Showing posts with label veg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label veg. Show all posts

Monday, 18 April 2016

Pallets of Veg. - Pt 2

The veg patch got more sides, but instead of making each piece fit in place we did some planning! 

The second bed needs completing and it was worth a shot at making up a whole side as a single piece first and then putting it in place. Sort of a good plan, but it was substantially harder to hammer into the ground, purely because it's harder to avoid the random deposits of rocks and stones underneath the grass.


The next bed, down the side of the house framing the path from the gate was made in a few pieces instead and knocked into an existing trench (made by removing the stone edging) and then backfilling slightly.


Far easier, still not as easy as building it in place a piece at a time, but that's much more time consuming, so either way, nothings perfect. Perhaps a bigger hammer...

Our landlord happened to have a greenhouse going spare during some improvements of his own so we carried it (without the glass) over the hedge into our garden. Back (as we've found out since) to within a few feet of where it was removed from this garden to his years back.

The frame is sound, but covered in moss. The glass was partially out and needs a good clean too, not to mention a few panes are broken so need replacing.


After a good cleaning though, the frame came up really well.


The harder part is laying a brick foundation into the grass, which every few inches has what seems like a thousand stones. At times, it'd be less rocky doing this on a beach. Still plenty of pallets left, probably make a floor, rather than making a flag floor and fitting that in nicely.




Monday, 28 March 2016

Pallets of Veg. - Pt. 1

When I lived in Padworth we had a veg patch, and it grew a decent variety of things, but it wasn't all that big, nor was it ideally placed for the sun (shadow of the house from about midday passed right over it). 

The new place has a much bigger garden, and it's mostly laid to lawn, but it gets a HUGE amount of sun. There's a wall to give a bit of shade to some of the plants, but  enough room to move things around. Plus there's the side of the house to the left which is south facing and should provide suppoirt to the taller plants with some trellis.


Theres what used to be a border, but is now something of a desolate wasteland to the side by the house which is going to get pulled up and raised if we get enough pallets.


We got enough pallets.


The first set went in slowly, digging holes for the posts and backfilling where the edging used to be (Yeah, there was edging in the first shot of the other side of the 'path'). And there were stones. So. Many. Stones. In the end a new tactic of chop the uprights into points and hammer them in where they needed it with the siding knocked into the softish earth. Waaaay faster.


The second bed was started in the same manner, begin with the 'path' edge (spot the trench) about a meter long and then work along the longer edges to the wall.


Not bad for a days work collecting, breaking down and shopping. I've sourced a local guy with topsoil as well which is handy. Next jobs are turn over the grassy areas in the beds, and finish the last side of the bed. then do the other side of the path.


The reclaimed edging even has a plan, if the landlord is happy enough to go with it and I cna cheaply find the materials. Pt. 2 to come soon if the weather holds.