Topic: Got my lottie - Hurrah

[Moggle]

Well I went and saw a plot today and could have spent hours just looking at other people's veg.

The plot I was hoping for, that is all covered in black plastic, had just gone earlier today. However there is another plot half covered in plastic, and half very overgrown and that is the one I will take on.

Soil seems ok, a little clay-ey to my untrained eye, but then it had been peeing it down here all yesterday. I have almost the furthest plot from the gate, and you can't drive down there in the winter cause it gets boggy. On a bit of a slope, but then I spose that will help with drainage. Soil level is a bit low on the plot, but I hope to get some organic matter in there to raise it.

Mr M is determined not to do any digging, so I will be doing it all myself. But he has agreed to make me a compost bin and raspberry supports. Had the offer to rotovate from the site secretary, but there is couch grass everywhere, so I think this will be a bad idea, and I will try hand digging. On the plus side, Father-in-law works for a stateley home, where they have great piles of leaf mould that he thinks he can get me for FREE  :o. Manure too, but because of the access probs, I think that would be problematic at this time of year.

Mother-in-law is loaning me some tools until I can get myself sorted out with some second hand ones from the tip shop.

No sheds allowed, so have to sort out some kind of lock box. Stupid me talked to the secretary so much, forgot to ask one of the main questions - water access. Didn't see any waterbutts there so I think there must be ok access. All this for only £9 a year, not due until Spring  ;D

I am a happy girl  :D

[Wicker]

Really pleased for you Moggle.  Your patience has paid off and look at all the experience and knowledge you have gained meantime.  Don't give up on the balcony tho - still keep flowers there and it's great for herb pots and bringing seedlings on - better than the window sill anyway.

[Plottie]

Congratulations Moggle that's great news.  Let us know your progress on the big dig  ;)
Plottie   :)

[Roy Bham UK]

Excellent news Moggle, I take it you were cramped for space? well now you can be like Julie Andrews and dance around that plot sowing seeds from your basket ;D
Well done ;)

[Multiveg]

Congrats.  ;D

In reading back issues, came across couch grass - think pigs like it - so borrow a pig from somewhere!

[newchangeling]

Brilliant news, Moggle.

Here's wishing you loads of fun with the weeding, digging and weather.  I'm very envious of your supply of leaf mould!

Bet you can't wait!

[windygale]

Great news Moggle, it will be nice to hear all your updates as i've got my plot 6 weeks ago and the same prob as you, 2nd to last plot, no sheds no compost heaps,no water and loads of weeds.
PS any spare leaf or compost send it my way ha!ha! i think we've had to much rain now.
keep going & head up
windy

[mitzzy]

well done :)


Digging it will be hard work but worth it :) I am almost finished my mine .I had same advice but My plot was full of weeds as well .

Mags

[Moggle]

Thanks all, if the weather holds out this saturday, I will start digging then. Just hunting around now for cheap wellies, and got to get myself some decent gardening gloves.

Mitzzy, you dug your plot all by yourself too didn't you?

Windygale, we can certainly keep comparing notes. I'm lucky, I saw compost heaps when I was there, and like I said, no water butts, so I'm pretty sure there must be running water. Well there's a site loo, so there must be some kind of running water.

Roy cramped for space doesn't even begin to describe it. No garden at home - 2nd floor flat. Some nice sheltered balconies, which I will continue to grow toms on, but got the gardening bug so bad this year, I can't wait to get growing in some proper soil.

Wicker, you are right, the balcony will probably be full of flowers again - and Toms, it is so nice and sheltered. I plan on getting one of those mini-greenhouses for seeds and seedlings, save me filling up the spare room like I did last year.

[windygale]

Hi Moggle, went on my site yesterday (26/10)from 9.30 to 1.00 dug and dug and gave myself a bad back, 2/3 of the ground turned now(would of been nice to place compost in when digging)loads of weeds (4 wheelbarrow loads) have to use loads of mulch from home instead, still trying to have a couple of big compost bins onsite, plenty of small plastic bins, hopefully next year,
Water comes from a site holder next door x10sites a lot of water in summertime.
No loo (lot of crossed legs)
Good afternoon went collecting bags of fallen leaves, filled one of my home compost bins so in two year i'll have nice and crumbly mulch
hope you have fun,
catch you later
windy

[mitzzy]

i have had a friend do a couple of hours work on it but I have dug up most of it ,I have about 1/4 left to dig .

It 's kept me fit :)
Have not been this week due to being whezzey . Got a bit of a cold so I hope to get back to it once my asthma settles back down :)
I reckon with a push i could dig the rest in a week ( i do an hour at a time )  saves your back and Hands .

still got my manure to spread over it , lots of work but really enjoying it :)

mags

[Moggle]

Well I spent my first couple of hours at the plot today digging, measuring and mostly being overwhelmed by the work that needs to be done.

I can happily say that the plot is 9m x 17m, which means i can now go mad making scale drawings of my proposed bed system and planting scheme.

It was quite wet, and when I said 'a little clayey' in my first post, I was wrong. It is a LOT clayey, so I will be begging my father-in-law to find out about that leafmould. I definitely need some kind of organic matter in there. It was so wet that the soil stuck to my fork in big clumps.

I think I  will stick with my plan to get some hungarian grazing rye on the first bed ASAP, which will have potatoes on it hopefully from Feb if I can get my hands on some fleece. Could someone tell me if the rye would grow enough in this time to do much?

Only dug a couple of square metres. I can see already mitzzy why you say it keeps you fit, I am so tired and I hardly did anything.

If it is dry this week, I might try to get a few hours off one afternoon and dig a bit more.

Spotted a potential supply of free pallets, hurrah instant compost bin. Need to check with site secretary if they belong to someone, or are up for grabs  :D

[busy_lizzie]

Congrats and good luck with your new plot Moggle.  It will be great and  I think it is a good time to get one.  You will have all winter to plan and design it and make a start on those horrible weeds, particularly the awful couch grass.  Pallets are a godsend for allotmenteers and we became addicted to collecting them from skips when we first got our plot.  Have walkways made with pallets, but bark chippings make good paths too, and four compost sections done with them now. Look forward to hearing how you progress.  ;D busy_lizzie

[Fids]

Hi Moggle

Reading through the site trying to find help/answers/magic to cope the digging of a very wet clay soil over grown with weeds plot.

I have had a stab this morning but the rain Friday and Saturday has left the ground saturated. I am trying find ideas to help and will happily share them with you if you want to e mail me with your e mail address.

Good luck

Fids

[john_miller]

Rye seems to grow whenever temperatures are above freezing, Moggle. Even if you don't see much top growth the roots will be helping to condition the soil as the roots penetrate the soil. If by some chance you can't get on your plot as early (unimproved clay is not conducive to early cultivation) as you hope then it will only keep growing and continue improving the soil.

[Andy H]

Buzzie lizzie... Colllecting pallets! passing skips with some in and slamming on the brakes ;D

Did you actually manage to get them apart without them breaking to bits :o

I have 16 I got for compo on 2 plots but cannot seem to "dismantle" without ending up with kindling :-[

Andy & Becky

[windygale]

Hi Moggle,nice to hear your tackling your plot, have you considered putting a slopping roof on your compost bins to enable you to collect rain water
keep up the good work
windy

[Mrs Ava]

Congrats Moggle!  No stopping you now huh.  Slow and steady wins the race (says the worlds most impatient woman ever!)  Lucky you being able to lay your hands on so much black gold.  You really need to get some pics posted now please.  ;D

[Moggle]

Thanks John for that. I still feel quite dumb about the clay soil and green manure, so I am going to post a whole seperate thread about it to see if I can get my head around it.

I got down there again yesterday while it was still dry, and discovered that there is some kind of strange drainage to the plot. one third of the bottom part where I am working, is very wet and muddy, a few bits are moist and ok, but then the other half is dry and baked, and very difficult to dig. I still managed to dig about 1m/4ft wide for the width of the plot (30ft/9m) in 2 hours, which for a wimp like me i thought was very good. Had 'moral support' from Mr M, who mostly sat and chatted to me the whole time and helped edge the beds a little, I found it easier to work with someone to chat to.  :)

EJ I took before photos, and I intend to take some flexi time off work and get down there one afternoon after work. Once I feel like I've made some real progress I will post some photos. I am so lucky to have so much help from my in-laws.

Windy, there are troughs of water on site (although a bit of a walk) so at this stage I think I will be okay for water but thanks for the thought.

Andy, there are piles of pallets on site that look like they have been there for ages, site secretary must have gotten hold of them from somewhere. He uses them to hold down plastic etc. He said I was welcome to them, so I will definitely be doing that. Don't think we will try to dismantle them, I want something fuss-free and basic at this stage, so will try to make compost bin with whole pallets. Don't know what I will do for a removable front, brain is still ticking over on this one.

Fids, what part of the country are you in? Forecast for me in Oxford is dry for most of the week, so perhaps just wait a few days to see if the soil drys out a bit and then have another go. Have you been using a spade or a fork. I found my plot almost impossible for me to dig with a spade, but apart from the really soggy bits, I have made progress with a fork. I will try to PM you to get the exchange of ideas going. If nothing else, at least know that you are not alone  :-\ And don't certain veg like clay?

[Sarah-b]

Yes, in my experience certain veg do like clay (or at least a heavy soil).
At the moment we have an allotment in Bucks, previously we had one in Leeds. Bucks one closely resembles a gravel pit (slight exaggeration, but you get the picture) Leeds on was very heavy soil with oozing, clagging clay one spit down. The difference is amazing - Leeds one was nightmare to dig, Bucks one is piece of cake. Leeds one grew anything and everything that we chucked in its direction with minimal intervention from us. Bucks one needs coaxing and persuading into growing anything.
In Leeds we were inundated with Peas and broccoli and all sorts of squashes in particular.

So good luck with the clay,
Sarah