Hi all,

I'm a complete gardening newbie and would appreciate any advise that
you want to give me on the following:

I have just prepared a patch of land in my garden for use as a small,
organic vegetable /fruit garden.

The land is triangular in shape approx 4m by 3m. On the North side
(3m) of the triangle there is a high hedge, on the East side (4m) a
strong fence and the West side is open meaning the patch gets full
sunlight throughout the afternoon (when it's not raining in London as
it is now).

So far I have:

- Cleared away the old roots of a small/ medium tree that used to be
there.
- Removed *loads* of stones because the earth was very very stoney.
- Turned the soil over using a pitch fork (then left for a couple of
days).
- Evened the soil out using a rake.
- Cut the soil using a hoe (sp?).

It's still fairly stoney (only small ones tho) and there are
strangely, old, thin roots in places but I think it's ready for
planting.

I think that what I need to do next is get some decent
compost/fertiliser and mix it in with the soil but I think it's a good
idea to know what I'm planting before I buy compost etc.

So, my first question is what fruit/veg to plant now. I've taken a
look on http://www.hdra.org.uk at 'what to do now' and my favored veg
a carrots, cauliflower, lettuce, peas, spinache, radish, turnip and
parsley.

Which of these would you advise for my first planting attempt?

It seems that no fruit plants are suitable for planting right now - is
this true?

With my planting options in mind, what else should I do to prepare the
land? Should I leave the compost in for a while (when I buy it) before
planting?

My final question - what to do to stop our local cats using my newly
prepared land as a luxury toilet?

I appreciate you probably get lots of newbie posts like this - so I
apologise for that. I did have a quick surf around and couldn't find
any great sites for this kind of info, but if anyone has any links
then do send.

Kind regards,

Jack Guest

PS - Please don't reply via the displayed Hotmail email address - I do
not use it, I can be emailed via (remove the
caps)

"Jack Guest" wrote in message
om...
Hi all,

I'm a complete gardening newbie and would appreciate any advise that
you want to give me on the following:

I have just prepared a patch of land in my garden for use as a small,
organic vegetable /fruit garden.

The land is triangular in shape approx 4m by 3m. On the North side
(3m) of the triangle there is a high hedge, on the East side (4m) a
strong fence and the West side is open meaning the patch gets full
sunlight throughout the afternoon (when it's not raining in London as
it is now).

So far I have:

- Cleared away the old roots of a small/ medium tree that used to be
there.
- Removed *loads* of stones because the earth was very very stoney.
- Turned the soil over using a pitch fork (then left for a couple of
days).
- Evened the soil out using a rake.
- Cut the soil using a hoe (sp?).

It's still fairly stoney (only small ones tho) and there are
strangely, old, thin roots in places but I think it's ready for
planting.

I think that what I need to do next is get some decent
compost/fertiliser and mix it in with the soil but I think it's a good
idea to know what I'm planting before I buy compost etc.

So, my first question is what fruit/veg to plant now. I've taken a
look on http://www.hdra.org.uk at 'what to do now' and my favored veg
a carrots, cauliflower, lettuce, peas, spinache, radish, turnip and
parsley.

Which of these would you advise for my first planting attempt?

I would plant onions, garlic, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage,
radish, and spinach. There are others, but I dodnt enjoy eating them as
much.

If it rains a lot, I would also consider building a raised bed before
planting. That way the excess water will run off easier and most plants
will do better when they arent setting in water.



It seems that no fruit plants are suitable for planting right now - is
this true?

I would wait till October. I dont like putting new plants out during hot
weather. They seem to make it better if planted in cooler weather.


With my planting options in mind, what else should I do to prepare the
land? Should I leave the compost in for a while (when I buy it) before
planting?

My final question - what to do to stop our local cats using my newly
prepared land as a luxury toilet?

I love cats. They taste like chicken. Seriously, I know of no way
except to get a mean dog.

I appreciate you probably get lots of newbie posts like this - so I
apologise for that. I did have a quick surf around and couldn't find
any great sites for this kind of info, but if anyone has any links
then do send.

Kind regards,

Jack Guest

PS - Please don't reply via the displayed Hotmail email address - I do
not use it, I can be emailed via (remove the
caps)

"Dwayne" wrote in message
...

My final question - what to do to stop our local cats using my newly
prepared land as a luxury toilet?
either place mothballs all over it, or orange peel, or prickly rose
cuttings, or get yourself a cat. Cats are territorial, yours will keep out
strangers.

In article ,
(Jack Guest) wrote:

radish

Ordinary radish can be a bit difficult over high summer, Consider trying
the more unusual winter radishes

, turnip

Often SO much better than shop-bought.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

Just Molly wrote:
"Dwayne" wrote in message
...

My final question - what to do to stop our local cats using my newly
prepared land as a luxury toilet?
either place mothballs all over it, or orange peel, or prickly rose
cuttings, or get yourself a cat. Cats are territorial, yours will
keep out strangers.

I think it's mine who are using it as a toilet !

Thanks for the advise.

Jack