Exciting but daunting new garden for a complete newbie apartment-dwelling lass!

[sarahParticipant]

Unbelievably I found the house of my dreams for an affordable rent!
It includes a large lawn garden, with an area portioned off by a fence which was already used as a veggie plot, and a backgarden with lots of fruit plants.

I am now starting to plan (moving in in August!), and i could use some advice! I give details of the veggie plot (which is where i wills start from), and what i thought about below. Any suggestions help etc. very very welcome! I attach photos to help.

Veggie plot (the fenced area seen in the photos)
– Lower Austria hardiness area 7b/8a (north east of Vienna)
– already used as a veggie plot in the past
– 17 m long x 5m wide
– south north orientation
– west boarder is a very high wall (neighbours)
– south/north/east is a partially fenced (will fix the fence as first thing)
– entrance from south closest to house
– sloping (not steep but noticeable) from north to south
– the northern most last 3 meters are shady due to tree coverage (a compost heap is there already)
photos attached

Backgarden (not in photos for now- will deal with this later):
3 cherry/sour cherry trees
1/2 plum trees
1 walnut
1 apple
on a steep incline
more trees but still trying to figure out what they are!

Basic plan for veggie garden (see drawing attached):
1. one long bed north-south against the west-wall (1m width- about 14m long)
2. against the east fence 6 2.5m x1.5m beds with 1m path in between
3. cover paths in wood chips? ( i like the look of it, and looking of flow maintenance ways 🙂 )
4. in the last 3m area (shady) reorganise the compost heap

Questions:

Compost heap:
1. i have a 5m by 3m area (shady from tree cover) that i would like to reorganise as compost heaps. What is the best way? how many slots? 3 areas separated by pallets? so start on right with a heap left alone, then turn it once to centre slot and in the mean time adding to the left one?

Preparation will happen in the last 2 weeks of august (i have a few friends who will come help then 🙂 ):
1. saving the large sage, large raspberry and gooseberry bushes… DO i mulch around these? or shall i dig them up and plant them in pots for now and replant?
2. cut down/spade away bushes
3. create beds- given there is a slant sloping from north to south, how do i counter this? should i rise the bed higher on the south side and try to level each bed like this? it is not a huge slant!
4. mulch (which method with this terrain- cardboard plus compost? or better poly- (i would not be planting until next march/april)

Planting plans:
(have not got very far with thinking about this yet!) but here is a start.

Ultimate aim- self sufficiency 🙂
First year aim: have enough success as a complete newbie that i want to keep going with it!
Challenges: I work full time and I am away from home/veggie plot 10 days a month (this is my biggest worry!)
Experience: seeding tomatoes and having them grow on my balcony, aswell as lots of herbs! lots of indoor plants! and thats about it!!

1. if i want to start by handling only 2/3 beds… what do i do with the others to avoid weeds? just put compost over them? or keep them under poly?
2. since my first goal is to have some success (!!) which plants easier to start with to fill lets say 3 beds on the east side?
3. what best along the long ‘narrow’ west wall bed? Now- (end of june) it gets sun until about 3pm then it is shady. I liked the idea of using the wall to try the ’string method’ but not sure if it is the best position.
4. grapes and fig tree: i would love to plant both of these (they grow in a friends’ garden here, so i think it is feasible)- what is the best position for them?

thanks for any support!
Sarah
PS: If any no diggers are passing through Vienna I will have a spare room in the new house and would love to connect! Free accomodation for help in the garden!

[CleansweepParticipant]

Hi Sarah,
Welcome to the forum.
You have given us an interesting project. My brief thoughts, without much detail of your requirements, as an enthusiastic ‘newbie’ gardener, would be to keep things simple to start.I suggest you select areas which are most open from shading , away from the tree canopy and ivy clad wall. Mow down or remove as much weed as possible. Cover with cardboard and apply 4″ of compost/manure. Cover these beds with opaque sheeting , such as poly tarpauline for the winter. Weight down well.
From minimal research on Vienna climate, I think your effective season for outside growing is likely shorter than here in UK. You can forward raise plants according to your tastes for planting out in Spring. Maybe the spare room would permit?
You mention regular intervals of absence. If these are in 10 day blocks, you may need to arrange caretaking in some form, if its just weekends , then you will more easily cope..
Members of this forum will always be happy to reply to questions
Good luck
Cleansweep

[DieterParticipant]

Hi,

I am a first-year gardener myself 🙂 I understand very well the excitement of a new plan.

I find it difficult to give tips for your specific situation – I cannot count on years of experience. Still, a few comments:

– Perhaps you might want to start with a general plan and make it more specific as you proceed. This gives more breathing space and allows more creativity. Unless you are very sure about what you want, that is.

– I have a slight slant in my garden and do not worry about it a bit, but my soil is sandy and covered with plants. Even with heavy rain, the water disappears instantly. Your situation might be different, and heavy thunderstorms might wash away your top soil. If you fill raised beds with compost, this might be less of a situation. I have not attempted to make my raised beds level, but my situation is rather different.

– Concerning shadow, note that we are currently around the Summer solstice and shadows at noon are at their shortest. At the Winter Solstice, they will be at their longest. Since Vienna is at ~48°N, expect that the length of an object’s shadow at noon is about 0.45 times the object’s height (tan 24.14°), while at equinox it will be about 1.111 times (tan 48°, from 21 March – 21 September). I personally would not make a definitive plan before the end of September, as this will give a better idea about how much shadow you will have and where it will occur. Also, the situation of end September will reoccur in end March/early April, when early growth is in need of the Sun’s energy.

Good luck 🙂

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