The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: Fleecewife on February 21, 2015, 04:46:20 pm

Title: You've got to laugh......
Post by: Fleecewife on February 21, 2015, 04:46:20 pm
,,,,or cry.

I used to do all the veg growing myself with just a little help from my husband and sons.  The amount I can do decreases year on year, and sometimes I think I do nothing  :(

We decided a couple of years ago to reduce the amount of ground we cultivate for growing, to save waste and effort.  There are five growing areas, each about 8m square, and we decided to grass one of those over, the idea being to create a weedfree, frequently mown area, which we could plough up when we needed it for rotation.  The following year we grassed over two more, leaving us with two growing areas, a high bed with more planned, and the polytunnel.  This doesn't leave enough plots for adequate rotation, so the time has come to plough up the first area grassed over, put the tatties in there, then grass over one of the plots currently in use, and continue that swapping one each year.

Or it would be, except that Mr F has fallen in love with his little patches of lawn and won't let me use them  ::)

 :'( :roflanim: :'( :roflanim: :'(

So now I'm stuck with fitting a three year rotation into two plots.  I suppose I'll have to do my sums  :garden:
Title: Re: You've got to laugh......
Post by: Lesley Silvester on February 21, 2015, 10:28:26 pm
 :roflanim:
Title: Re: You've got to laugh......
Post by: SallyintNorth on February 21, 2015, 10:52:22 pm
{smiling}   :D
Title: Re: You've got to laugh......
Post by: Mammyshaz on February 22, 2015, 07:20:08 am
 :roflanim:
Title: Re: You've got to laugh......
Post by: cloddopper on February 22, 2015, 10:51:20 pm
Simples ,
Split each plot in half with cord & pegs to give you six beds that you can play rotation in .
Title: Re: You've got to laugh......
Post by: Fleecewife on February 22, 2015, 11:08:15 pm
Simples ,
Split each plot in half with cord & pegs to give you six beds that you can play rotation in .

It's a bit more complicated than that (loads of spuds but not so much of some other groups), only two big plots, and loads and loads of weeds in one bit but I'll do something like that.  Too snowy and cold today to do anything outside  :garden:
One of the two plots was all spuds last year, and the other was mostly spuds the year before.  I think we might have identified a grassy bit I'll be allowed to use - it's not ideal so it's a compromise.

Lawns  ::) ::) ::)
Title: Re: You've got to laugh......
Post by: Lesley Silvester on February 22, 2015, 11:47:12 pm
Never seen the point of lawns myself unless you have young children who might want to play out in the garden.
Title: Re: You've got to laugh......
Post by: Bramblecot on February 22, 2015, 11:53:39 pm
Our 'lawn' is now a lamb paddock close to the house ;D :hugsheep:
Title: Re: You've got to laugh......
Post by: cloddopper on February 23, 2015, 05:15:54 pm
Never seen the point of lawns myself unless you have young children who might want to play out in the garden.

My pocket handkerchief lawns are far easier to handle with the lightweight electric mower than digging, sowing & tending them as a gardens, plus it helps give a bit of green material for the composting .
The mower is a fantastic weed sorter outer as well,  so I don't get back ache like I would if I were to weed them like i'd get in ground level veg bed set up's.
Title: Re: You've got to laugh......
Post by: princesslayer on February 27, 2015, 09:13:42 pm
Our 'lawn' is now a lamb paddock close to the house ;D :hugsheep:

My lawn is a lamb paddock too! Sheep love it and so does husband, as he won't have to mow it for ages!! Kids don't mind, thought they will end up tracking sheep poo into the house... :-\
Title: Re: You've got to laugh......
Post by: cloddopper on March 01, 2015, 10:15:20 pm
Our 'lawn' is now a lamb paddock close to the house ;D :hugsheep:

My lawn is a lamb paddock too! Sheep love it and so does husband, as he won't have to mow it for ages!! Kids don't mind, thought they will end up tracking sheep poo into the house... :-\

 :idea:  :thinking: We kept the kids out in the goat house ... but  there's no accounting for taste.  :roflanim:

 :idea:  :-J  If it is human kids why not send em out barefooted , have a Ministry  approved foot & wheel wash with a foot of more of Verkon " S "solution in it for them  to dip & wash on their feet in on the way back in to the house .

The jobs done ...... clean footed kid and clean shoes and less wear on their shoes.  :roflanim:
Title: Re: You've got to laugh......
Post by: princesslayer on March 02, 2015, 10:02:59 am
Perfect cloddopper!