UK gardening - I have around 5 x 2m space, what can I do with it?

Author

I have around 5 x 2m space, what can I do with it?

Maxim

2008-02-23, 5:25 pm

Hello,

I have a 5 x 2m space which is filled with compost, this space used to
be a sandpit for when i was young and i decided it was time for a
change and now that i am 14 years of age, my parents helped me in
filling the space with fine multi purpose compost. It has a depth of
about id say 40 cm. What id like to ask, is what would you, from
personal experience suggest that i plant this year, i prefer plants
that i can harvest later on. Given that i live in North London in a
quite sub-urban environment, and the 5 x 2m space that i have, which
plants would you recommend i try. I am quite experienced and have
already planted many plants last year, some even tropical such as a
banana tree, unfortunately my spce calcualtions went wrong and i didnt
end up with much harvest!

Here is a photo of last years plantations:

[image: http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k...47/IMG_8486.jpg]

[image: http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k...47/IMG_8479.jpg]

Any Suggestions Will Be Greatly Appeciated!

P.S. The photo attachment tool didnt work! I resized within the
boundaries!

--
Maxim

Rog

2008-02-23, 5:25 pm

"Maxim" <Maxim.2363a17@gardenbanter.co.uk> wrote in message
news:Maxim.2363a17@gardenbanter.co.uk...
>
> Hello,
>
> I have a 5 x 2m space which is filled with compost, this space used to
> be a sandpit for when i was young and i decided it was time for a
> change and now that i am 14 years of age, my parents helped me in
> filling the space with fine multi purpose compost. It has a depth of
> about id say 40 cm. What id like to ask, is what would you, from
> personal experience suggest that i plant this year, i prefer plants
> that i can harvest later on. Given that i live in North London in a
> quite sub-urban environment, and the 5 x 2m space that i have, which
> plants would you recommend i try. I am quite experienced and have
> already planted many plants last year, some even tropical such as a
> banana tree, unfortunately my spce calcualtions went wrong and i didnt
> end up with much harvest!

>
> Here is a photo of last years plantations:
>
> [image: http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k...47/IMG_8486.jpg]
>
> [image: http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k...47/IMG_8479.jpg]
>
> Any Suggestions Will Be Greatly Appeciated!

>
> P.S. The photo attachment tool didnt work! I resized within the
> boundaries!
>
>
>
>
> --
> Maxim

How about runner beans with any surplus space filled with a salad crop.
To be fair the possibilities are endless
Rog
http://www.rog.richieward.com

Mogga

2008-02-24, 9:25 am

On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:30:33 +0000, Maxim
<Maxim.2363a17@gardenbanter.co.uk> wrote:

>
>Hello,
>
>I have a 5 x 2m space which is filled with compost, this space used to
>be a sandpit for when i was young and i decided it was time for a
>change and now that i am 14 years of age, my parents helped me in
>filling the space with fine multi purpose compost. It has a depth of
>about id say 40 cm. What id like to ask, is what would you, from
>personal experience suggest that i plant this year, i prefer plants

What do you like eating?

>that i can harvest later on. Given that i live in North London in a
>quite sub-urban environment, and the 5 x 2m space that i have, which
>plants would you recommend i try. I am quite experienced and have
>already planted many plants last year, some even tropical such as a
>banana tree, unfortunately my spce calcualtions went wrong and i didnt
>end up with much harvest!

>
>Here is a photo of last years plantations:
>
>[image: http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k...47/IMG_8486.jpg]
>
>[image: http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k...47/IMG_8479.jpg]
>
>Any Suggestions Will Be Greatly Appeciated!

>
>P.S. The photo attachment tool didnt work! I resized within the
>boundaries!
--
http://www.orderonlinepickupinstore.co.uk
Ah fetch it yourself if you can't wait for delivery
http://www.freedeliveryuk.co.uk
Or get it delivered for free

robertharvey@my-deja.com

2008-02-24, 9:25 am

On 23 Feb, 16:30, Maxim <Maxim.2363...@gardenbanter.co.uk> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I have a 5 x 2m space which is filled with compost, this space used to
> be a sandpit for when i was young and i decided it was time for a
> change and now that i am 14 years of age, my parents helped me in
> filling the space with fine multi purpose compost. It has a depth of
> about id say 40 cm. What id like to ask, is what would you, from
> personal experience suggest that i plant this year, i prefer plants
> that i can harvest later on. Given that i live in North London in a
> quite sub-urban environment, and the 5 x 2m space that i have, which
> plants would you recommend i try. I am quite experienced and have
> already planted many plants last year, some even tropical such as a
> banana tree, unfortunately my spce calcualtions went wrong and i didnt
> end up with much harvest!

My first thought is that 5x2M would make for an interesting gauge O
railway, or a wicked gauge 00, and you could plant minature conifers
to make some scenery. http://www.hornby.com/livesteam/. I'm nearly
60 and still want to do that.

But if you prefer farming to diaramas, I'd have thought that squash or
melons would do well and would give both a satisfying harvest and
lots of green matter to compost. I like "spaghetti marrows" which do
this neat trick of stringing up after you cook them. It's always good
to grow a couple of peppers or jalapinos in a corner, and a row of
herbs would take up less than one tenth of your space.

'main crops' like carrot, potato, parsnip hardly seem worth it in our
supermaket culture - go for things that you cannot get fresh enough:
broad beans fresh are a revelation. cos lettuce. white or pink
radish. celeriac. you'd use up hardly any space - maybe 0.3m x 2m
for a small trial of each to see what you enjoy growing. There is
always next year.

you could devote maybe 2mx2m to a fruit cage - raise a frame from
cheap wood or even canes, cover with netting to keep the birds out,
and plant raspberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants. You can't expect
a bumper crop the first year, except for strawberries, which would
love your location if it is sunny enough. Plant 3 varieties to give a
longer cropping season.

There is a huge amount of "beginners" advice on the web. The FAQs for
uk.rec.gardening (the usenet group upon which gardenbanter is
parasitic) is a good place to start. Then there are sites like
http://www.gardenaction.co.uk
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/
www.rhs.org.uk/

Your plot is not very different in size from some allotments, and some
people manage to feed a family of 4 off an allotment all year. Have
you considered joining the local allotment association? It's a good
place for cheap seeds, bulk buying materials, and getting advice.

On which subject, do not patronise the garden sections of big DIY
chains, which bring in plants from all over the world and sell them as
commodities. Find a good, independant, privately owned garden centre
and use them - the prices won't be so very different, the plants will
already be accusomed to your local climate and probably chosen to suit
the soil types, and you will get intelligent and worthwhile advice.

Jeff Layman

2008-02-24, 9:25 am

Maxim wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I have a 5 x 2m space which is filled with compost, this space used to
> be a sandpit for when i was young and i decided it was time for a
> change and now that i am 14 years of age, my parents helped me in
> filling the space with fine multi purpose compost. It has a depth of
> about id say 40 cm. What id like to ask, is what would you, from
> personal experience suggest that i plant this year, i prefer plants
> that i can harvest later on. Given that i live in North London in a
> quite sub-urban environment, and the 5 x 2m space that i have, which
> plants would you recommend i try. I am quite experienced and have
> already planted many plants last year, some even tropical such as a
> banana tree, unfortunately my spce calcualtions went wrong and i didnt
> end up with much harvest!

>
> P.S. The photo attachment tool didnt work! I resized within the
> boundaries!

Although you live in London, and so will probably have a fairly mild
microclimate, it is not easy to tell from your photos whether or not the
plot is in shade. You do appear to have good shelter from the fence and
bushes/trees in the background. What you can grow well will depend on how
sunny or shaded the site is.

Are you interested in only fruit and veg, or will some flowers be welcome
too?

You could look at joining your local horticultural society. You will get
good local advice there, and probably discounts on plants and sundries (you
may even get free plants from other members!).

--
Jeff
(cut "thetape" to reply)

Stewart Robert Hinsley

2008-02-24, 5:25 pm

In message <Maxim.2363a17@gardenbanter.co.uk>, Maxim
<Maxim.2363a17@gardenbanter.co.uk> writes
>
>Hello,
>
>I have a 5 x 2m space which is filled with compost, this space used to
>be a sandpit for when i was young and i decided it was time for a
>change and now that i am 14 years of age, my parents helped me in
>filling the space with fine multi purpose compost. It has a depth of
>about id say 40 cm. What id like to ask, is what would you, from
>personal experience suggest that i plant this year, i prefer plants
>that i can harvest later on. Given that i live in North London in a
>quite sub-urban environment, and the 5 x 2m space that i have, which
>plants would you recommend i try. I am quite experienced and have
>already planted many plants last year, some even tropical such as a
>banana tree, unfortunately my spce calcualtions went wrong and i didnt
>end up with much harvest!

>
>Here is a photo of last years plantations:
>
>[image: http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k...47/IMG_8486.jpg]
>
>[image: http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k...47/IMG_8479.jpg]
>
>Any Suggestions Will Be Greatly Appeciated!

>
>P.S. The photo attachment tool didnt work! I resized within the
>boundaries!
>
The possibility of the plot being shaded has already been mentioned.
That will make some difference in what you can grow successfully.

One thing that you could try is successional cropping. For example you
could plant broad beans (of an appropriate cultivar) in the late autumn,
and with luck you can harvest them early enough to reclaim the space to
plant out seedlings of tomatoes (which I would think need a sunny
location) or courgettes.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Maxim

2008-02-27, 5:25 pm

These replies are absolutely excellent! The Highgate garden centre
provides a huger range of seeds so no problem there. I like the idea of
herbs, as to add to salads at dinner and utilising the little spaces
that cannot be used by anything else. Im not quite sure if any melons
will survive though! I have been planting broad beans since the very
beginning! With blackberries or rasberries im not very sure as there
are plenty of wild species in our Hampstead Heath park in the deep
wooded areas. I have plenty of cane and chicken wire i can use. Im
thinking tomatoes? Yes id rather have something i can harvest and eat
later on. However i do plant the Big Russian Giant sunflowers as they
provide a very colourful addition! My mother also accepted the idea of
buying one of those cubicals that are covered in plastic you can zip
and unzip.
The planting location is sunny during the afternoon mostly as its
located under trees and in North West. I also tried corn, which didnt
prove much of a success, mostly in the later stages, any ideas why?

--
Maxim

robertharvey@my-deja.com

2008-02-28, 5:26 pm

On 27 Feb, 21:10, Maxim <Maxim.23b8...@gardenbanter.co.uk> wrote:
> I also tried corn, which didnt
> prove much of a success, mostly in the later stages, any ideas why?

Maize?
Maize is wind-pollinated [1], and is commercially grown in large
blocks to ensure that the majority of the plants get pollinated. 3 or
4 stems in a garden, with no neighbours planting it, would be
problematic. I can imagine good vegetable growth but no seed set.

There are techniques for hand pollination which can be found on the
web, but they are intended for controlled cross-breeding rather than
forcing a small crop to maturity.

If you want to grow maize, you will need full sun all day - it really
needs that - and a block at least 2.5m square . The plants need to
be about half a metre apart. You need to grow them in pots and plant
them out to avoid pest damage. I've heard of people staking them, but
that wouldn't seem too necessary unless it is extremely windy. They
won't like that anyway.

You can underplant them with salad crops, because they grow very
vertically and there is a lot of bare soil there.

[1] All grasses are wind-pollinated.

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