Author Topic: My first allotment!! (Read 6457 times)

brica · « **on:** October 30, 2005, 00:06:53 »

Hello all,

I'm about to get my first allotment, I'm so excited!!

I've got a choice of about 3 or 4 plots, and I was wondering if anyone has any pearls of wisdom which I should consider when choosing my plot please?

Any help would be very much appreciated, as I'm a very green newbie!

Also, what a great forum this is. Well done everyone for contributing. I hope to be a member for a long time and to help others in any way I can.

Look forward to your replies,

Brica

flowerlady · « **Reply #1 on:** October 30, 2005, 00:20:29 »

Hello Brica,

Welcome to the site.

Choose the one closest to the water butt ;D

Good luck!

adam04 · « **Reply #2 on:** October 30, 2005, 00:36:00 »

dont just look at the hieght of the weeds. see what weeds thye are. if there couch grass, leave alone. if 6ft high grass, go for it, much easier to clear than couch grass.

Also see if any have greenhouses or sheds already on them. also, closness to water. how much privacy you have.

the soil condition, amount of rubbish etc.

Icyberjunkie · « **Reply #3 on:** October 30, 2005, 06:53:27 »

Very good advice on weeds but also have a look at whats around the possible plots i.e any weeds that you want to avoid that could spread to your plot? The ideal you want is all surrounding plots well looked after.

Is it easy to access for the times you have heaps of stuff to carry from the car.

If potentially unsecure stay away from boundaries

Are neighbouring trees going to to shade the plot - if so avoid

And I definately agree on closeness to water point...

Iain

redimp · « **Reply #4 on:** October 30, 2005, 13:47:50 »

Ask other plot holders which plot is the best. They will know which former plot holders looked after the soil the best and which ones grew the best vegetables.

spacehopper · « **Reply #5 on:** October 30, 2005, 18:17:43 »

Hello Brica :)
Have you chosen your allotment yet? My theory is that the one with five feet high weeds should be nice and fertile if the weeds are growing that well! Avoid marestail if you can.
Caz

brica · « **Reply #6 on:** October 30, 2005, 19:15:43 »

thanks for the advice everyone. i'll pay attention to where the water is for sure!

i'm afraid i don't really know my weeds :-[

what do couch grass and marestail look like?

redimp · « **Reply #7 on:** October 30, 2005, 19:25:40 »

Couch:

Mare's tail:

Good site:
http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/

EmmaLou · « **Reply #8 on:** October 30, 2005, 20:59:18 »

Definitely agree that you should speak to people with surrounding plots! Before I took on mine I found out which plots were prone to frost, which had thin soil and also if they suffered from flooding. In fact all the ones I had a choice of had their bad points,so in the end I picked the one with the best access to water supply and deepish soil. Unfortunately I still have to deal with the weeds and layers of carpet with weeds growing through it! It also suffers a little from frost. Oh well - I still think it was worth it!

Good luck! :)

brica · « **Reply #9 on:** October 31, 2005, 20:10:20 »

Wahey!! I'm an allotmenteer!

I am the proud new tenant of plot 7. (Hope it's lucky 7!)

Thanks for your advice guys and gals.

I had three plots to choose from. I settled for the lesser of three evils (I hope). The choices were:

Plot 13: Shaded by some trees and had lot's of brambles growing on it. Furthest from water source too. Slightly lower than the others so perhaps more likely to flood/waterlog.

Plot 11: Has an ominously large weed which had already gone to seed. I figured that could be a pain in the backside next year. Had lots of black plastic which had been left lying around for quite a while, all the weeds had grown around it and it looked like it would be extra hassle to get it out of there. The previous plot holder had also dug some strange trenches. Look's like he'd been re-enacting The Somme with Action-Man!

Plot 7: Closest to water. Weeds are mainly grass with 2 patches of nettles.

How should I approach clearing this plot? I'm going to try to attach some pics to this post, hopefully they'll appear below!

Doris_Pinks · « **Reply #10 on:** October 31, 2005, 22:25:49 »

Nettles they say means your plot is fertile...............in which case I should be able to grow monster veg! ;D Take it slow and clear a bit at a time, covering areas that you think you won't be able to get to.
Looks like you have the makings of a great plot there Brica, congrats!

EmmaLou · « **Reply #11 on:** October 31, 2005, 22:32:36 »

Congratulations!

Best advice I got was to strim all the weeds. You can then see exactly what you've got to contend with. You might even find some intersting things amongst all the weeds! :D

Have you planned the layout yet? Before starting I drew a plan of the beds I wanted (I am having beds with grass paths), and also decided on where I was growing each type of veg (helps with planning rotation).

Next get down to the lottie and start digging! I hope that it isn't couch grass on your plot, although not the end of the world. Do a bit at a time digging out the perennial weed roots as you go.

Get an area cleared and then get something growing in it! It really helps you feel like you have achieved something. Don't try and get all the digging done at once or you will soon get tired and fed up.

You could cover some areas to kill off the weeds, which could save you some time.

Alternatively...get a huge bottle of weed killer and spray the whole area! ;D

We all have different ideas of how to go about getting started, just pick one that suits you. :) I was given loads of great advice when I joined this site. I will see if I can find the thread for you.

Good luck

brica · « **Reply #12 on:** November 01, 2005, 09:40:15 »

Good idea EmmaLou, I'll clear some space this weekend hopefully and get something planted so I can see the fruits of my labour!! Strimming the weeds sounds like a great idea. Spraying's not an option unfortunately. I'm going to try to be as organic as I can. (I'm a hippy at heart!!) :)

I'm trying to come up with my plan now. Like EmmaLou, I want to have beds with paths. Plots like that just look more manageable in my opinion. I'm hoping to have 10 beds of 4ft x 10ft. 2 for roots, 2 for brassicas and 2 for other veg (on rotation). 1 for herbs, 1 for perennials (asparagus & rhubarb for me), 1 as a seed bed and 1 for my compost bins.

Does this sound reasonable?

AndyC · « **Reply #13 on:** November 01, 2005, 13:40:29 »

Having done a similar task too recently for comfort (still aching ;D) don't be precious about using a big bottle of Round Up to get started. I desparately wanted to avoid it but couch grass is satan's very own weed and needs more extreme measures than my poor back can offer!!

Good luck with the plot and how about a few pix as you get it clear; those are always inspirational!

Andy

redimp · « **Reply #14 on:** November 01, 2005, 16:26:33 »

I am a purist - nearly one year on and I still have a lot of couch and thistle. However, where I grew potatoes this year, it is now far easier to dig and weed. I have decided to just put up with a lot of the couch and weed and jsut let the lottie become easier (it does) as I garden it. Potatoes I will use as a clearing crop until they hve been fully rotated - the other beds I just clear as I need and then try to keep on top of the weeds.

It will get better and I can cope until it does.

Robert_Brenchley · « **Reply #15 on:** November 01, 2005, 17:49:28 »

I'm a bit of a purist as well. As long as I've got fewer perennial weeds each year I'm satisfied. It was a nightmare for the first coulple of years, but it's infinitely easier now. My approach was to dig out all the turf, pile it up and put black plastic over it. After a couple of years it gets spread wherever the level's lowest. I've got rid of one of my mountains in the last year, two more to go.

Lily · « **Reply #16 on:** November 01, 2005, 18:44:49 »

Brica. Are you sure those brambles are not gooseberries of current bushes. Brambles would have longer stems than those that I can see in your picture. What do others think? It would be a shame if you dug them up and found they were worth keeping. Get one of the neighbouring lottie holders to check it out for you.

Good luck and happy 'lottieing' (just made up a new word) :o

Lily

redimp · « **Reply #17 on:** November 01, 2005, 20:03:58 »

It's already on the list for next year and I didn't even know that. Will have to increase my order :)

AikenDrum · « **Reply #18 on:** November 01, 2005, 23:40:08 »

It's my ambition to have a well informed disagreement with wardy's methods of gardening, and I suspect I may have found one ! < .... gotta do a lot (unintentional pun !) more reading/research b4 I can post it here .... but saving that special bottle of 16 year old single malt for that day ! *smiles gently at the ceiling* {:¬)#

AikenDrum · « **Reply #19 on:** November 02, 2005, 09:54:33 »

wardy, it sounds like all your guests next year are in for a treat ! ... celeriac porridge..... roast beef and baked celeriac fo dinner and cream buns with celeriac and cucumber sandwiches for tea ..... :P

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Author Topic: My first allotment!! (Read 6457 times)