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leeds neil

Joined: 03 Jan 2009
Posts: 10
Location: Leeds West Yorkshire

Posted: Wed Feb 11, 09 10:49 pm Post subject: urban garden

This year I plan on turning the postage stamp sized piece of concrete my landlord calls a ‘back garden’ into a space saving, micro garden.

I’m pretty sure that throughout the process I am going to make all manner of foul ups, mistakes and fumbles. hopefully with a good dose of hindsight, some DIY spirit, and a whole load of home-brew, I might just end up with a decent crop of something.

While endeavoring to bring a bit of the downsizer spirit to sunny Leeds, I thought I would document my efforts to extract every square cm of growing space. Hopefully others can learn from my mistakes, and maybe..... a triumph or two?

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Feb 11, 09 10:54 pm Post subject:
Good luck with your project. How about taking lots of pics and writing an article for us on your progress?

leeds neil

Joined: 03 Jan 2009
Posts: 10
Location: Leeds West Yorkshire

Posted: Wed Feb 11, 09 10:55 pm Post subject:
it would be a pleasure

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Feb 11, 09 11:04 pm Post subject:
Excellent. I still fondly remember my south-facing backyard of many years ago - it had a wonderful microclimate that could grow pretty much anything.

mbeirnes

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 100

Posted: Thu Mar 19, 09 10:28 am Post subject:
Neil I work in leeds live outside leeds, feel freetopm me if you want any help..... I think you could be selfsuffient in herbs and salads quite easily

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9867
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Thu Mar 19, 09 10:32 am Post subject:
good idea - my first back garden was like that - grew tomatoes in grow bags very successfully, as it was sheltered

earthyvirgo

Joined: 24 Aug 2007
Posts: 7972
Location: creating prints in the loft, Gerlan

Posted: Thu Mar 19, 09 10:43 am Post subject:
The other day, I came across a scribbled title of a book wich I'd made a note of some time ago "Crops in pots" (sorry, no author name). I'm sure there are loads of similar books but this one must of caught my eye for me to have written it down. EV

goldy1

Joined: 17 Sep 2006
Posts: 729

Posted: Thu Mar 19, 09 12:04 pm Post subject:
When I was a kid my Aunty had a concreted back yard. She had all manner of pots Even an old loo planted up with numerous flowers and veg. She used every inch of her wall space either with climbers or wall baskets. It looked fab.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Thu Mar 19, 09 12:32 pm Post subject:
There are some useful ideas in Cab's article here.

Jb

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91ï¿½ N

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 09 12:37 pm Post subject:
Turn it back to soil. If it is concrete then swinging a pickaxe at concrete is a great way to releive stress (might take a bit of time though!)

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 09 1:35 pm Post subject:
Probably said this before, but when I had a very small garden [2up2down] in Sheffield, part patio, part earth/raised beds, I managed to grow a lot : all my own herbs, salads, and greens [perpetual spinach, followed by purple sprouting brocc], plus strawbs and rhubarb. And some flowers. Go for it !

frewen

Joined: 08 Sep 2005
Posts: 11405

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 09 1:38 pm Post subject:
I'm looking forward to seeing what you achieve in your micro garden - sounds great

Marches

Joined: 13 Dec 2011
Posts: 171
Location: Nr Peak District, England

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 11 11:43 pm Post subject:

If I had a small concreted yard for a back garden I'd probably grow a few small fruit trees in large pots, some English ivy up the walls, some strawberries and alpine strawberries in window boxes, gooseberries in a square pot in a corner somewhere and a few flowers somewhere.

I'd probably plant something for privacy if it were lacking such as some fast growing willow around the perimeter.
I wouldn't bother with veg if it is a very small space, just some nice fresh fruit from the trees and bushes, a nice bit of greenery and colour in the willow, flowers and ivy as well as privacy from the willow and aesthetic appeal from the ivy.

I'd get a bird table and leave nuts for pigeons, magpies and corvidae as I like larger birds, but put bird seed hanging up in the trees somewhere for the small species. (I like larger birds, magpies are so daft how they hop around like rabbits

, but they're very intelligent like parrots).

A Budleia would be good to for insects and especially butterflies which in turn would attract the swifts in summer. Often they are already present in concreted yards anyway.

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