I’ve been working on my garden properly since March 2023. I think it’s come along quite well, even though it’s slow progress. I rarely have the money to update too quickly, and usually end up with proxy solutions, utilizing small square wood panels and bamboo poles as makeshift fencing, clipped on with cable ties and strong cord, and supported at the base by bricks and spare structural supports from outdoor kits. I’ve encouraged ivy to grow up the bamboo poles on one side to create a natural fence. I’ve been able to afford a few raised beds, some metal squares bolted together, and a couple of wooden ones, both lined with a roll of outdoor liner. Aside from that I utilize large 60-litre storage containers, 20-litre planter tubs, and 5-litre pots, with drainage holes bored with a soldering iron.
I fill each space with organic soil mixed with manure (the former hard to easily acquire locally, or indeed cheaply enough online given the quantities required, but I hunt around) and keep a selection of organic fertilizers. I’ve erected some second-hand benches around the edges of the decking area to store my herb pots on, and I built Abby a chair from some wooden planks. I had an irregular selection of spare stone paving slabs which I laid over the fake grass rolls in between the crop spaces, to prevent mud from waterlogging getting everywhere. It was nice to salvage a second-hand gate locally, and I’ve screwed in some fixtures on each side to hold it in place.
It's very hard to see from the smart-screen image provided by the phone I borrowed (and the wind that bright day), but the area with the Rose bush and Raspberries, and the relief of the boundary through to the raised beds, with the Goji berries above, is increasingly trimmed by me to provide the optical illusion of a stylised love heart. I try to keep the little curved 'm' arch at the top snipped in place to the right depth and shape. It's just a little obscure folly for when Abby's out in her chair. We planted the rose bush to remember her mother, shortly after she died. It often blows out and overshadows a part of the top strawberries, but I don't feel it right to trim it to nothingness. I'm a great one for overloading beds, but I find if I leave the produce in a little longer than usual it compensates for the gigantic crop. I'm glad at least that the Hazelnut saplings have settled, and the Kiwi bush is recovering. I need to have a little think about helping the Olive tree. Right at the back I've got a row of small Sycamore saplings, useful long-term for a natural boundary, and then (what I think are) some damson trees at the back, much as they're on the hill slope behind and not part of my garden beyond poking in covering the rear-shed.
Abby still doesn’t go out much as she’s scared there will be spiders everywhere, but I’m out in the garden every day, weeding, watering, sculpting and pruning the trees, adding to the DIY fencing piecemeal, checking on the plants, and preparing for the harvests. I think it’s quite productive for such a small space. I periodically take clippings from the herbs to dry for long-term Mylar storage, or to use in cooking with the vegetables, and then gather seeds from the crops.
I have a storage shed at the back of the garden for stoves and various pieces of makeshift cooking equipment, and for gas canisters and solid fuel tablets, and to store first aid equipment, spare lighting, and my solar generator and panels. There’s another shed in front of this that houses sealed storage containers for a large supply of 10-year shelf-life Mylar-bagged food, all grains, and pulses, and rice and pasta, and freeze-dried fruits and vegetables, and of course the various herbs and condiments, plus some cocoa powder, and coffee, and about 1/3 of the space set over to long-lasting canned water. Here's what I’m growing so far (some added shortly after my photos were taken):
Two Kentish cob Hazelnut trees. One Pear tree. One Olive tree. One Goji berry bush. Seven Raspberry bushes. Three Blackberry bushes. Three Blackcurrant bushes. Six Blueberry bushes. Two container beds of Strawberry plants. One bed of Rhubarb plants. One Kiwi plant. One pot of Onions. Four pots of Spring Onions. Two container beds, one tub, and four pots of Tomato plants. Two container beds, and one tub of Broad Bean plants. Two container beds of Turnip plants. Two container beds of Potato plants. One container bed of Pak Choi plants. One container bed of Leek plants. One container bed of Rocket plants. One raised bed of Parsnip plants. One raised bed of Carrot plants. One raised bed of Perennial Spinach plants. One raised bed of Skirret plants. One potted Peppermint plant. One potted Spearmint plant. One tray of Coriander plants. One potted Rosemary plant. One potted Thyme plant. Two pots of Chives plants. Two pots of Oregano plants. Two pots of Sage plants. Five pots of Parsley plants. Three hanging baskets of Marigolds. One tub of Geraniums. One Rose bush. Three Sycamore trees and two Sycamore saplings.
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