Clearing The Vegetable Plot

At the end of 2005 we decided to start by clearing the vegetable plot. This was to take up the majority of the last 25 metres of the garden. The plot would not extend all the way to the end as we decided to have a wildlife area at the very end. Looking back after this years rain it looks like this was a good idea.

Having decided to clear the end of the garden this left us with two immediate jobs:

• Remove the dead trees and those in poor condition
• Clear the grass from the end of the garden

When we purchased the house we had one apple tree which was fruiting and produces a good crop. The remaining trees were barely alive and did not fruit at all. To me this is a waste of space and these had to go.

So in Late 2005 and early 2006 you found me in the garden with a saw, axe and a good stout spade. The picture below shows the state of the garden part way through this work.

The tree in the foreground is the one tree which fruits well. The rest of the tree stumps are the remains of the unproductive trees. You can also see (to the rear of the photograph) one of the trees which still needed to be taken down.

Taking these trees down when we did also introduced us to one of the less endearing features of the garden and the area we live - water. During the summer the water table is a boon as we do not have to worry about a hosepipe ban or even watering at all. From late autumn to early spring we occasionally get days where the water collects and takes a few days to drain. You can see this in the photograph above. The result was that after cutting down the trees and digging the stumps out the rain created four small ponds which lasted for about three weeks. In fact these holes lasted for about another two months before any attempt at levelling the ground filled them in.

Clearing the grass was a little easier. It is one of the few times we have resorted to chemicals. It was simply a case of waiting for a still weekend and getting out and spaying the grass with weedkiller.

And finally...
After starting this job with hand tools, I would recommend that you buy a large axe and either rent or buy a chainsaw.
Mark

So, Where Do We start

With such a large space at the rear of the house we really needed to start to plan how we were going to use it. It was obvious that we could not do all of what we wanted to in one year and certainly not immediately.

A Rough Sketch
The starting point for the design was to split the garden into three equally sized parts:

• Recreational space nearest to the house
• Orchard / fruit cage
• Vegetable plot

Three plots about 25m long should allow plenty of space for each project. So what are we expecting in each space?

Recreational Area
This area needs to contain a lot when you consider it's size. The area currently contains a border down the right hand side running it's full length. On the left we have the garage and another border with a paved seating area. There is also a garden shed which has seen better days. The end of this area is marked by the rowan, holly and rhododendron. When we have finally finished with this space it will need to contain:

• Garage extensionDecking
• Ornamental fish pond
• Pergola
• Lawned area
• Patio in front of the house
• House extension (possibly)

As well as all of this it will need to be functional. This is rather a large demand and all of a sudden 25m x 10m looks small.

Orchard
This space should be the easiest to get start and finish. In this space we want to plant a variety of fruit trees which will provide us with fruit from early summer through to late autumn. Our initial thoughts included:

• Apples
• Pears
• Plums
• Cherries (possibly)

Vegetable Plot
From the start we knew that this area was going to be the most work. Not only in long term upkeep but also to get the ground prepared and the major structural components in place. The whole garden from the house to the very end is both uneven and prone to water logging

If we were going to succeed here we were going to have to solve both problems to some degree. Whilst some plants are more than happy to have their roots under water, there are just as many which do not like it. This was bound to make our life difficult in this area. The solution we decided upon was to use raised beds for planting. This would allow us to provide a reasonably well drained environment for the vegetables. It would also have the side effect of dividing this area into manageable areas.

Of course no self respecting vegetable gardener would be without a greenhouse. This was also an essential as both Karen and I love tomatoes. In order to get any reasonable crop in the UK a greenhouse would be required.

Who, When and How?
So now we know what we want we simply need to work out how to achieve this. It was always known that this would take a while to implement. In fact I expected about five years from start to finish. At the time of writing we are currently two years down the road. Looking at what we have left to complete this seems to be a reasonable estimate.

From the start of this I have always maintained that my knowledge of gardening extends to recognising when it is hot enough to sit out in it (with a Gin and Tonic of course). This does limit the options for me in the flower and planting department. One thing that I can contribute is the ability to dig holes - sometimes without putting the pointy thing (garden fork - Karen) through my boots. With this in mind the division of labour was obvious; I would be responsible for building things and getting the vegetable plots ready for use whilst Karen would look after the borders and stop me from digging up her precious plants.

Wildlife
One of our objectives is to encourage as much natural life into the garden as possible. Now we know that this can mean pests but we would also like to make sure that the garden is more friendly to the pest killers than the pests. With this in mind we also decided to allow for wildlife havens throughout the whole garden.

And Finally...
One thing we have not touched upon so far is that we wanted the garden to be organic as far as possible. We realised that we would ave to use some chemicals to get going. Let's face it, 250 sq metres of grass is a devil to remove without using weedkiller. We are not saying it cannot be done but we also have to keep on with the day jobs
Mark

In The Beginning...

2004 saw a few changes in our lives. Karen and I both started new jobs within a month of each other, both in the same city some 50 miles from home. At this time we decided that we should start to look for a new home nearer to our work. One of the key requirements was that our new home should have a large garden. Karen is a keen gardener and I am a keen cook. The aim was to have a leisure space and somewhere to grow some of our own food.
Karen took on the job of searching for our new home and soon discovered that estate agents have an interesting idea of a large garden. The persistence paid off and Karen eventually found the house which has been our home since July 2005.

There is nothing special about the house in which we live. It is a normal semi-detached house built around the 1920's. The exception is the garden which is large for a house of this type, especially when compared to modern developments. The front garden is pretty normal but the rear garden is 75m x 10m. It was this that appealed to both of us.

The Front Garden
As already noted, this is normal for the house. Originally this had a raised border, a lawn and a privet hedge to the front. Early on we decided that we would like to concentrate our efforts on the rear garden. With this in mind we removed the lawn and tidied up the border to make the front garden reasonably maintenance free.

Don't get me wrong, we have not abandoned this area. We have simply created a space which is still living but takes less work to keep in good order.


The Rear Garden
With a garden this large we knew that we had our work cut out for us. The original garden was predominately laid to grass. The space was divided into two areas by a rowan tree, holly bush and a rhododendron. The area closest to the house had a few borders and a seating area. The rear part of the garden (which occupied two thirds of the space) was grassed with a few fruit trees.

The five fruit trees were set out down the right hand of the garden. They were of variable age and quality. Four of the trees had seen a lot of pruning over the years. The trees were no longer productive. One of the trees (an apple) we still in good order and produced a wonderful tasting apple.

The entire rear garden was uneven and rain collected in some sections of the garden. In fact this could be an inch or more deep in places. There followed many debates on how we could solve this problem. You will find out about these as our story progresses.

Our Aims
With such a large blank canvas to paint upon we need to set out or long term aims:

• Produce as much of our own fruit and vegetables as possible;
• Provide a space to entertain;
• Be a relaxing place to rest.

As with all gardens, our designs are fluid and are bound to change as we progress.
And Finally...
This blog is the story of how we got to here and where we are going in the future. I expect there to be a brief flurry of posts whilst we bring you up to date but that this will settle down as this becomes more of a diary.
Our experience so far shows that you will be party to our mistakes and our triumphs. We hope that you will follow our journey and share in our experiences.
Mark