An overenthusiastic idiot. With a spade.

[hedgewizard]

Well hello everyone, and isn't this forum a find!

I'm just coming into year 3 of my garden. Year one was watching, year two was TOTAL AND UTTER DESTRUCTION, and now... planting fruit trees and green manure, and waiting for my polytunnel to turn up next week :-)

Looking forward to sharing your triumphs and frustrations with you all. Badgers? Don't get me started.

[Chickenlady]

Welcome Hedgewizard! Catweazel! I had forgotten all about him!

[ina]

Hi Hedgewizard, and welcome to the forum!

Are you a relative of Hedgewitch???

If you are going for a polytunnel, you seem to have something quite serious in mind... And what kind of green manure have you planted? I have had phacelia - not so good for the nitrogen levels, but bees love it, and it looks very nice, too.

[Shirley]

Hi Hedgewizard...


Was going to ask the same question as Ina... Any relation to our hedgewitch? If not... where are you from???

[Wombat]

G'Day Hedgewiz!

Nice to see you here, welcome to the site.

I used to work with a guy that looked remarkably like Catweazle!

Look forward to hearing about your adventures in growing.

Nev

[Shelle]

Hiya Hedgewizard

Sounds like you have a year or two on me ... i am just ending my first year ... have learn a lot and ready to start planting again soon ... i am sure you will have lots of pointers for us newbies as your experiences are still fresh in your mind

[ina]

... and would somebody please explain who Catweazle was??? (Excuse my "holey" education... )

[hedgewizard]

No relation... I've had this handle for years. It comes from my annoying habit of pouncing on wild food when out for walks - although I'm doing that less as my garden comes along. Frankly I think I'm just too tired to bend over these days!

I'm tucked away in a corner of Dorset, and trying to do things to a half acre plot that was previously laid to grass and fairly neglected shrubs. The polytunnel is 14'x25', and I have very little idea what I'm going to do there beyond naked sunbathing (obviously). Seriously, this year I'll be bringing stuff on early, doing the usual round of tomato, melon, chilli, peppers, cucumber and so forth but it's going to take me years to work out the full potential I think.

The green manure I'm thinking of is mustard followed by forage pea to try and improve the soil down there. Actually it's about 50% subsoil brought up when I cut into the slope last year to make a level site for the tunnel. I'm planning to net off sections under the trees so I can put the chooks in one bit at a time, to give the others a chance to grow on a bit.

Shelle, I lost a year to landscaping so we're probably in more or less the same position unless you're doing some big work too. I've still got two 2.5m raised beds to add for my veg area, which will give me eight in total but I still have room for another two if I decide I need them. FLAMIN' HECK you're in Oz... you can grow ANYTHING down there! And all the permaculture books have plants in that are halfway sensible for you! *seethes*

Oh yeah... Catweazle

[ina]

Thanks for the link! That explains it - that was before my time... Not my life time, my time in Britain.

[Shelle]

no big work here hedgewizard ... just renting so am trying to use as much of the lawn as i can without taking over the whole backyard and getting in too much trouble!

[hedgewizard]

I threw three keyhole beds straight into my lawn the first year, just because I couldn't not. Advice from that is;

1. Don't overcrowd
2. Back it up with a ribbon of potato plants sown straight into the lawn with a sheet mulch, no need to dig (unless you have badgers* nearby!)
3. Soil fertility is likely to be poor after years of grass monoculture, so get some manure or compost in there!

Hope that's not too basic for you.

*Or anything else that is likely to grub up your sheet mulch looking for slugs... what local stuff does that in Oz? Badgers are immensely strong and very persistant, but you never see them.

[ina]

Badgers are immensely strong and very persistant, but you never see them.

I've seen one - in the sheep shed at lambing time. They used to come in and nick the leftover feed out of the troughs - weren't even in a hurry to get away when we came in.

I think you have more of a badger problem down south, though.

[hedgewizard]

You'd be right about that. My lovely sheet mulch - which worked a treat while it lasted - was removed three times and all came up in one piece, potatoes and all. That was 18 months ago and I'm still cross about it!

[Shelle]

i like things simple!

thanks for the tips ... i have just recently started a new patch with spuds ... also put pumpkin in another spot ... going great guns.

having a go at my own compost ... so far so good there!

Nothing really seems to be a nuisance here ... just bugs ... so i am looking into companion planting this time around.

thanks again

[Millymollymandy]

Hi there - I met Catweazle once and have his autograph! Welcome to the site - you sound pretty knowledgeable so we will be picking your brains a lot!