of the soil and enclosed by your SFG beds. It is a friable, loose, nutritious mixture that will provide you with a gorgeous crop of veggies.

Please keep us updated on your progress, and have fun.

Hi there, thanks for your good wishes. I'll put the book on my birthday wish list.

Your Table Tops sound an attractive solution. It takes much of the enjoyment away if you have backache.

I've been rained off most of today so I didn't get much done outside but it must have filled the water butts some way which is good.

Barkie 3/29/2011, 4:39 pm

quiltbea wrote:Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have great ideas.
Happy Gardening.

Cheers and thank you, I'm hoping folks have found good solutions to problems I've got, two or twenty heads being better than my one.

Sponsored content

Hi from Wales, Uk

Hi from Wales, Uk

RE: Hi from Wales, Uk

Re: Hi from Wales, Uk

Re: Hi from Wales, Uk

Re: Hi from Wales, Uk

RE: Hi from Wales, Uk

Re: Hi from Wales, Uk

Re: Hi from Wales, Uk

Re: Hi from Wales, Uk

Re: Hi from Wales, Uk

Re: Hi from Wales, Uk

Re: Hi from Wales, Uk

Re: Hi from Wales, Uk


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.