Slabbed back yard no soil.

[drongo22]

My back yard is slabbed (45cm x 45cm slabs). There is a 1mtr boundary wall with a 1mtr wooden fence atop. I am wanting to introduce some climbing plants to grow up the wall & fence however I have no soil. I was thinking of using a Stihl saw to cut the row of slabs next to the wall creating a 22cm channel & expose the ground. I would then dig down and depending on what I unearth introduce some substrate for drainage close to the height of the slabs, then I would fix some timber the length of the wall (approx 20cm higher than the slabs) to the remaining half slab. Finally filling with soil/fertilizer ready to plant. The yard is quite narrow so that is the reason for not removing a full slab!

Any thoughts/recommendation on this idea? The wall gets sunlight until 10AM then in shade so climber recommendations too please!

Thanks.

 

[NigelJ]

I'd get a large planter and plant into that. As for what I'd grow there, North Yorkshire, shady wall how about climbing hydrangea/Schizophragma. Whatever you do will probably need to keep an eye on the watering.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Planter fan here too. Large sizes.

 

[Anniekay]

As everyone else has said: a planter box will be so much easier. You say you intend to add boxes after digging out the flooring, you can, instead, just place wooden boxes on top of the substrate and plant into those then train your climbing plants to the fencing above them. Much less work !!

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Agreed, a good trough has to be much easier, take up your slab and you might well find slab/wall foundation under it.
Does the wall shade itself, or is it in the shade of something else? If the first you could grow something like honeysuckle that grows in the shade of woodland to reach the sun, and would then flower along the top, nice scent in a small place.

 

[MiTmite9]

My organic gardening hobby began when I was 17 years of age. Over the years, I have become a HUGE fan of utilizing extra large terra cotta and ceramic flower pots.
We grow veggies and flowering plants (mostly native; attractive to bees, hummingbirds, butterflies). We have a huge yard, but gardening utilizing pots has been a game changer.

Of course, things like cucumbers, zucchini and pumpkins all go inground ---- but tomatoes and peppers do well in very large pots.
Rather than make so much work for yourself with sawing and digging and worrying about drainage, why not try flower pots? And please not those awful "grow bags." Turns out, unless you invest in hemp bags ($$$), the rest of those "fabric" bags contain a ton of plastic.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Of course, things like cucumbers, zucchini and pumpkins all go inground

I have to grow cucumbers in the greenhouse and have always given them a large container, they seem fine.
Tried growing carrots in buckets this year, pulled a few to thin them the other day and they are coming on fine, zero problems with pests. I usually get slugs eating the tops, and it means I can weed or thin and then put them up on something where carrot fly haven't found them.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I have to grow cucumbers in the greenhouse and have always given them a large container, they seem fine.
Tried growing carrots in buckets this year, pulled a few to thin them the other day and they are coming on fine, zero problems with pests. I usually get slugs eating the tops, and it means I can weed or thin and then put them up on something where carrot fly haven't found them.

What temps do your carrots like?

 

[Oliver Buckle]

What temps do your carrots like?

Sorry, no idea, I simply plant outside in season, May to July as I remember without looking at the seed packet. If I am using buckets I can take in and out of the greenhouse I suppose I might be able to extend that, but I haven't got that far yet, just making sure it works. They seem a bit smaller than ones I plant in the garden, but sweet and nice.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Sorry, no idea, I simply plant outside in season, May to July as I remember without looking at the seed packet. If I am using buckets I can take in and out of the greenhouse I suppose I might be able to extend that, but I haven't got that far yet, just making sure it works. They seem a bit smaller than ones I plant in the garden, but sweet and nice.

Ok I can back it out..In what zone are you growing?

 

[DirtMechanic]

I should have mentioned I think my temps are pretty high for carrot but maybe temp is not the only thing that I have struggled with since its clay out there. I would try pots or raised bed.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I should have mentioned I think my temps are pretty high for carrot but maybe temp is not the only thing that I have struggled with since its clay out there. I would try pots or raised bed.

They list me as zone 9, or 9b, but US zones are a poor guide for the UK. You are a continent and have a continental climate, we are an island stuck between the Atlantic and the North sea, that means we don't have a climate, we have weather instead
I am on heavy clay here as well, though I have amended the top soil considerably, doesn't seem to worry them though, just makes them harder to pull. They do need a bit of space between plants. I am trying just six in a 14 litre bucket with my latest planting, but they are only seedlings so far. I planted a few seeds in each of five positions around and one in the middle, then tinned them down to the strongest one in each position the other day. The books always talk about using thinnings in salads, but I reckon they do better if you thin earlier than that.
The main advantage of buckets for me is that I can do jobs like thinning and weeding, then stand the buckets up on something,. Carrot fly go by smell, and they can smell a disturbed carrot from a really long distance, but then thy fly just above ground level looking for them. They say an 18" wall around a carrot bed will raise the fly's height of flight and they go straight over, I reckon this has to be better, it also seems to be slug free.