Hi there

Just moved into a house during the winter and have no idea what to expect
from the garden come spring. At the moment there are a few dead looking
things which i'm presuming will grow again. I've a couple of questions:

1. Does it make sense to just wait and see what happens in the first year? I
mean rather than planting loads of stuff, should I wait and see what it
looks like and plan for spring 2007?

2. There is a very old compost heap at the back of the garden which I don't
think has been touched for years. It has roots (Privet and Elder) growing
all the way through it. Doeas this mean it will have no nutrients or is it
worth spreading it anyway?

Thanks in advance

xiv

"louisxiv" wrote in message
...
Hi there

Just moved into a house during the winter and have no idea what to expect
from the garden come spring. At the moment there are a few dead looking
things which i'm presuming will grow again. I've a couple of questions:

1. Does it make sense to just wait and see what happens in the first year?
I mean rather than planting loads of stuff, should I wait and see what it
looks like and plan for spring 2007?

Yes. For two main reasons -

A You are probably going to be far too busy sorting out your new home to get
as much done in the garden as you would wish, and

B. Lots of stuff will come up that you can't see now, ie the ones that die
down for winter, and it may be wonderful. Best to see what you get and
decide what you want to keep, what you want to get rid of, and what you want
to add. Talking to your new neighbours may help, especially if they are
gardeners themselves, they may know what's about to show its head.

2. There is a very old compost heap at the back of the garden which I
don't think has been touched for years. It has roots (Privet and Elder)
growing all the way through it. Doeas this mean it will have no nutrients
or is it worth spreading it anyway?


It's worth using for soil improvement, ie adding humus, rather than for its
nutritional value.

HTH

Steve

"shazzbat" wrote in message
...

"louisxiv" wrote in message
...
Hi there

Just moved into a house during the winter and have no idea what to expect
from the garden come spring. At the moment there are a few dead looking
things which i'm presuming will grow again. I've a couple of questions:

1. Does it make sense to just wait and see what happens in the first
year? I mean rather than planting loads of stuff, should I wait and see
what it looks like and plan for spring 2007?

Yes. For two main reasons -

A You are probably going to be far too busy sorting out your new home to
get as much done in the garden as you would wish, and

B. Lots of stuff will come up that you can't see now, ie the ones that die
down for winter, and it may be wonderful. Best to see what you get and
decide what you want to keep, what you want to get rid of, and what you
want to add. Talking to your new neighbours may help, especially if they
are gardeners themselves, they may know what's about to show its head.

2. There is a very old compost heap at the back of the garden which I
don't think has been touched for years. It has roots (Privet and Elder)
growing all the way through it. Doeas this mean it will have no nutrients
or is it worth spreading it anyway?


It's worth using for soil improvement, ie adding humus, rather than for
its nutritional value.

HTH

Steve

Cheers for that Steve.

"JennyC" wrote in message
...

"louisxiv" wrote in message
...
Hi there

Just moved into a house during the winter and have no idea what to expect
from the garden come spring. At the moment there are a few dead looking
things which i'm presuming will grow again. I've a couple of questions:

Welcome to URG :~)

1. Does it make sense to just wait and see what happens in the first
year? I
mean rather than planting loads of stuff, should I wait and see what it
looks like and plan for spring 2007?

Absolutly!
There may be all sorts of wonderfull things waiting to emerge :~))
You can always decide what to keep or bin as the seasom progresses.

2. There is a very old compost heap at the back of the garden which I
don't
think has been touched for years. It has roots (Privet and Elder) growing
all the way through it. Doeas this mean it will have no nutrients or is
it
worth spreading it anyway?

Beware of the elder. You don't want to spread that about.

Jenny

The Compost is right under the elder which I guess means it could be riddled
with it? That's if the elder is alive. It looks pretty defunct, did in
October when we moved in.

louisxiv wrote:
"JennyC" wrote in

[...]
Beware of the elder. You don't want to spread that about.

Jenny

The Compost is right under the elder which I guess means it could be
riddled with it? That's if the elder is alive. It looks pretty
defunct, did in October when we moved in.

The elder tree is deciduous. But it won't do any harm if it's still
alive: if there's room, it can be worth having a couple for the berries.
I suspect Jenny's thinking of ground elder, which is a pernicious weed.

--
Mike.

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
...
louisxiv wrote:
"JennyC" wrote in

[...]
Beware of the elder. You don't want to spread that about.

Jenny

The Compost is right under the elder which I guess means it could be
riddled with it? That's if the elder is alive. It looks pretty
defunct, did in October when we moved in.

The elder tree is deciduous. But it won't do any harm if it's still
alive: if there's room, it can be worth having a couple for the berries.
I suspect Jenny's thinking of ground elder, which is a pernicious weed.

--
Mike.

Ah!

It's a shame, but I reckon its berry producing days are a distant memory.

The message
from "louisxiv" contains these words:

Just moved into a house during the winter and have no idea what to expect
from the garden come spring. At the moment there are a few dead looking
things which i'm presuming will grow again. I've a couple of questions:

1. Does it make sense to just wait and see what happens in the first year?

Yes.

I
mean rather than planting loads of stuff, should I wait and see what it
looks like and plan for spring 2007?

2. There is a very old compost heap at the back of the garden which I don't
think has been touched for years. It has roots (Privet and Elder) growing
all the way through it.

Sure they aren't nettles? Are they yellow?

Doeas this mean it will have no nutrients or is it
worth spreading it anyway?

I'd bag it up, then spread it out on a sheet of polythene (cheap from
builders' merchants - ask for 'membrane'.) in the spring and let the
weeds grow. There *WILL* be weeds. Then, when the weeds are growing
nicely, let the compost dry right out, remove dead weeds or incorporate
them with the compost.

--
Rusty
Men love women, women love children, children love hamsters.
(Alice Thomas Ellis)

2. There is a very old compost heap at the back of the garden which I
don't
think has been touched for years. It has roots (Privet and Elder) growing
all the way through it.

Sure they aren't nettles? Are they yellow?

Quite sure. they're thick roots

Doeas this mean it will have no nutrients or is it
worth spreading it anyway?

I'd bag it up, then spread it out on a sheet of polythene (cheap from
builders' merchants - ask for 'membrane'.) in the spring and let the
weeds grow. There *WILL* be weeds. Then, when the weeds are growing
nicely, let the compost dry right out, remove dead weeds or incorporate
them with the compost.

Dry it out in Spring? Could be tricky!

The message
from "louisxiv" contains these words:

The elder tree is deciduous. But it won't do any harm if it's still
alive: if there's room, it can be worth having a couple for the berries.
I suspect Jenny's thinking of ground elder, which is a pernicious weed.

Ah!

It's a shame, but I reckon its berry producing days are a distant memory.


Young ground elder leaves make a good (if rather strongly-flavoured)
green vegetable. They are also good (better, IMO) chopped and added to
casseroles, mildly-flavoured greens, etc.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

The message
from "louisxiv" contains these words:



2. There is a very old compost heap at the back of the garden which I
don't
think has been touched for years. It has roots (Privet and Elder) growing
all the way through it.

Sure they aren't nettles? Are they yellow?

Quite sure. they're thick roots

So are nettle roots in fertile ground - thick as your finger, sometimes.

Doeas this mean it will have no nutrients or is it
worth spreading it anyway?

I'd bag it up, then spread it out on a sheet of polythene (cheap from
builders' merchants - ask for 'membrane'.) in the spring and let the
weeds grow. There *WILL* be weeds. Then, when the weeds are growing
nicely, let the compost dry right out, remove dead weeds or incorporate
them with the compost.

Dry it out in Spring? Could be tricky!

Why? Just gather the spare plastic and cover the compost until it''s
stopped raining.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
...
louisxiv wrote:
"JennyC" wrote in

[...]
Beware of the elder. You don't want to spread that about.

Jenny

The Compost is right under the elder which I guess means it could be
riddled with it? That's if the elder is alive. It looks pretty
defunct, did in October when we moved in.

The elder tree is deciduous. But it won't do any harm if it's still
alive: if there's room, it can be worth having a couple for the berries.
I suspect Jenny's thinking of ground elder, which is a pernicious weed.
Mike.

Indeed Mike. Ooops !
Jenny

"Rusty Hinge 2" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "louisxiv" contains these words:



2. There is a very old compost heap at the back of the garden which I
don't
think has been touched for years. It has roots (Privet and Elder)
growing
all the way through it.

Sure they aren't nettles? Are they yellow?

Quite sure. they're thick roots

So are nettle roots in fertile ground - thick as your finger, sometimes.

Doeas this mean it will have no nutrients or is it
worth spreading it anyway?

I'd bag it up, then spread it out on a sheet of polythene (cheap from
builders' merchants - ask for 'membrane'.) in the spring and let the
weeds grow. There *WILL* be weeds. Then, when the weeds are growing
nicely, let the compost dry right out, remove dead weeds or incorporate
them with the compost.

Dry it out in Spring? Could be tricky!

Why? Just gather the spare plastic and cover the compost until it''s
stopped raining.

Ah!