On Dec 28, 3:47*pm, harry wrote:
On Dec 28, 9:55*am, Dave Hill wrote:
On Dec 28, 8:32*am, harry wrote:
On Dec 28, 1:14*am, Macey660
wrote:
My son and daughter-in-law have bought a cottage in North Wales which is
1000 feet (330 metres) above sea level. The garden and grounds have not
been cultivated for 30 too 40 years. They've made a start in clearing
the ground and are now wondering what will grow at that level. They are
interested in veg. and fruit trees predominately.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
--
Macey660
Heh heh.
I spent 20yrs in the same situation.
You are on a hiding to nothing.
The soil will be light and sandy = dry in Summer and impoverished.
Any compost etcyou put in vanishes in a few weeks.
You will lose 6 weeks out of the growing season due to altitude.
Nights can be very cold.
Wind can be a majorproblem.
Forget about brassicas but roots do OK.
Potatos do OK, get blight resistant varieties.
A tunnel greenhouse is imperative.
You need to make preparations to collect and store irrigation water in
Winter for Summer use.
Most fruit trees are a disaster even if sheltered. *The shrubby ones
do mediocre Raspberries, gooseberries etc
Balderdash
It's North Wales.
1000ft is not that high, what's more important is it's aspect, is it
North, South, East or west facing?
It's easy to check the soil type, The majority of the soil is clay
based and wet.
Remember the rainfall is high.in a lot of North Wales.
Are there trees growing in the neighbourhood?
If there are other people living in the area, what are they growing?- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
So have you lived at such altitudes? I have. So p**s off, there's a
good chap.
1000ft can be the difference between a foot of snow and nothing at
all.
It can mean a temperature five deg C lower than on the valley floor.
On exposed sites, wind chill/burn is a major factor also.
I have seen radiation frosts in June quite frequently.
On hills, in high rainfall areas, the fine particles are washed out of
soil leaving the coarse behind (ie sand).- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Harry, Harry, Harry!
You are not the only person in the UK who has lived in North Wales,
and Yes I lived in North Wales for almost 5 years.
I now live on the side of a 998ft "mountain" in South Wales, tho top
of which is not rugged as in the North, and is covered in Clay.
You don't need 1000 ft to make a differance to the weather, I have
known our mountain have snow on the top, but just 50 to 100 ft down
Nothing.
As for radiation frost in June, I have known that in Sussex never mind
North Wales
I think you should have a look at this web site for Caerau Uchaf
Gardens, Caerau Uchaf, Sarnau, Bala, Gwynedd
http://www.summersgardens.co.uk/
David