Gardening Advice Requested

[admiral51]

I really couldn't think of where else to ask for some advice, most of you know i am no expert in anything mechanical or electrical related to cars and 90% of what i know has been gained from you good folks here, the other 10% was from dubious sources

However now i am in my mid 50's ( late teenage years ) i have decided to revisit my pre teen years and my love for gardening ( chores whilst earning pocket money ), nothing to do with SWMBO or anything like that you understand

Seriously i do like gardening and as always time is limited having 2 Citroen cars in the family but i do have a problem that i think you can help me with.

In the pictures you can see that the garden tapers to a point, so looking at it from the plant pot it is 10' wide and 14' long along the wooden fence. The Ivy ingress is outside my control at the moment so i was thinking of building a low 4-6 inch high raised planter above the ground level from around the plant pot between both fence lines going back to about 2 feet from the point of the fence line join point. The idea i have is to make it a flower based planter and maybe have it stepped in levels going from front to back. I was thinking of having an access of about 1 foot between both fences just to make life a little easier to maintain it and allow for the replacement of the wooden fence which needs to be done in the near future.
Apart from the obvious help on how to proceed or not in making the planter i was thinking about the soil/ground that will be beneath the planter. I need to make sure that the soil below where the planter will sit will not allow anything to grow so what can i do responsibly to kill the soils ability to sustain growth.

The pile of plant material in the pics is what i have removed today from what was a nettle/bramble/ivy area that is now clear, i will be clearing the ivy etc from the fence prior to any new work

[NewcastleFalcon]

Dont know if they are anywhere near you but this lot carry "new" railway sleepers at £25 each 2.4m long 200mm wide 100mm thick for constructing your planter.

https://www.acereclamation.com/New-Rail ... 12-1-0.htm

Their proper reclaimed actual railway sleepers are full of creosote so restrictions on where they can be used, and not suitable for putting veg in planters made from them.

Depends on how expensive you want to make your project, but the new railway sleepers might be a decent start.

I make no claims to knowing what I am talking about A decent membrane covering the ground under the planters should keep the weeds from sprouting underneath.

Good Luck

Regards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

I don't know if this will help or hinder Colin but here'e what I did to build our planter last year:

First I dug out the old grass and weeds and flattened the area. Then I bought some total sterilizer from the garden centre. They will advise you on what is best for your soil. I then sprayed the area and covered it with a growth inhibiting porous membrane from B&Q. I then bought and cut the railway sleepers which were delivered to me and built the frame using brass screws and copper joining plates on the inside, scavenged from the scrappy. I then covered the membrane with a four inch layer of quality topsoil, a 3 inch layer of compost, a second 3 inch layer of topsoil and another 3 inches of topsoil and compost mix 50:50. My initial ground was sloping slightly so I finshed off with a 3:1 mix of lawn sand and compost as a top planting surface. We planted it up with tulips and it will be having our dahlia tubers put in mid April.
Here is how it looks today: (Click on the picture to see it properly)

Own work

[bobins]

What, if anything, was growing on the triangle of soil before you cleared it ? If it's anything like couch grass or any tough old perennial weeds then you really need to let them grow again a bit before spraying a Glyphosate based weedkiller at the manufacturers' recommended rate for the weeds you've got. Glyphosate works best on actively growing leaves - it doesn't work if there's nothing to spray it onto ! Glyphosate is a translocated herbicide so will kill down to the roots, as opposed a contact herbicide which will only kill the leaves. More info on weedkillers for the back garden can be found here: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/pdfs/weed ... deners.pdf If you do have tough old perennial weeds then, unfortunately, there's not much alternative to weedkiller unless you fancy an awful lot of digging to get every root out. Once you're sure you've not got any perennial weeds then you're free to build the raised bed. As mentioned - railway sleepers (new or old) are a great way to quickly make a raised bed.... but they're damned heavy ! Rotovate or dig over the existing soil before you make the raised bed. Fill the raised bed with good quality SCREENED top soil - it doesn't have to be finely seived, in fact it'd be better if it isn't, but you need to get it from a reputable supplier... or you'll just end up importing more weeds :-/ Mix in copious quantities of organic matter - well rotted stable manure, or farmyard manure are great, and make sure there's good drainage incorporated in it in the way of clean gravel - otherwise the soil might pan to a solid lump. As it might end up being quite a large raised bed you need to treat it as a whole new garden that's raised up, as opposed a small raised bed that can easily be 'fettled' to make work.
As for the gap between the raised bed and fence - leave at least a foot as a bare minimum. You can put down a weedproof membrane in the gap, and it'd be useful to cover that with gravel / pea shingle, but you might want to wait until the fence is replaced before you do that otherwise you'll just make work for yourself having to pull the gravel and membrane back to put the new fence in. Bear in mind that gap between the fence and the raised bed will be a magnet for leaves and slugs and snails so ought to be kept clear of and rubbish.

[mickthemaverick]

I have just realised I missed out a bit that I think is well worth it. I layed a builders damp proof membrane on the inside of all the sleepers to stop the water in the planter soaking into the timber to hopefully prolong the life of the timber by allowing it some dry time between rainfalls.

[admiral51]

You Guys are awesome
When we moved in 20+ years ago there was a home made shed on the area which after 8 years i destroyed and put down a few patio slabs in an attempt to make it useable, the area to the left of the wire fence was where my good neighbour ( rest her soul ) had a shed so it was always an area that was pretty much ignored so nothing really has ever grown there, over the last few years it has been left as a " i don't wanna go there " area.
Good news is nothing has actually taken root, most of the ivy and brambles that were covering it were above ground so no issues with roots etc. The only thing to actually grow is the rose bush in the plant pot, that was underneath 3 feet of brambles/ivy that i had totally forgotten we had, that will def be put into the new planter
Have access to some wood that is same width as a sleeper but only 1 3rd of the depth, comes in very long lengths but also in an area that has a bench saw/circular saw etc and is much much lighter.
Think i will try and put some sort of weed killer + membrane down just to try and stop anything growing beneath it.
I don't want to make it a raised bed in the normal sense, just high enough to clear the ground below and maybe be able to cover the front with a board so it looks normal, a bit like an old school rockery but not if that makes sense.

Colin

[myglaren]

There is an already established "Gardner's Corner" on autoshite.
A vast amount of info on there, lots of tips on raised beds.

[old'uns]

We used 225 x 75 tanalised timber, bit lighter than sleepers!, 2 high and had them cut to 2m and 1m for the ends, arris rails in the corners and lined the sides with polythene.....
Commonly known in our household as the 'coffins".

[admiral51]

Really appreciate all the advice, just need to persuade SWMBO the garden is something worth looking after.

I will add some pics that show that actually i have been busy today but for once the fact that i do not do Facebook/Twitter etc has really got me wound up to the point of wanting to put my hand down the phone and strangle someone. As you will see in the pics below i have a pile of brambles/ivy that is approx 10' x 3' x 3' and a smaller pile of old tree branches and a few old footballs etc that need to be taken away. Now i know i could do it in multiple trips to the recycling centre but we have lots of companies around here that advertise that they do garden/house clearance etc, most are small 1 or 2 man bands so rather than pay out for a skip or take 6 hrs out of my time and ruin the interior of the Xantia ( C5 was ruled out by you know who ) i thought i would phone around and get a few quotes.
I live on a council estate, i am a council tenant and know the area but this is where i nearly lost my temper.
The phone call went like this......
Me: I have some garden waste that i need to get removed and i got your number from Check A Trade so could you give me a quote, i have pictures of the stuff that needs removing and access to the property.
Them: Where is the property.
Me: Postcode and address given.
Them: Oh we don't cover that area as in our experience they do not want to pay the money we want.
Me: Ok but can you give me a quote, i need the stuff removed so not asking for it to be done for nothing.
Them: Phone put down

Is it just me or i am missing something, what is wrong with my money, give me a quote, i will decide if it is taking the proverbial...
Now if i was on social media i would probably have spent an hour or so venting my frustration but every dog will have it's day, and mine will come

[NewcastleFalcon]

Now if i was on social media i would probably have spent an hour or so venting my frustration but every dog will have it's day, and mine will come

Remember there is always the FCF Room 101 thread Colin. Always acts as a decent safety valve to deposit such things.

viewtopic.php?p=676981#p676981

Regards Neil

[admiral51]

Cheers Neil, i was thinking about that but how many SWMBO's can be deposited, i only have the one, heaven forbid i ever have #2 but how many could room 101 hold
Oh you meant the lack of service provided by the company i have yet to name

Colin

[NewcastleFalcon]

FCF Room 101 has no limits Colin, and its simple rules are you can deposit in your own personal section anything you like without challenge, or debate. So infinite room to lob in whatever or who ever you desire

REgards Neil

[myglaren]

Colin.
I was in the same boat last year, dragged tons of ivy off my walls and fences.
Bought an incinerator from Aldi, twelve quid. Surprised at how quickly it dealt with the ivy and I only lit it once a day, at about 7pm, after tea but before bedtime so as not to inconvenience neighbouring kids.

[Gibbo2286]

Do you not have a green bin garden waste collection in your area?

I got rid of an awful lot of tree cuttings, grass cuttings and Ivy a bin full at a time here, cost £42 a year this year, up from £30 when I first took it on but it certainly saved the bonfire or trips to the tip problems.

Ps, the only time I had a bonfire here I got threatened by a 'suit' from the council who happened to be in a council house garden near by.

[admiral51]

Well finally got it shifted, £30 was a price i was happy to pay.
Steve i remember those pics when you first posted them up and thought it was a good idea but never followed it up.
Gibbo yes we have the green bins round here, just never got round to requesting another one once they started charging but have now looked into it and fingers crossed i will be getting one in the next week or so.
£49 a year, collection 22 times a year and now i have decided to make the garden a useable space it will pay for itself.

Colin