Topic: New forum member, and....

[shadowdragon]

..I have just got a 1/12 acre allotment!!!

Hi first post (one of many probably)

New to allotments ect, but Yesterday the council telephoned and offered me a plot, cant get access yet because its padlocked up but I have a few questions if I may..

1) I want to keep hens, and done some research on keeping them ect, but am I right in my thinking that if I give them the run of an area they will clear the area of weeds ect, and also fertilize it too?

2) Is the best way to leave an area fallow is by covering it up with black plastic sheets? (the area is far too big for me as i am new to allotmenteering (is that the right phrase!!), wo want to tackle it a bit at a time?

thanks in adavance for any help/tips, im sure i will have plenty of other questions in the coming days/weeks/months hehe.

nice site by the way, i have gained a lot of information already  ;D

[Tee Gee]

First of all welcome to A4A

Secondly; You say you want to keep hens.............have you checked if you can? Not all plot landlords allow this!

If you can I wouldnt allow them total freedom they are more likely to do more damage than good.

Perhaps you could use them as part of your rotation process and contain them in alternating sections of the plot each year.

I have never had livestock on my plot perhaps some of the others can come in on this.

Regarding the fertilising this might be a debatable point as a lot will come back to what you intend growing, as I would imagine the chickens will alter the pH of the soil.

Is the best way to leave an area fallow is by covering it up with black plastic sheets?

It is one way!

we want to tackle it a bit at a time?

This is what most of us here would recommend in any case.

[cornykev]

Hi Drags, I don't keep hens our council doesn't allow it, welcome anyway.   ;D ;D ;D

[shadowdragon]

Thanks  :)

Yes you can keep livestock, theres plots with lovley pigeon lofts, theres ducks, geese and chickens everywhere, its actually really wonderful  ;D

I was planning on sectioning areas off for them (apparently you can get chicken proof fencing thats easily movable) and building some kind of mobile home for them. Then just let them have a large run over the areas that are neglected)

 Im asumming theres no real fox problems as each plot has its own 8ft fence, and are gated and lockable ect.

Because im new to allotments and veg growing, i am planning on starting slow, with potatoes and carrots to start with, only a couple of beds this year, ease myself into it. and potter about tidying up ect, the plot isnt derelict just neglected, the previous holder had to give it up cos of illness.  :'(

Theres a shed and greenhouse on the plot, which is a bonus  :)

[lolabelle]

welcome shadowdragon , I know nothing about keeping chickens but an expert will be along soon :D :D

[thifasmom]

Because im new to allotments and veg growing, i am planning on starting slow, with potatoes and carrots to start with, only a couple of beds this year, ease myself into it. and potter about tidying up ect, the plot isnt derelict just neglected, the previous holder had to give it up cos of illness.  :'(

Theres a shed and greenhouse on the plot, which is a bonus  :)

potatoes are a good start but carrots might prove challenging, salad crops, peas, beans and beetroot may be easier to start with, courgettes, squashes/ pumpkins are also fairly easy to grow and wont need to much fussing once they are in the ground squashes and pumpkins will also be great ground cover which will help keep the weeds down or if you do cover fallow ground with plastic etc you can also plant these through the cover.

since you have a greenhouse, if you can get it cleaned up by June why not plan to buy a few tomato plants (every tom dick and harry would be selling them soon) around that time and grow them in pots for a crop of homegrown toms this year.

anyway congrates on your new plot and welcome to the site.

[lushy86]

Hello shadowdragon and welcome to A4A  :)

I'm new too but have learned a lot from the experts on here already.  I am following the advice of doing a bit at a time - I'll be growing spuds and onions to start, hopefully some salad and beans and courgettes which I usually grow at home if I can get the ground cleared and beds dug. 
Good luck with your new plot and remember before and after photos.

Lushy x  ;D

[shadowdragon]

thanks all, some good advice so far :)

I got the keys this afternoon, ;D  its a bit of a mess to be honest looked better from afar hehe, theres lots of grass and weeds around. Although I dug up some of the veggies already in there, got some nice beetroot and Leeks  ;D

It needs a lot of  work, so tommorow im going to start clearing a smallish area to plant out then work my way round the plot.

I will take some photos tommorow before i start, and do some as things move along.

People on the Allotment who have pigeon lofts seem to dump there droppings ect over the fence for the previous owner, i assume it will make good fertiliser?

And as another bonus its got its own water supply!!

[saddad]

Welcome to the site... your plot sounds great... that's a lot of land...  :)

[Twoflower]

i think i agree with the person who said don't let chickens have full range. I have four chicken in the back garden. These we move about which works well. Chicken love to dig holes and if not moved these can be quite deep. Also they like to keep close to their house so the area around the coop will be cleared very fast, while the corners are still weedy! having said that they are great rotavators ;D

[manicscousers]

Hiya, shadowdragon, welcome to the site  ;D
whatever you do, enjoy your chickens, we 'rescued' 18 hens last year, even during the cold weather, we have had 3 eggs per day, now back to 12 to 14  ;D
is that a twelfth of an acre ? can't work it out, I always was bad at maths  ;D

[shadowdragon]

Yup one twelfth of an acre!!! its massive, i went up there today to start clearing it, 2 hrs in I had not seemed to make a dent in it. I did feel I had bitten off more than I can chew. But going to stick at it, the people i met up there were all nice and freindly.

No where close to being ready for chickens yet, although thats the motivation for getting it sorted  ;D

Took me half an hour or more to clean up the broken glass down the side of the greenhouse that had been left for god knows how long, most of it was buried under weeds and couch grass  :o

I got some piccies Ill upload tommorow to show it before i did anything  :D

[Robert_Brenchley]

Keep bashing, do it bit by bit and you'll get there. If you find you can't manage it all, put some of it down to grass. Our full-size plots are 1/8 acre, and most people struggle to do it all.

[Tee Gee]

1/12th of an acre = 400 sq yds.(approx)

A standard plot is generally around 200 sq yds so you have the equivalent of two standard plots.

To have a look at what two plots look like look here; http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Slide%20Shows/Allotment/allotment.html

ps that is my plot with the white strip on it (fleece) I also have the one below it!

[lushy86]

OMG TeeGee your plots look so amazing, can't imagine my couchy little bit of ground ever looking half as good as that!

Lushy x

[little pud]

Hi, we cant keep hens anymore, the lords wont allow it but welcome to the site...good luck with your plot.

[shadowdragon]

Wow teegee nice plots only hope mine can look as good someday,   :D

I have pictures of it how it was yesterday

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l288/BrettandJane/Allotment/Allotment008.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l288/BrettandJane/Allotment/Allotment005.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l288/BrettandJane/Allotment/Allotment004.jpg

[Tee Gee]

Would you believe me if I said my plots were once like yours is now.

Because they were neglected plots I managed to get them more or less workable in the first year then just improved them from there.

Set you self a plan of how you want to lay it out, this saves digging areas that will end up as footpaths, compost heaps etc.

As I see it; there is no point of digging something you are just going to walk on?

There you are;  thats 20% less digging you have to do  ;D