Author Topic: Tell us about you Lottie (Read 30132 times)

clare · « **Reply #20 on:** January 08, 2004, 13:02:26 »

rdak... you beat me to it, I was about to post the same message... my other half also knows Westbury well because he is from Trowbridge!

micsmum · « **Reply #21 on:** January 15, 2004, 01:35:30 »

???Still waiting to hear when we can have an allotment.
I think that the lottie holders are still at loggerheads with the council over how to dipose of the unused ones and the Mercedes showroom at the main entrance is due to to close soon with the rumour of there being houses built there.
I know that some of the holders are attending some meeting in London at the end of January so we may hear next month.
We have had an offer accepted on a lovely little house with a big garden as we are desperate to get out of our flat br April. It is a lovely big flat with a great view and was pretty quiet... :( :( :( untill the downstairs neighbour from hell moved in 18 months ago. Slammin doors and other activities at all hours day and night is no joke. Still ;D she has been really quiet for a week and a half so perhaps the Council have had a word!

Ironically, the house we want, provided we can sell this noble pile backs on to our proposed allotment site!!!!!!
Yipee!
Take care all
Helen

micsmum · « **Reply #22 on:** February 16, 2004, 00:27:44 »

;D :) ;D Went to view our lottie yesterday with the steward and picked up the key today as he happened to be at a site store about 2 miles away buying seed potatoes.
Our 10 rod plottie is at the top of a steep north west facing slope (clay) but the steep incline becomes more gentle towards the bottom.
Have decided to terrace the plot forming 6 terraces - 2 small for runners, compost, Rhubarb etc and 4 two rod terraces for rotation.
It is full of brambles at the top which have been chopped to ground level and the rest is couch grass.
However, the Council are going in there on Thursday with a huge rotavator and, along with the remaining 4 lotties, are going to rotavate it to a depth of 18 inches.

First spuds should be in within a couple of weeks!
Have picked Rate, Rocket, Romain and Wilja.
Fingers crossed!

Helen

Mrs Ava · « **Reply #23 on:** February 16, 2004, 01:00:17 »

Congratulations Helen. Great news - take photos won't you, I am intrigued by terracing and constanly impressed as I really wouldn't know where to start.

micsmum · « **Reply #24 on:** February 16, 2004, 01:58:18 »

:-/ Not quite sure myself yet Emma-Jane!!
The man on the plot next door said that his was terraced when he took it on a year ago but it's flat now!
Will probably have a better idea after rotovation.
I have a plan in my head and on paper but the practicalities may be another thing ::) :o ???
Helen

shifty581 · « **Reply #25 on:** February 18, 2004, 15:45:13 »

Hi All
I'm Tony my first time on A4A I have just got my allotment,it has not been in use for 3 years, so it is well grown over. the council have go over it with a small plough, still leaves me with a lot of couch grass to dig out, So where do i start, My allotment is 90'x 30'. I would like some advise on lots of things.
The ground is still a bit wet, but i have dug about 10'x10' so far, I am picking out as much grass as i can, If i bury some of the roots will thay rot or do i have to pick it all out ?.
What should i plant out in this first patch,or is it too early for anything.
Any help or advice will be very appreciated.
Tony :)

Tenuse · « **Reply #26 on:** February 18, 2004, 16:20:47 »

If it couch grass, pick as much out as you can, I think it will regrow if you bury it.

Ten x

shifty581 · « **Reply #27 on:** February 18, 2004, 16:52:09 »

:D Thank yuo Tenuse, You are not dumb. ;)

Mrs Ava · « **Reply #28 on:** February 18, 2004, 19:46:09 »

Oh yeah, boy will couch grass carry on growing! I think it originates from Australia and roots through the earth!

Not to early for hardy onions, garlics and shallots, so long as the ground isn't waterlogged. Also, good time to get your fruit bushes or trees in, if you are getting any of course. I believe some peas can go in nowish so long as they have some protection, and reading what others have said about spuds, again, I think if you can provide plenty of protection, they could go in nowish. Other than that, sow things in trays and pots and fill every windowcill of your house with them in preparation for the warmer spring temperatures! ;D

gavin · « **Reply #29 on:** February 19, 2004, 00:44:56 »

Hi shifty

Congratulations on your plot!

Just a few random thoughts.

I'd be tempted to concentrate on clearing as clean as possible in whatever you can manage in the next few weeks. (Good advice on couch grass - each little bit of root left in the soil can grow into a new plant; if it's any consolation, the problem is a LOT less second year!). Better to have a few beds really clean, with whatever you want to grow planted a little late, than to try managing getting plants going early as well as try to get the plot in order?

It depends what you're planning to grow, but I think I'd want really clean beds or patches for peas/beans, onions, salads, roots. (Shallots and garlic could go in now!)

Potatoes and brassica could well go into beds less well-cleaned this year - depends on your time, and whether you want the perfect crop or something that is not at all bad for a first year!

Growing potatoes cleans the ground for you - to begin with, it's the work you do, digging, earthing up, etc; but once they develop to good size plants, they'll crowd out most weeds.

Brassicas also do a good job of clearing weeds, if they get a good start - I suspect they starve the b.....s out; but you have a bit of time between sowing, transplanting, and finally planting out into their final beds to get the beds ready.

Sorry - better shut up, as I'm sure I'm rambling!

Good luck - Gavin

shifty581 · « **Reply #30 on:** February 19, 2004, 20:28:04 »

Please ramble on Gavin, I am noting every word, thanks for all your advice.
Started Plot No 2 today. This plot is going to be for Runner Beans. Broad Beans and Peas. Next plot will be for Potatoes
:)

Sulis · « **Reply #31 on:** February 20, 2004, 00:03:42 »

I've only just taken on my allotment, but i'm taking over a patch of ground some 35ft by 25ft that has already been well looked after. We're talking wonderful, rich loam, deeply dug and a perfect texture. Yep, i'm lucky with this patch!

The allotment isn't full size, obviously, and is on a small patch of land that is privately owned. I live in Oundle, a lovely, quiet small town in Northamptonshire, and the allotment is tucked away behind some Victorian terrace houses, overlooked by a paddock and a couple of horses (one of which my girlfriend used to ride when she was younger!) and is a lovely, peaceful, quiet place.

Despite this almost idyllic setting, i'm still trying to get the local town council to investigate the possibility of setting up new allotments somewhere. I can see the need for a full-size lotty in the not too distant future!

gavin · « **Reply #32 on:** February 20, 2004, 01:06:12 »

Hi Sulis - welcome!

We were jsut along the road fron Oundle for a bit - in Raunds. Peaceful - yes; quiet - yes; metropolitan centre - hmmmmmmmmm!

After a month of going in every day, the newsagent eventually asked my partner where she came from; took a friendly half an hour to explain where Yemen was.

I must have looked a bit more forbidding - took another week for the newsagent to ask me where I came from. "Aberdeen," I said. Puzzled look. Whispered confab behind the counter . . .

"Is that near Egypt, then?" said she.

Lovely corner, but . . . :) ??? :)

All best - Gavin

Sulis · « **Reply #33 on:** February 20, 2004, 17:06:37 »

LOL! Sounds oh-so-familiar! I was born in the North East, moved to the area eight years ago and been living in Oundle for a year and a half. It took me a few months before I was... erm... 'accepted'!

After living in cities pretty much all my life, i'd never move back to anything resembling cosmopolitan again. I love the countryside too much. That and the relaxed way of life ;)

crickett1234 · « **Reply #34 on:** February 25, 2004, 13:17:39 »

I got the urge to have an allotment as a result of a programme by Monty Don waxing lyrical on the delights of the allotment. I got so excited that the next day i phoned the council and was offered one immediately.

Hubby and I have taken on an abandoned lottie about 5 minutes walk from our house. The plot (and our house plot coincidentally) have been agricultural land for centuries making the soil lovely! Even though our lottie has been ignored for 3 years before we got our paws on it, the soil is a sandy loam. Judging by how well our back garden did in its first year, I think we are in for a treat.

Our plot is approximately one third of an acre. It seems absolutely MASSIVE! The site was bequeathed to the local District Council from the Estate of the Duke of Portland about 100 or so years ago. The measurement of each individual plot is such that it could support a family of eight with few difficulties! I am expecting a glut of veggies for Hubby and I to deal with. (Canning, preserving, chutneys, jams and jellies coming out of our ears I think! If anything grows of course!)

We have divided the plot into 25 or so beds. There is one BIG Potato bed (20 foot by 20 foot) which has been dug up and prepared. The rest of the beds are 4 foot by 4 foot square, with the beans and peas beds being 6 foot long by 3 feet wide. The dimensions are such that I can reach into the middle of the bed from the outside of them without too much stretching and straining. Most of the beds have been pegged out, but we need to get digging them now. We have found that with both of us digging we can clear one of the beds in an hour. So with about twelve hours of digging each we should have all the beds ready to go.

Unfortunately the lottie is covered in couch grass. My Father in Law calls it "twitch" and apparently it is the worst he has ever seen. This is further complicated by the fact that the plot was home to some brambles which established themselves, crossed themselves with some triffids and generally decided to take over the world!!

A challenge this plot certainly is! I am very excited at the prospect of growing our own veggies and being in the fresh air a lot more of the time. I do feel a tad overwhelmed, but with the help of some great advice from the people hereabouts, I am feeling more in control! We got the allotment to provide us with some exercise and an absorbing hobby. It is not only cheaper than a gym membership... we will get some nice produce at the end of it too!!

Steve__C · « **Reply #35 on:** February 26, 2004, 21:13:58 »

Helen,
You may find once the plot has been rotavated, and before you get to work the plot, it will be worth covering as much as possible. I have found a couple of large tarpaulins can be really handy. Would not recommend using carpet as this will not decompose and will be a problem to dispose of in the future.
B&Q sell Tarpaulins for £10. With reasonable care they will last for many years. I've had mine for 5 years so far.
Tarpaulin will slow the weed production, thereby helping to stop the encroachment that WILL otherwise happen.
Take Gavin’s advice and clear as much as possible. Get a scaffold board, a folk and a large bucket. Every bit that you pull out will be a lot of weed that you will not be re-visiting later in the season.
I think it’s important to remember, an allotment is a long-term hobby and as such you don't want to be too hasty.

micsmum · « **Reply #36 on:** March 05, 2004, 12:48:54 »

Many thanks for the advice Steve. Son says that it looks likr the Council have finally rotavated the allotment (he can see it from the school bus). We will disappear up there this weekend and take it from there.
Helen

Muddy_Boots · « **Reply #37 on:** March 05, 2004, 20:44:35 »

Hey Gavin, is just fear of unknown, stay with it an keep gentle, will be okay but does take time. Lived in chelteham for years, was still incomer. :) ;) :)

kenkew · « **Reply #38 on:** March 08, 2004, 15:06:15 »

I left a large garden and a plot that was through the gate at the bottom of the garden. I kept chickens as well as a hugh growing area. The greenhouse was 12 x 8ft and there was always something to do. I moved to Belgium almost 6 years ago and my growing aear was reduced to a small back garden. Lousy soil and apart from a couple of flower beds that was about it. At the end of '02 I heard of a plot going 12 miles away. I said 'yes' without even seeing it! What a state it was it. It does have a good solid dry hut which is a good place to start. It hadn't been touched for about 7 years and was full of almost shoulder height weed and grasses, including the dreaded couch! First job was to cut a way in...I did that with a small hand scythe. Gradually I cleared a piece sufficiently to dig over. Last year I grew leeks, beans, peas, spuds, onions, shallots, lettuce, cabbage, gourds, masses of sweetpeas, radish, beetroot, carrots and spring onions. This year I've cleared about twice as much ground, found a stable for manure and transported 80 bags of recycled park-land compost to lighten a very heavy clay soil. The plot is just about sea level so soon gets water logged, but it's very fertile. The area is very quiet and there's quite a bit of wildlife drawn in due to the hugh lake 200yda away. I draw water through an old fashioned hand pump. The frogs which turned up last year seem to have found a home in the 'pool' I made them. I have just finished building a plastic greenhouse down there to compliment the glass one I erected in the garden. Roll on spring. This link to my pic's might work!
http://www.hpphoto.com/servlet/com.hp.HPGuestLogin?username=chiro&password=63828135

kenkew · « **Reply #39 on:** March 12, 2004, 11:56:15 »

I wonder where my global flag is? I thought I'd plonked it down in Belgium but it seems to have gone walk-a-bout, it doesn't seem to want to live there. Please can I have my flag where it belongs?

Still searching for Belgium, eh? Look, if you want me to give a map ref: Just ask.

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Author Topic: Tell us about you Lottie (Read 30132 times)