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• #3452
Corner posts in dry mixed concrete (4 ballast to 1 cement, whacked down hard around each post with a 1" stick) will be fine. Measure twice, concrete once!
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• #3453
60cm posts cut from some 38mm joists with a pointy end cut in. Just whack them down and screw through to the sleepers
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• #3454
^ this
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• #3455
Finally a bit of rain....
... The morning after I finally managed to put some weedkiller down :(
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• #3456
That should be fine if you just secure them to each other with some galvanised steel bar bent into brackets. Attached to the inside of each corner. There won't be enough weight/ pressure to burst out the sides. Probably.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/alfer-galvanised-steel-flat-bar-23-5-x-1-2-x-1000mm/9227P?tc=ST2&ds_kid=92700022063965808&gclsrc=aw.ds&ds_rl=1241687&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1244072&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3-PC1t2z4wIVBLDtCh0TNgooEAQYASABEgLBEvD_BwE -
• #3457
I just dug down a bit and packed some hardcore down into the hole, then lay the sleepers on that and fixed them together with a couple of timberdrive screws at the corners. Seems fine - they're not exactly going to go anywhere. I only did one layer but it'd probably do two or three just fine. Might be worth drilling down vertically and putting a rod in each corner I guess just to stop any sliding-type movement but they're heavy enough that they probably won't go walkabout.
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• #3458
Thanks everyone for the advice! Seems like there are a number of ways to do it.
I'm going for a hybrid of the advice given.
I have loads of gravel/stone chippings in the rest of the garden which I don't want; so I'll dig around the perimeter of where the bed will go and stick a couple of inches of gravel in it and compact it down.
I'll put a post in each corner (maybe with cement, not sure yet).
The two long sides are three sleepers long so I'll stick a post in there too.
Then screw the lot together. -
• #3459
You can just about see what we did here:
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• #3460
I have a cherry tree in my garden, which needs a haircut. My only experience of cutting trees is cutting them down so I'm not too sure about the finesse of a prune. In other words I don't know what I'm doing.
Without wishing to put any tree surgeons' noses out of joint, is this a job that I should pay to have done or can I DIY it?
If the former, what's the ballpark cost?
If the latter, any tips?Cheers!
(edit: ignore the brickwork -that's also on the to-do list)
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• #3461
Cherry trees are fucker as most grow large and my understanding is that they shouldn't be pruned. My dad killed one much loved by child me from pruning.
I think you're looking at around £750+ for a pro.
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• #3462
I think you're looking at around £750+ for a pro
Wowsers 😳 Thanks for the heads up. I don't actually really want it in the garden but it seems criminal to get rid...
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• #3463
I've pruned a couple just after they've flowered.
When NTL dug up the gardens to install cables about 20 years ago they gave everyone on the street a tree and some of them were a bit inappropriate for small gardens.
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• #3464
We had our cherry plum tree pruned a couple of years ago for less than that. If you are in SE / Peckham / Dulwich area I can dig out details of the tree surgeon for you.
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• #3465
Whatever you decide to do, cherries (and all stone fruit) must always be pruned in summer.
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• #3467
Prune after fruiting in summer.
Take dead & diseased / dying stuff out first. Then stuff that is "crossing" so competing with neighbouring branches for light.
Don't take much off. If you need to remove a large branch then take that only that year.
Course I did taught to clean cutting stuff with vinegar first.
Cut beneath first so it's a clean cut doesn't snap- more vital the heavier. Use tool appropriate to size of branch. I mostly use secateurs (?) and a small pruning saw.
Neaten up cuts after using a Stanley blade.
Cover cuts with cooking oil, stops mould getting in if it's damp apparently (I don't do this if it is a hot day)
Cut so the angle is downwards e.g. so rainwater won't "sit" on the open cut.
I've done appx 7yrs on 2x apple trees (Prune earlier in year) & one greengage plum tree using the above methods & they're still fruiting well.
Remember in "the wild" trees would cope with snapped branches fairly regularly, they're pretty hardy things.
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• #3468
P.s
Rhs always worth a look... They mention what I forgot, take off "strong vertical growth" too - we call these watershoots. -
• #3469
Can anyone explain why repotting should be done gradually, increasing sizes? Basically I'm lazy and clumsy. I have a small fig tree. I have a final pot. What is the benefit in gradually repotting it over the next 4 years rather than putting it straight into its final pot?
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• #3470
Not sure exactly, but figs fruit better when their roots are restricted.
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• #3471
Awesome thanks for the advice! I think I'll try to tackle it this weekend. I can just use a half decent hand saw yeah?
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• #3472
OK next garden issue. My lawn is a total disgrace (I moved into this house in January and the previous owners just let everything go to pot).
It's bald in some areas. It's really uneven/undulating and it's full of weeds.
I don't need it to be perfect but I'd like to be able to mow it and for it to look half decent after a cut.
What's the best approach? Feed and weed? Topsoil and reseed? Get rid of it all and turf?
I'd favour a quick, easy, cheap method if that exists?
Thanks, Joe
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• #3473
turf is going to be quickest and should have a good result, certainly
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• #3474
You'd have to spend a while leveling. That fence is all wrong, gaps under the gravel boards.
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• #3475
Tell me about it. The fence is new and I wasn't expecting it. Had lots of nice bushes, roses etc there previously...
What's the best way to level the lawn, do you reckon??
I'm thinking on edge, just one course.