Allotments 4 All
Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: Argiebargie on August 08, 2005, 09:31:07
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Hello all, another newbie I'm afraid....... but you seem a friendly lot!
My girlfriend spotted some lotties over the road from us and jumped in straight away, getting us a large plot. Now, several months later, I am looking at the great crop of .... well, weeds and grasses ... that have accumulated since we have had NO time to do anything with it. :-[
From what I've read on these forums so far, it seems like my best plan would be to cover half of it and save it till spring, and dig the other half over and start planting. At least that way, I won't feel like we're climbing a huge mountain!
Am I on the right track? What can we start planting in the next few weeks?
BTW, we bought a scythe/grass hook to clear the patch. am I going to regret not hiring a strimmer? :(
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you may become a master of the scythe - just be careful of your legs ;)
there are a couple of threads here talking about what you can sow/plant now for an autumn, winter and spring crop.
little and often is a good motto. a good plan to break the plot 'in two' and tackle some now and some later :)
have fun
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We had a new plot in April. It was covered in grass and weeds etc. We dug approx 1/3 and have had lettuce, potatoes, beans, peas, strawberries, swiss chard, 4 different types of courgette, 2 different types of squash and 2 different types of pumpkins.
Now that we have had some food from the plot it has spurred us on to dig the rest (which we are now doing).
Get digging and you can get some lettuce / chard growing - which you can eat fairly quickly.
Come September / October / November you can plant things like garlic, broad beans and onions.
I would recommend getting a 'grow your own' type veggie book - for info on what to grow when and check out the organic gardening catalogue website for seeds !
Have fun !!
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By the way - don't worry about the not having much time part. ;)
We both have full time jobs in London with a 40 min commute there and back every day. We just manage to do little bits - even half an hour weeding makes a difference !! ;D
Once you get going - its quite relaxing - and an escape from the TV - and a good excuse to be out in the summer evening sun (when we have it!!) ;D
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A half hour? Really! My half hours always turn into "Eeeek its dark!". There is something sadly addictive about pulling out bindweed..........or addictively sad about allotmenteers ;)
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I find the same - when up at the lottie, the concept of time disappears - I think I have only been up there a couple of hours and it turns out to be four - the trouble is the amount of work I have done probably equates to the original couple of hours.
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We both work, and only have time for a morning every weekend at the allotment so it gets weedy. We recently came back from holiday to find weeds above waist height and found ourselves straining to find the veg plants within....
but after a very hard 2 days over 2 weekends we have broken the back of our "neglect". Have now planted winter new potatoes and brassica plants so all is looking better. Don't give up - but you do have to assign time to it as much as a priority as outher household tasks!
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Welcome!
I'm another newbie, had my plot a week. It's covered in 6" tall couch grass, but that is about all.
Last weekend I spent all day, and crippled myself for the rest of the week, digging a bed by hand. I have now decided to follow the "no dig" approach and will be creating some beds tonight in time for my plug plants from Dobies to go in.
Yesterday, I mowed all the grass with a hired mower, and although I know that's not really "gardening" the whole plot suddenly seems more manageable.
Just do a little bit when you can. It's surprising how much difference you can make in a day!
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Hi ArgieB
Whatever you do, enjoy it. I must admit I have fallen behind with mine this year. I will cover all of my beds with a layer of rotted manure in the Autumn and leave it till next year, when I can plant up squashes and salad leaves in the rotted top layer.
I have also been known to use weed killer when provoked by couch and mares tail.
If you are able raised beds may be an option
Loz
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Good advice about not doing too much digging or you'll end up killing yourself and getting fed up. You don't need to do even half the plot - just do as much as you need to say get one crop in, eg one bed for onions (doesn't have to be too big) then keep the rest covered up. You can then proceed one bed at at time if you want. I think breaking it down into manageable chunks is sensible.
Suzy Lou you'll be ok with no dig. I'm very pleased with what I've harvested so far and it's made me even keener not to get the spade out. I think anything which grows above ground will be ok with no dig. It's just roots which like loose soil. I did grow lovely round carrots on a bed of cardboard, sods with some homemade compost, leafmould and grow bag compost on top. I did get weeds through though as they were in the sods. That beetroots and carrots, onions etc were lovely though but it was a pain to weed as my initial weeding was nil :)
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Hello, welcome to the world of allotmenteering. :)
A new plot is daunting, no doubt about that. Ours was in a very bad state in May. We mostly work on it at weekends, as Baz works full time, and I work part time. Baz is down there now though, lighting a bonfire we build at the weekend. I don't tend to get down much during the working week as my son goes to bed at seven. Anyways, there's still a long way to go, but we feel that we have made good progress, and are pleased with the way its going. Steady away.
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It'll still be there tomorrow - it's not as if it's going anywhere so little and often. More relaxing that way doncha think? :)
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Concentrate on a much smaller area and you will be successful. It's quite common to bite off more than you can chew so the whole plot is done rather badly. In time you will want the extra space.
If it's a big plot concentrate on a quarter productive. You can grow a suprising amount of produce in a small space. With the 2nd quarter start to dig it over a bit at a time and introduce quick growing green manure crops like Phacelia. Always remember that your priority is to be successful in the 1st quarter so if you're short of time the 2nd quarter can wait. Make successional sowings of green manure crops in the 2nd quarter and then when you need/want more productive space you have a relatively weed free quarter you can move into.
Roll back the plastic on the 3rd quarter (half the plot covered is a good idea) and repeat the process starting with the green manures. As you expand your productive area you will find you need more time to maintain what you have and for propogation so it becomes increasingly difficult to find time to break new ground. If you max out time wise before you have a fully productive plot then keep a quarter of your plot as green manures as permenant feature which you can harvest and compost or use as a mulch. Also it's an area you can move into in case of disease.
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Welcome Argiebargie,
As another Newbie, I can confirm that a neglected plot is a mountain to climb. But any mountain is easily overcome providing you don't try to reach the top on the 1st day!!
After a day strimming and pulling brambles out to feed a huge bonfire, my bit looked like a different place.
Digging then started, but only a couple of hours at a time from Xmas to May. I planted garlic/shallots/broad beans initially just so that I could see something growing to motivate me.
Now I'm taking crops out and have dug bits over to put autumn crops in and the difference is amazing, lovely fine soil compared to the couch infested stuff I dug early in the year.
Take your time, enjoy and whatever you don't do this year, do next!!
As regards scythe/strimmer, I bought a 2nd hand petrol one out of the local paper for £60...it seemed better than hiring one! Never used a scythe, so not sure.
I've just put in some cabbage for spring greens, late new potatoes, Winter onions to go in soon, leeks where new spuds were, sowed some more late carrots etc!!
Good luck
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My plot is still largely mowed weeds but it looks very nice and gives us somewhere to sit and socialise. I have only done a few beds so far but had loads of food - I got 60 onions from one bed 4 foot x 12 with Little Gem lettuce grown in between as a catch crop, 3 spud no-dig beds, containers, boxes for mixed lettuces, growbag with pak choi in it, a tiny bed which had peas and broad beans in it. I'm growing stuff at smaller spacings as I;ve not prepared much space. It does make weeding a bit more fiddly though :) I have loads of the plot under plastic with squashes, pumpkins and courgettes all over the top of it so it does minimise the stark appearance of all that plastic :)
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Little and often...absolutely!! :D :D
I find that time is a very elastic concept as far as the lottie is concerned. Have decided that I can hoover/clean/decorate/have a social life when its raining....meantime I am at the plot while the weather is good!! :)
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Good for you ;D We're having a barbecue on the plot this weekend - me and my OH and our lotty mates. Got a gazebo and everything. Will be mostly eating courgettes ;D
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LOL Wardy ;D ;D
Enjoy your courgette kebabs!!
Sadly mine haven't produced many....yet!
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hello all - yet another newbie, what a great site, a new world!
We got our plot in June (me and my partner although he's been conspicous by his absence!) and have about a quarter going - had our first harvest today of courgettes (well marrows actually as we've been away!) - the soil is clay so it's been a nightmare to dig - I've roped in my mum and sister so the 3 of us are sharing the plot and go up together with a picnic which is lovely, looks like there'll be more than enough veggies to go round.
the plot is quite flat but has loads of dandelions and bindweed, although most of it is covered. We're planning to spend a couple of weekends in late sept/early oct clearing all the weeds and rotivating it and then laying out the beds for next year - do you think we're being too ambitious? and any ideas for what we can plant over winter?
ps - any recommendations on the optimum shed size and site?
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If you haven't already, try a "search" on this website under 'shed*'. There's heaps of advice on prices, sources, self build, legal stuff and delivery ... good luck and good digging! :D
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Hi You could plant Japanese onions sets which will and brassicas (Dobies are selling a collection for about £8 for 50 plants) Peeps on here are putting spuds in between now and Sept for spuds for Christmas. Have a browse through the seeds catalogues and there's all sorts which can still be grown, eg spinach, carrots, brassicas, spuds, lettuces, chinese leaves etc
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I had a little chuckle this evening. I was just comming away from my plot and met a man who got his allotment about the same time as me (Jan.)
I have had such a lot of good veg. and have given a lot away also. This man's allotment is a real tip and I asked him why he hadn't been down. He said Spring and Summer had got in the way ::) ::) ???. I asked him if he realised that that is the time you are supposed to plant things ??? He said he would be down in Autumn to clear his weeds :o
Words fail me.
Rosemary
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Get sowing your spring cabages and think about winter/Japanese onions :)
How about some winter greens, very green and very good for you in salad or steamed. (Later u pick the more you may need to steam or cok them?)
And work as stated in this thread and forum, little and often. Too much to soon my make you think hey why am I doing this? Especialy if you are doing it in the horrible weather of winter!
Steady work now in late summer early autumn is buteiful, you can also get some radish, and late lettuce in now. I am trying for some late beans.
A little at a time this year means alot less next year :) And the key is to enjoy it! Its your pleaseure not a chure. You do not need to have a perfect plot but a plot that gives you the produce that you want. Enjoy
The_Snail
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We had just taken over an allotment and were chuffed to have done nearly 1/3 of the plot when we got a rude letter from the town council telling us to make significant improvement or we'd be "turfed" off the plot - 2/3 was covered in 5ft grass and goodness knows what - one cordless strimmer later and the plot was cleared - It then rained at just the right time to enable me to get a fork in and I basically just dug over the remaining part of the allotment once I'd raked up the strimmings. Leaving the ground looking all nice and ready to plant (which of course it wasn't but the allotment lady couldn't tell come the seocnd inspection)
so in the space of 2 weeks I managed to clear about 600 sq ft (yes the allotment is huge - 15ft by 100ft - just big enough for a 5 a side footie game over the winter!!)
If only I'd then covered it all up until next year it would have all been alright - but having spent 2 hours every day for 4 weeks slugging my heart out I took a break rather than finish the job - I now have a nice lawn across 50% of the allotment!
Still I manage to reclaim a little by little of it and it certainly looks much less depressing!!
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Not yopu've got it knocked back, either black plastic it, or at least keep the vegetation cut regularly. That alone would be enough to kill a lot of perennial weeds in time.
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We're keeping some of our weedy grass mowed short and using it as a leisure area for entertaining :) If we ever need more growing room then we'll nick a bit more of it but til then we just keep mowing it. It looks lovely and we're planning on putting some fruit trees and bushes round it.. Lotty folks kept telling me to get it rotovated but why just dig for the sake of it. One of the chaps that told me to do that (and he also wanted to come and nuke all my weeds in one go) has been back socially to spend time on the plot with us (He and his wife bought with him fish, chips and lagers) and we all sat round my husband's home made lotty table and enjoyed our tea on the "lawn" He thought my social area was lovely after that and that it was a good idea after all :) So we're having another get together this weekend but a barby this time and lots more lotty folks. It's catching on :) Growing your own doesn't have to be a completely serious affair ;D
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Its looking good wardy :)
Allotments are not only for growing veg :D
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;D That's not a bad idea and looks quite welcoming, may consider that myself. ;D
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I love the look of your lottie Wardy. I want a social area in mine too. I think it's nice to have a place to sit and just contemplate. Even better to have a few bevvies and a good natter.
I've read through this post and am going to peel back some of the plastic on my lottie and start to plant. Dunno what to pick first yet,there are so many suggestions!
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Ooooerr Heidi - going to peel back some plastic. Go carefully, just a bit at a time you don't know what you might unleash ;D If you free up a bit that's kind of weed free you could get some brassicas in or overwintering onions. I've not thought where I'm going to put mine yet :( Think I'll put the brassicas where the spuds were but where do I put me onions ? No space free yet and I'm not contemplating digging just yet ;D
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Just cheated a bit to get Senshyu yellow onions in without digging last week:
Marked out another veg bed with a path on virgin soil
Scraped the topsoil off the path and slung it on the bed so :o there's a new raised bed (took out most obvious roots)
Station sowed onions in furrows a good hoe's width apart (home made seed tape (great tip from this site ;D))
Covered the seeds in their drills in seed compost (weed free for the time being)
The theory is ::) that when the weeds arrive I'll be able to keep them down between the rows by hoeing, and next summer when the onions come up (I can dig in muck and prep the bed a bit more thoroughly. Hope the seed tape trick works, I have never tried overwintering onions before ... :P!
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Sounds good to me. Your onions will be fine. You don't get too many weeds over the winter (I didn't) My onions were covered with a frame I made of canes and netting to keep the birds off and I didn't have to take it off to weed for months. Good luck with yours :)
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Thank you for encouraging words wardy, will take your tip and cover the onions should they surface ::). I will try out trendy bendy recycled Pandastix to make supports for a trial cloche (http://www.ericthepanda.co.uk) with plastic mesh. Has anyone else out there tried Pandastix and got comments? ;)
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I have just taken on a full plot full of long grass, weeds, house hold rubbish and some asbestos for good measure. :(
I bought a big roll of black plastic from a local farm suppliers (8m x50m for £45) I plan to cover the majority of the plot with this to kill off the weeds and then I shall lift it a small section at a time and work that piece until all is done. not in any hurry to grow anything just yet, I'm just going to spend the winter getting everything ready for next year ;D
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Hi Chuff, best way to go (LITTLE and often ) better than getting a bad back, and fed up with it, a good chance to look for some Farm yard manure, to place in compost bins, a water butt, plant soft fruits, plan out on paper what seeds and plant you want for next year, but most of all enjoy your self
all the best
windy
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Chuff, mine was just the same back in May, with the rest of Spring and all of Summer for the weeds to get ahead of me ;D But a bit at a time is absolutely right, as everyone here will tell you. Plus, try and get something planted so that you have something to look after come Spring, other than yards of plastic! - and something to eat to pay you back for all your hard work ;D Mine is very much a work in progress, with lots of near misses and outright failures, yet it's a source of great pleasure to me - and even from time to time of some fruit and veg!!!
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Chuff Having just taken on a plot I thought you'd be fired with enthusiasm and want to get growing RIGHT AWAY ;D How you can't want to get some food in is beyond me ;D Lottie = food = now! You need to eat food in the winter or do you hibernate? ;D
Sorry, I realise that not everyone is as impetuous as me but hey you have a big piece of land just sitting there with no food in it. It's perverse. Are you nervous of sowing/planting etc?
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Chuff Having just taken on a plot I thought you'd be fired with enthusiasm and want to get growing RIGHT AWAY ;D How you can't want to get some food in is beyond me ;D Lottie = food = now! You need to eat food in the winter or do you hibernate? ;D
Sorry, I realise that not everyone is as impetuous as me but hey you have a big piece of land just sitting there with no food in it. It's perverse. Are you nervous of sowing/planting etc?
Hi wardy I'm not perverse just want to get it right, Ive walked around the allotments where my plot is and noticed that a lot of the plots suffer from weed regrowth, especially the plots that used a rotivator.
The plot that I have taken on hasn't been cultivated for a very long time and was in quite a state. :(
There is food on my plot, some apples with a very high meat content, yummy ;D
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I'm not rotovating either! Not digging come to that but doing well without at the moment :)