Looking good

@greatnorthernexotic

9 ай бұрын

Thank you! 👍

Thanks wondering what to do

@greatnorthernexotic

9 ай бұрын

Thanks Margaret, what plants are you growing?

You've done a great job mate. I'd recommend anchoring it to the ground/raised bed with heavy duty picture frame rope (will hold 50kg) you can buy it a b and q. Combine that with hooks to screw in will attach it to the ground. My first design had no anchor, I thought the legs in the soil would keep it in place. I picked my shelter up 100 yards down the road when the wind picked up....😂. The height is a great idea to allow growth of the plants but it'll mean anchoring will be even more crucial than mine which is lower. I'm gonna be raising my shelters with gutter downpipe this year to make version 4. Don't be disheartened if you meet problems over the winter. It's inevitable that the design will get refined over the months and years. The problem now is the material price. In 5 years of shelter design for the front prices have almost tripled for the same raw materials. Polycarbonate used to be cheap...no longer. Good luck mate

@greatnorthernexotic

8 ай бұрын

I think the picture frame rope is a great shout - I'll order some. I do have it double screwed into the sleepers and have used metal loops to attached it to the fence at the top, but will definitely be adding more anchor points sooner rather than later. I wonder what it'll look like by April!

I like that very much. I reckon that will do the job. Can I suggest some simple cheap guy ropes? You could screw some vine eyes into the frame and those sleepers. Just to anchor it in several places should the wind get under it. Great job. I'm inspired by your arrid bed.

@greatnorthernexotic

9 ай бұрын

Thanks, Mark. I do think I will be adding more to the structure to increase its sturdiness and guy ropes makes sense - I would rather be over-prepared. Would love to see your own take on an arid bed or border!

@MarksHouseandGardenUK

9 ай бұрын

@@greatnorthernexotic I was thinking of starting from scratch and copying most of your great ideas lol

@greatnorthernexotic

9 ай бұрын

😄

Great design to the shelter; with a good angle to get rid of water n snow; wind will be your challenge but like you say you can reinforce if required; I’ve gone for individual shelters for my Agaves and Yucca Rostrate’s emergency large containers n fleece for other plants if we get silly temperatures; let’s hope we don’t.

@greatnorthernexotic

9 ай бұрын

Thanks! Yeah hopefully we don't have another winter like the last. I'll be fleecing a few bits too if necessary. What agaves are you growing?

@terrystokes7047

9 ай бұрын

I’m growing Montana and Geminiflora (thin leaves with white hairs, some get it mixed up with Filifera) planted in raised gravel bed.

Great job! Hope it holds up over the winter 🤞. I'm hoping to protect one of my citrus trees that I planted in the ground (probably a mistake lol) in a similar way.

@greatnorthernexotic

9 ай бұрын

Thanks! What would you recommend trying in the ground as a citrus beginner? Can kumquat go in the ground unprotected?

@PeterEntwistle

9 ай бұрын

@@greatnorthernexotic For as far north as us, the foolproof one would be Poncirus/Citrus trifoliata, which can act deciduous in cold winters and should be able to survive unprotected even in most parts of Scotland. Kumquats are meant to be one of the cold-hardiest, so could be a good option, satsumas are also a good option, but hardier than that would be the Yuzu. But you’d want to make sure they were grafted onto a trifoliata rootstock. The issue with kumquats though, is even though they are one of the more cold-tolerant types, they need high heat in summer to get them to flower and set fruit. I left mine in the greenhouse and it did flower, all my other citrus flower outside no issue, even in the cooler weather we had this year. I’d still also cover any grafted citrus varieties in very cold weather. I planted a clementine, which is meant to be fairly cold-hardy, but probably less than a satsuma, against a southwest-facing garden wall. I’ll probably put some kind of cover over it a bit like what you have done with your arid bed. That should help stop snow and ice from settling on it and also shield it from excess rain. Wet roots are probably the biggest problem for citrus in winter. Then if we get any freezes below -1/2°C predicted I’ll wrap it in fleece under the shelter, especially in the first few winters. If we get any cold snaps like last December where we got a low of -7°C and 10 days of barely above freezing I’ll probably also put some old-style incandescent (not LED) outdoor lights on it and wrap it with fleece.

@greatnorthernexotic

9 ай бұрын

Thanks, will look into a picking up a poncirus in spring. Would love to grow more fruit in the garden.

@PeterEntwistle

9 ай бұрын

@@greatnorthernexotic they are very hardy, but the fruit isn’t very tasty from what I’ve heard 😂. Might work as a marmalade though.

I really hope it survives. However, I have done the clear tarp thing and it didn't work for me. I found that it sagged and pulled, especially with any snow, and it ended up looking awful by the end of the winter. I found some old perspex sheeting last year from someone who was taking down their conservatory (it was about to end up in the skip so I asked if I could take it!) I then built the wooden frame and attached the sheets to it - essentially making an open-sided greenhouse. It makes a much more rigid structure and, even in the storms, didn't feel like it would blow away. My agaves all survived (although the Americana looked terrible, it's bounced back incredibly well). It's worth keeping an eye out locally for materials.

@greatnorthernexotic

9 ай бұрын

Yeah the long term plan will definitely be to use something more substantial such as polycarbonate or those corrugated roof sheets, I'm keeping an eye out for something cheap or free. Easy to store in the garage over summer too. As for the agaves, I have americana in the ground currently but longer term I have a few hardier species sizing up in the greenhouse: a. montana, ovatifolia, parryi, gentryi.

You will need to cover the open ends, the rain will get in there. I did the same last year and quickly realised that rain will get in any gaps. I left the bottom 6 inches open for ventilation

@greatnorthernexotic

9 ай бұрын

Yeah good point, I'll add side panels next. 👍

Anyone else building a shelter for their plants?

@Knapper94

9 ай бұрын

Im just letting my arid bowl do its own thing, what lives lives and what dies dies, ill take cuttings as backups and keep these dry.

How’s it working out now we getting some rain 👍🌵

@greatnorthernexotic

8 ай бұрын

Only had a few showers and is holding up fine. No need for reinforcements or modifications yet. Will see how things look if the first frosts come at the weekend.

@scotty2hotty8311

8 ай бұрын

@@greatnorthernexotic we have had a fair bit of rain and my cacti are bone dry so I’m happy 😊

@greatnorthernexotic

8 ай бұрын

​@@scotty2hotty8311perfect! Did you post photos of your finished shelter build online (Facebook etc)? If so, link me up!

@scotty2hotty8311

8 ай бұрын

@@greatnorthernexotic you have commented about it 👍 I have to many boulders 🤣

How deep did you do the gravel 🤔

@greatnorthernexotic

9 ай бұрын

30cm depth - two bulk bags worth.

@scotty2hotty8311

9 ай бұрын

@@greatnorthernexotic what’s underneath solid clay or dug 👍

@greatnorthernexotic

9 ай бұрын

@@scotty2hotty8311 regular topsoil underneath, slightly on the clay side.

@scotty2hotty8311

9 ай бұрын

@@greatnorthernexotic see I’m not sure if I’m going to mix in gravel in my soil to make it free drain more before adding my 30cm+ of gravel on top 🤔 I’m extending the cacti bed through the winter but doing it more like your style as my first part is built up big granite rocks and planted in the crevices 🌵😎

@greatnorthernexotic

9 ай бұрын

@@scotty2hotty8311 I was actually thinking of adding more rocks to mine in the long run! I do like the crevice planting look.