Friday, June 5

Salad Days

Last year I posted about our intention to tidy up the area hidden behind our greenhouse.
Being hidden it had become a dumping ground and in desperate need of a new identity and purpose. It already housed a cold frame and so we decided to create a cold frame and raised bed area which could be used to grow salads close at hand rather than in the plot. This way we could enjoy our salads freshly picked as the fancy took us rather than having to plan ahead and bring salad crops back from the plot only to have to store them for later use.

We named this area the cold frame courtyard as at one point it was going to be paved but the bark chippings used as a temporary measure felt right and so stayed as did the now rather inappropriate name. 

It's taken a while but now the area is starting to take shape.



A new section of fencing has been erected and a couple of climbing roses planted against it. A sambucus nigra that wasn't really happy in a pot has been planted in an awkward corner.

We already had the two cold frames and Woodblocx raised bed all of which were in use last year.

These are in temporary positions and will be moved to make better use of space when they are empty later in the year. Space permitting we may invest in a second raised bed. 

As you can see from the above photos we have also decided to have pots of the herbs that we use the most in this area too.

The raised bed now has a fleece tent in an attempt to keep any type of flying pest at bay and the area has had nematodes applied to try and control the slugs and maybe snails too.

Some radish, salad leaves and spring onions have been sown and so far a couple of varieties of lettuce planted. I'm aiming for succession.

I think you can see why a second raised bed would be useful.

28 comments:

  1. The trouble with those raised beds is that once you have one you will always be wanting more! Still, you have managed to squeeze a lot into a small space very effectively. That "ant-fly cage" thing is brilliant.

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    1. I meant "anti-" of course...

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    2. Pity that it may not be affective against snails, Mark

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  2. I have spots that need clean up in my yard too. I have been avoiding.

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    1. We avoided this one for quite some time, Daphne

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  3. I think there's always areas of a garden which become a dumping ground, even in my tiny garden we shove things behind the shed out of the way. There's such a big difference in your before and after photos, you've certainly made the most of the space, as you do throughout your garden. The salad crops look to be coming along well, will you invest in another WoodBlocX bed or a make one yourself?

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    1. We didn't realise that there was as much space as there was Jo Being in the garden probably a Woodblocx

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  4. Looking good Sue....it's lovely to be able to walk out the back door and pick a few salad bits. We have a dumping area behind my potting shed, can't be used for anything else and no one can see it.. hubby did give it a tidy up a few weeks ago :o)

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    1. This has turned out ti be a really sheltered area, Julie. Very valuable in these gales

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  5. Looks good now very neat & tidy. I really need to or get Mike to sort out the side of the house. That's our dumping ground at the moment. You can never have too many raised beds, I'm fast running out of space though x

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  6. Sure your new area looks very useful Sue.
    I love your raised beds, mine are the same and I'm happy with them because I don't feel the backache.
    The salad is so fresh, yummy!

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  7. What an absolutely brilliant makeover and such a fantastic use of the space, it will be lovely when those roses grow too. Fresh salad and herbs....you just can't beat that!xxx

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    1. It should look even better when we can move things around, Dina

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  8. Having salads at home is really handy, and it's nice to have them really fresh as well. I've got one and a half raised beds of salads at home at the moment (8' x 4') and I love picking things just before lunch every day. You've reminded me I haven't sown any spring onions though

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    1. I;m sowing a second batch of spring onions today CJ. They are so slow growing

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  9. That looks lovely Sue, and perfect to have the salad and herbs so close to hand :)

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  10. Haha! Cold frame Courtyard :-) It looks great!

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  11. Looking nice and tidy Sue and raised beds are great, they are on my wish-list too. I have looked into Woodblocx too, I just wish my pockets were deep enough to use it throughout the garden :-)

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    1. It is expensive, Helene but worth it.

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    2. Helene, we've made our own versions using 8" x 2" timber from the builder's merchant. I think they call it 200mm x 50mm but I don't think in metric. Obviously not as attractive as Sue's but working well for us and much less £££.

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  12. That's quite the difference sue! I haven't had much luck with spring sown salad so far, except rocket, that I've yet to pick (I also have the overwintered rocket)

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    1. It is isn't it? I havenn't sown any rocket, Lou

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  13. Hey...that first picture looks like sections of my garden! What a transformation - posts like this really get me going in *trying* to get my garden into better shape.

    Just catching up on blog reading after being away for a few days & I burst out laughing when I read your "sauerkraut without the i" comment on Daphne's blog.

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    1. It took a while for us to get going Margaret but it's been worth it.

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