Author Topic: Allotment Virgin (Read 3570 times)

littlerecruitingstar · « **on:** April 23, 2006, 13:59:47 »

Good Afternoon One and All

I am very new to this site and indeed very new to the joys of allotments !

I found out yesterday from my local horticultural society that I have been allocated a plot at our local allotments. I have been on the waiting list for a long time and finally the day has arrived. The only problem is I don't quite know where to begin.

I have (what seems like !) a massive plot and have inherited two compost heaps, a rather large trifid like row of rhubarb, a decrepid ( but very unique !!) shed, three apple trees and a line of blackcurrant bushes along with a couple of big cold frames.

Is there anyone who could advise what sort of things to start planting out to get me started, what to do and not what to do, infact any advice at all really.

I am ashamed to say I have got to the grand old age of 30 and have never grown a thing !!

ANY ADVICE WARMLY WELCOMED !!

Thanks in advance and thanks for reading.

Have a great weekend,

Tracey-Ann :D

Gordon · « **Reply #1 on:** April 23, 2006, 14:25:43 »

Hi

You could put in some onion sets,Runner beans, Beetroot and some carrots now and later on you could put in some salad stuff.
Hope this helps there should be a lot more responses to this thread i have only had my lottie for about 4 months and the info I have received of this site is EXCELLENT.

Gordon

katynewbie · « **Reply #2 on:** April 23, 2006, 15:13:08 »

;D

Welcome Little etc...How exciting! Shed looks like fun! Check the Wiki at the top, "methods of cultivation" should help. Take your time and ask away on here, someone will have the answers to your questions. Hope to see more pics soon

;D

deboydoyd · « **Reply #3 on:** April 23, 2006, 15:33:22 »

Hi and welcome, we got our allotment in October and have certainly been bitten by the bug!!. Using this site and a couple of books we have made decent progress on a site not used for many years. Other peoples blogs give valuable information on what everyone is planting out at any time of year. We also keep an eye on freecycle, free-ads and skips for bargains (£25 for both a 8x6 greenhouse and a 6X4 garden hut). We have also hopefully managed to get another plot for next year ---ouch--digging out couch grass is bad for your back. Wishing you luck on your new allotment--enjoy

John_H · « **Reply #4 on:** April 23, 2006, 16:24:28 »

Congratulations on your new plot

I agree with katynewbie about using the wiki pages

But another tip which may save you some time later on.....

Get some of those corrugated cardboard boxes and some bricks, and weight the cardboard down around the places where the blackcurrent and Rhubarb are growing. This will keep it dark near the stems and stop the cooch grass from getting established in those places while you are trying to dig it out of the rest of the plot.

tabbycat · « **Reply #5 on:** April 23, 2006, 18:35:42 »

welcome to a4a,

I'm new too (got my plot last Sunday) and I'm Surrey as well!

Will be watching this thread with interest. Have got tatoes and will have sweetcorn and strawberries (my two girls chose them to grow) but not sure what else to put in

Have also got a huge heap of manure right where my shed is supposed to be going. This week I will mostly be shovelling sh**t.

Tabbycat

ellkebe · « **Reply #6 on:** April 23, 2006, 20:50:33 »

Hi and welcome Tracey-Ann.

My two main tips would be
i) cover up ground you're not going to be using straight away to keep weeds under control and
start growing something asap on remaining area
ii) enjoy!
Oh and be organic ;D

Ok, that's 3 tips! So, my three main tips would be .....

Robert_Brenchley · « **Reply #7 on:** April 23, 2006, 22:22:47 »

Put down lots of black plastic or weed control fabric, and plant potatoes through holes in it. Later in the year you can do the same with brassicas and squashes, and you could experiment with sweetcorn the same way, though I don't know of anyone who's tried it. That way you'll still be getting something off the areas you haven't had time to dig.

Dixie · « **Reply #8 on:** April 24, 2006, 10:34:39 »

Your plot sounds like its given you a wonderful start already, with apple trees, blackcurrants, rhubarb and a shed ;) and coldframe. My main advice would be to start with small areas first and cover the rest to hlep stop weeds, get some carrots and beetroot in or some onion sets this would atleast get you started :)

Sucellus · « **Reply #9 on:** April 24, 2006, 10:49:39 »

Hello... :)

Just to say, I agree, Dixie... don't bite off too much... bit by bit you'll get there... most important, have fun...

New btw.. have had a plot for about 10 years and just found this site, how slow am I? :P

MaryM · « **Reply #10 on:** April 24, 2006, 12:23:52 »

Welcome-I have had my plot for about 8 months and love it. I got my black plastic from www.allplas.co.uk

paddyx · « **Reply #11 on:** April 24, 2006, 13:19:55 »

Congratulations on joining the Allotment Community! We've had ours about 10 months and are taking on the challenge of our first proper spring.
My advice is to spend LOTS of time on your plot: even if you don't do much work, get up there and visit it every day or two, pull out a few weeds, take up compost from your kitchen, make plans. Especially in Spring, the "once-a-month blitz" approach isn't going to make a happy allotment. Enjoy the rhubarb and blackberries - they'll give you lots of grub without much effort.
Don't expect to have the ground full of plants all at once - spend some time getting to know the plot.

littlerecruitingstar · « **Reply #12 on:** April 24, 2006, 13:27:08 »

Hello !

Thank you ALL so much for my replies and loads of valuable information. I`ll print the pages out and make a good start.

I have managed to find six lovely people to help me come and sort out my plot, dig, weed etc next Sunday and Monday ( thank goodness for bank holidays !!) so I can really get going !

I`ve even had someone come and offer to paint my shed for me to make it look more like, well, a shed !!

So far I`ve planned for potatoes, onion sets, shallots, cabbages and sprouts. I`ve ordered a walk in `plastic` greenhouse on line today so I`ll have lots to keep me busy !

I`ll keep reading the boards and be sure to post next weekend with an update to let you all know how I`m getting along. I might even take some photos !! ;D

Thank You all again for all the great advice and warm welcome.

I`m so glad I found this site !

Have a great Monday

Tracey-Ann :D

philandjan · « **Reply #13 on:** April 24, 2006, 13:43:38 »

We'd always recommend growing what you buy most of and ignoring what sounds good.

Plenty of spuds and salad crops for the summer - makes you feel good when produce comes through relatively quickly.

Cabbages, caulis and the like take a while and are normally viewed as good winter fodder.

We got our allotment this time last year. The first things that we put in were fruit trees (knowing they would take a few years to get established) and potatoes (to start breaking up the soil)

Peas, onions and fruit bushes followed.

Asparagus bed also went in quite early so we'd only have to wait 3 years instead of 4!

SteveJ · « **Reply #14 on:** April 24, 2006, 15:48:59 »

Hi,
congrats on getting your very own allotment, I only got mine 4 weeks ago and it sounds very similar to yours (established fruit trees and bushes), although mine even came with its very own nesting duck - 5 eggs last count.

I am planting all the things that love to eat that are easy to grow - onions, garlic, potatoes, parsnips, psb etc, plus a few others that are probably gonna be a bit more tricky for a novice like me.

Good luck, hope you have many very happy years on your allotment.

Pema · « **Reply #15 on:** April 24, 2006, 16:12:11 »

Don't feel you've got to do it all at once. It'll take time (even with 6 people helping you dig you lucky person!).

Grow things you like to eat and can't usually afford or else think are far too expensive for what they are . Lots of them are easier than you think.

Oh, and make a rough plan of what you want your plot to look like (paths and so on) and keep a record of what you've planted, where you planted it and how it well it grew.

littlerecruitingstar · « **Reply #16 on:** April 25, 2006, 12:48:44 »

Even more good advice, thank you all so much :)

Right, I`ve drawn a plan of how I want my allotment to look, where I want things to go etc and what I`m going to grow. I was going to scan it in and post it here for you all to see, and to advise as to whether there is anything I could be doing differently, shouldn`t be doing at all !! etc...

One problem though, no idea how to post the scanned document here so as you can all see it - any ideas ?? Can it be done ??

Thanks !! :D

Svea · « **Reply #17 on:** April 25, 2006, 13:38:08 »

tracey-ann

welcome aboard the gorwing game

get your self a book, something like joy larkcom's grow your own vegetables. this gives information on rotation groups and that, so you get a plan of what to plant where, and why, before you just stick things in everywhere. it's not a total catastrophe, of course, but the rotation-able layout does help :)

as to your scan, do you have personal webspace? you could upload it there and link to the picture.
or you can use something like imageshack which is free.

we'll give you criticisms if you ask for them ;)

littlerecruitingstar · « **Reply #18 on:** May 16, 2006, 13:54:55 »

Hello All

Please accept my apologies in not coming back to you sooner. I am afraid I have been without a computer for a little while. Probably a good thing !!! It has meant that I have been spending a lot of time on my new and increasingly fabulous allotment !!

I must admit I am really enjoying it. Although it was a bare bit of land except for the rather strange shed and the fruit trees it now vaugely resembles an allotment !

I had a rotivator leant to me and have gone over all of the ground with that. We`ve made some potato trenches, torn down one compost heap ( was merely a rats nest than anything helpful !) and resurected the other one ! I`ve planted some cabbages and broccoli and built little cages for them so as the pigeons don`t eat them, planted some carrots and parsnips and just started on the onions and shallots !

One cold frame was dug out, cleared of all weeds and rubbish and now houses 36 budding lettuces of various types, along with them are the beetroots, spring onions and raddishs all just coming throughl. The other coldframe has also been de-cluttered and is now home to 9 thriving strawberry plants ( with straw !!) and 11 trays of seeds with lots of seedlings just coming through. So, I finally feel like I`m achieving something !!

Still haven`t worked out how to post photos !

Thanks for all of the advice and great messages so far - again, apologies for not coming back to you all sooner but I`m up and running again now ( technically speaking !!) so will be able to check in more often !

Hope everyone is well.

Have a great Tuesday :)

Tracey-Ann ;D
littlerecruitingstar@yahoo.co.uk

sallylockhart · « **Reply #19 on:** May 16, 2006, 15:52:55 »

wow! Just think what you will achieve in a year if you manage all that in less than a month!

;D ;D ;D

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Author Topic: Allotment Virgin (Read 3570 times)