Lol this sounds like it was written by me 😂 I relate to every single point, including the ownership of every single gardening book in existence but not having read a single one.
Exactly. Actually today I'm going to have my first go at "chaos gardening", where you put all your leftover seeds into one bag and just throw them. Excited to see what will come out!
When I did my garden I was very pleasantly surprised by the results and it was hard not to feel a bit puffed up with pride at it! I certainly followed a random approach.
That’s brilliant, you should be proud of yourself. It all feels like a very big job at the moment. I have a 5 year plan in that in 5 years time I’d like to have a more established garden & a renovated house!
I think we have similar gardening styles ;). Not that I’m doing what you are, most I manage these days is to get some prunings in the green bin on time. I have a compost bin - one of those black plastic ones - but haven’t opened it in years. Inside will either be amazing compost or a rotting mess. Anyway, who needs to be an influencer, I think you are doing just fine 💚
Probing is always an important job though & one I rarely do - you get better healthier growth with pruning & less leggy plants. You should open the bin - I bet it’s gorgeous compost
I wish I had your optimism. One thing I really struggle with when gardening is my aversion to insects. I love the actual processes and the fact it’s outdoors and works up a sweat etc - but my anxiety levels build when ‘things’ keep jumping out at me. I know we need them and whilst my garden looks unkempt, it’s very healthy in terms of species diversity. So many bugs 🐛 🐞🐌🐝🕷️🦋🦗 [shudders involuntarily] I just wish they would hide from me a bit more 💚
My typos are exceptional today - pruning not probing- that would be weird! Yes being averse to insects isn’t helpful. Unkempt and species diverse is better than kempt and species poor. That’s what I tell myself anyway!
Hello there , I think maybe you’re selling yourself a little short as a gardener. I certainly have no green thumb myself, but I have a few suggestions that you might want to consider:
#7 Get some cats, let them breed and before you know it your felines will be happy and fat on rodent flesh and the ones who really like you will be dropping off surplus rat corpses at your doorstep. I live in a “dog-infested” village where cats don’t seem very popular. But looking out my back window I can see that my yard is the only one nearby with no rodent holes. I don’t even let my cats out of the house, but those filthy little scavenging rats can smell trouble a mile away.
#7 (II) Lay a concrete pad under your compost bin. Make sure it’s about 20-30 centimeters wider than the bin all round. Then get some sheet tin or aluminium and nail it to the sides of the bin, stretching up about 30 centimeters higher than you think the biggest rat can jump. Make sure the bottom edge of your sheet metal folds under the bottom edge of the bin, overlapping about 8-10 centimeters. If you don’t do the under lap then if the metal gets damaged or bent your little invaders will find a way in by gnawing through the wood. VERY IMPORTANT: make sure the nails you use are compatible with the sheet metal. For instance, if you use iron nails with sheet aluminium in about a year you’ll have a rusty, useless mess on your hands. Your hardware supplier will know what type of nails go with what type sheet metal.
#9 Buy work gloves like you buy bananas—in bunches. I’ve got them all over my house, and an extra pair in the car too. I live in a 2 1/2 story house with a full basement too, and I never have to go up or down a flight on these arthritic old knees to get my hands on a hammer, screwdriver or pair of gloves.
I’m sorry I don’t have any ideas about your other seven issues, but if you can work them out I’m sure you’ll make a fine gardener someday!
Thank you Rafael, we do have a terrier with a ferocious bite so I’m hoping that will help. We’ve not had too much bother to be honest, just a few which I think we’ve been living with for a year or so. We couldn’t get a cat/cats at the moment because of said terrier. It would be mayhem! I’ll keep in mind your concrete / sheet solution if we end up with a problem.
To be honest when it comes to the rest of it, or any of it really, I don’t mind all too much. It’s how I am, ramshackle and a bit hit and miss!
Lol this sounds like it was written by me 😂 I relate to every single point, including the ownership of every single gardening book in existence but not having read a single one.
The intention is there but it just doesn't happen does it? I think our way is pretty good, rewilding and conformity don't go too well together!
Exactly. Actually today I'm going to have my first go at "chaos gardening", where you put all your leftover seeds into one bag and just throw them. Excited to see what will come out!
LOVE IT ! did this with a bunch of flower seeds in August & put them in a big fish tray - they’ve germinated but not flowers yet!
My kind of gardening 😁
When I did my garden I was very pleasantly surprised by the results and it was hard not to feel a bit puffed up with pride at it! I certainly followed a random approach.
That’s brilliant, you should be proud of yourself. It all feels like a very big job at the moment. I have a 5 year plan in that in 5 years time I’d like to have a more established garden & a renovated house!
I think we have similar gardening styles ;). Not that I’m doing what you are, most I manage these days is to get some prunings in the green bin on time. I have a compost bin - one of those black plastic ones - but haven’t opened it in years. Inside will either be amazing compost or a rotting mess. Anyway, who needs to be an influencer, I think you are doing just fine 💚
Probing is always an important job though & one I rarely do - you get better healthier growth with pruning & less leggy plants. You should open the bin - I bet it’s gorgeous compost
I wish I had your optimism. One thing I really struggle with when gardening is my aversion to insects. I love the actual processes and the fact it’s outdoors and works up a sweat etc - but my anxiety levels build when ‘things’ keep jumping out at me. I know we need them and whilst my garden looks unkempt, it’s very healthy in terms of species diversity. So many bugs 🐛 🐞🐌🐝🕷️🦋🦗 [shudders involuntarily] I just wish they would hide from me a bit more 💚
My typos are exceptional today - pruning not probing- that would be weird! Yes being averse to insects isn’t helpful. Unkempt and species diverse is better than kempt and species poor. That’s what I tell myself anyway!
Hello there , I think maybe you’re selling yourself a little short as a gardener. I certainly have no green thumb myself, but I have a few suggestions that you might want to consider:
#7 Get some cats, let them breed and before you know it your felines will be happy and fat on rodent flesh and the ones who really like you will be dropping off surplus rat corpses at your doorstep. I live in a “dog-infested” village where cats don’t seem very popular. But looking out my back window I can see that my yard is the only one nearby with no rodent holes. I don’t even let my cats out of the house, but those filthy little scavenging rats can smell trouble a mile away.
#7 (II) Lay a concrete pad under your compost bin. Make sure it’s about 20-30 centimeters wider than the bin all round. Then get some sheet tin or aluminium and nail it to the sides of the bin, stretching up about 30 centimeters higher than you think the biggest rat can jump. Make sure the bottom edge of your sheet metal folds under the bottom edge of the bin, overlapping about 8-10 centimeters. If you don’t do the under lap then if the metal gets damaged or bent your little invaders will find a way in by gnawing through the wood. VERY IMPORTANT: make sure the nails you use are compatible with the sheet metal. For instance, if you use iron nails with sheet aluminium in about a year you’ll have a rusty, useless mess on your hands. Your hardware supplier will know what type of nails go with what type sheet metal.
#9 Buy work gloves like you buy bananas—in bunches. I’ve got them all over my house, and an extra pair in the car too. I live in a 2 1/2 story house with a full basement too, and I never have to go up or down a flight on these arthritic old knees to get my hands on a hammer, screwdriver or pair of gloves.
I’m sorry I don’t have any ideas about your other seven issues, but if you can work them out I’m sure you’ll make a fine gardener someday!
Thank you Rafael, we do have a terrier with a ferocious bite so I’m hoping that will help. We’ve not had too much bother to be honest, just a few which I think we’ve been living with for a year or so. We couldn’t get a cat/cats at the moment because of said terrier. It would be mayhem! I’ll keep in mind your concrete / sheet solution if we end up with a problem.
To be honest when it comes to the rest of it, or any of it really, I don’t mind all too much. It’s how I am, ramshackle and a bit hit and miss!
Thank you, and I just realized that if you’re keeping fowl the cats are a non-starter, lol.
Not yet but we will be, but we have lots of people round us with hens & cats & it seems to work.