Weedy garden - grow everything in a greenhouse?

[Sprinklechops]

We're in the process of redoing our garden after our extension - garden a total mess! We live underneath a big sycamore tree so our garden is constantly covered in baby sycamore. I'm wondering if the best way to be able to grow some veg (beans, courgette, beetroot, carrots etc) might be to get a big greenhouse and put down the end of the garden?
It would be right under the tree so gets sunlight until 11/12ish at the moment, not sure about other times of year but I'm wondering if it gets some sunlight if that will be ok?
Can beetroot etc grow in a greenhouse? I'm thinking this might be the only way to keep out weeds!

You need full sun to grow most veg. Can the sycamore be trimmed a bit?

I'm not sure that would work as a lot of veg don't like being in a greenhouse - it gets too hot. You've also not got much light for the sun lovers.

Most veg can be grown in containers and that doesn't take up too much space. This could be your solution if there are some areas that do get a bit more sun and far less of a commitment than a greenhouse.

Sycamore seeds are quite big, could you put a sort of fruit cage type thing over your veg patch? With wire small enough to keep the seeds off the soil?

You need to get out there early and pull up the sycamore seedlings as soon as they appear. They are a bugger to dig up and get rid of once they get going.

Is it your sycamore? You could maybe ask a properly qualified tree surgeon round to see whether they could thin it out a bit and remove some of the lower branches. It is called 'crown lifting' and helps to let more light in underneath a tree.

If you can't fell it (I would) I'd get the crown lifted. Sycamores are pretty densely leaved things and cast a lot of shadow. It's a difficult thing to live with if it dominates your garden.

Thank you this is really helpful

Fruit cage net is a great idea and pots nearer the house might be better as that gets much more sun. Hadn't consider this @Pootles34

@Bideshi @Yamadori no it's not ours and it has a TPO so I'm really not sure on how it all works. I'd be happy to pay some way towards getting it trimmed the heck back as it really dominates and our entire garden is in full shade by 4pm at the moment. Which I don't fully mind as it's handy with young kids, but it can make the house feel dark too. The neighbors who own it get it trimmed every 3-5 years or so, but doesn't seem like by very much (we only moved a few years ago)

Ah - if it has a TPO on it, you are out of luck then.

You can do maintenance work on a tree with a TPO, but you need to apply to the Council for permission, and work has to be done by a qualified arborist. But are you sure it’s a sycamore? They don’t usually have TPOs.

@MereDintofPandiculation haha yes I'm pretty sure that I know what the absolutely massive tree dominating my entire garden is 😂

Yes I feel like a TPO complicates things. I read that you can cut bits of it that overhang your property but I'm not sure if that's true or not

Sorry! But many people who post to gardening don't! And sycamores are generally regarded as alien pests, and tree protection officers don't generally feel a need to protect them.

No, you can't cut overhanging bits, not without permission. And you'll need a qualified arborist to survey and say what needs doing.

I'm in a conservation area, where trees are protected, but in a lesser way.Still have to ask for permission, but I can do the work myself, and ask permission myself as long as I do it "arborist-speak". "Cutting off overhanging branches" doesn't work - I have to rephrase as either "lifting crown to x metres" or "reducing crown by y%" They did demand an arborist report when I wanted to remove a dead tree (to prove it was dead), but I re-submitted the request with the word "dead" removed and they allowed it

@MereDintofPandiculation 😂 I know, it's ridiculous! Our hedge is just sycamore too now because it keeps dropping. So very frustrating!