My first allotment

[slowfood]

Hi all,

Feeling a little daunted by taking on a new house (last Friday) with a 60ft garden full of junk/asbestos garage/ 3 leylandi/huge plum tree etc....and today a 10 rod allotment in reasonable nick. A lot of work ahead, but reading through the post on here little and often seems the way to go. Part of the allotment is covered with carpet so the idea is to start with a couple of raised beds, a friend has some brussels and cabbage to start me off, what else can I start sowing? Also apart from laying down more carpet from the house what other jobs would you be getting on with?

Thanks.

[slowfood]

[flowerlady]

Hi, welcome,

I was a late starter too.

Try salads, especially radish they are SO quick - very gratifying, carrots, french beans &  broad beans, beetroot, and if you can find any going spare on others allotments leeks!

Then you will be into the autumn sowings with the rest of us!!

We found our site was a junk yard, once we had burnt off the grass that we had to get a machine to cut!  Sounds as if you had a better start than me!

Enjoy!

[silverback]

try not to take on too much at once. When i first took on my allotment  i was advised to use potatoes to clean the soil. Although it may be a little late now. You could plant out winter cabbage or leeks. but be prepared for weed on slaught. Plants that cover ground may be better.

[Svea]

could still plant out squash plants if you are quick (from the garden centre) as well as all the above mentioned lettuces, salad crops and autumn stuff.

i also grow rocket (rucola) which is very quick and super tasty :)
also kohlrabi is quick and would give you tasty veg in a couple of weeks.

enjoy
and good luck with the garden and house, too! we moved 6 months ago and took on a small allotment, and i still havent finised painting all we wanted to paint, let alone replace kitchen and bathroom :P
gardening is more relaxing, i find ;D

[dingerbell]

Welcome to one of the best and most supportive web sites on the net/  I was a newbie this year, and the best advice is to cultivate the old boys who are your lottie neighbours. They will have good tips on what is best suited to your local conditions and I'm sure they will give you any spare seedlings seeds etc to get you started. The most important thing for a late starter is to make sure your plot is well prepared for next season. My allotment hadn't been worked for 5 years and was just a mass of Brambles, Nettles, Couch Grass and Bind Weed.  I've just finished podding and freezing 20lb of Broad Beans and theirs lots of other veggie delights to come. There is nothing more satisfying than chomping into freshly picked veggies that you grew yourself. Have fun, you'll never regret it. ;D... Dinger

[Ed^Chigliak]

Place your order for onion sets & garlic you can plant in october/november to overwinter. It's easy to grow from sets. One 250g set will do a 6x4 bed something like 60-80 onions. Order some shallots while your at it which I planted in February.. not sure if they will overwinter.

I still have some successional sowings for
Corriander
Basil
Rocket
Lettuce
Radish
Beetroot
American land cress

Starting in August I will be sowing for winter & spring
Endive - cornet de bordeaux (did very well without protection)
Lettuce - winter density (not so good will protect with fleece or poly cloche)
Cabbage - offenham (sping greens are easier due to fewer slug and no catapillars)
Cabbage - winter green (ditto)
Spinach - giant winter (my summer spinach tends to run to seed so I'm trying a winter crop)

Sow a green manure crop like Phacelia in August/September to cover the ground and suppress weeds. Use green manure crops to cut your plot down to whatever size you can manage. You get the same sense of achievement with a green manure as you would growing any other crop. The bees like Phacelia and the slugs like carpet and black plastic.

[slowfood]

Right.....roll sleeves up and get ordering, digging (and painting, scraping etc...) Thanks for all the advice, I'm looking forward to all the fruit and veg for the years to come. Does anyone else read kitchen garden magazine as this really fueled my intrest in getting an allotment?

[Lazybones]

Welcome slowfood.  I bought KG magazine for the first time last month and although I have had my lottie for well over a year I find it really helpful and informative in short bursts.  You are always learning so as far as I am concerned - anything is a great help  ;D

[wardy]

If your plot is a mess look on here for Heidi's allotment.  No-ones has been as bad as hers  ;D
I have used black sheet mulch all over my plot to keep weeds supressed and it's working very well and the areas cleared of weeds I;ve planted straight into without digging.  I think digging is preferable if you have the stamina but my broad beans and peas grew fine and produced loads so glad I didn't bother to dig it.  The next plastic cardboard cleared weedy bit is now home to cabbages who like undug soil I'm told and they are growing away well.  If you sow and plant stuff right away you won't get bored and turned off.  Use containers when you have no cleared space  :)   I'm about to sow more carrots and turnips today.  Also putting in leeks and onions today if back holds up.  Oh and there's still time for cabbage and spinach.  Happy gardening  :)

[slowfood]

Well, shared some carpet from the house with some allotment neighbours tonight and they came over to look at my plot, as mentioned before they gave good advice. The moto seems to be......little and often.

How good is this......we met our new neighbours at the house and they also have an allotment and they gave us a moving in present......an onion from their plot. Now how many people do you know that get a moving in onion? Chuffed!

[wardy]

Aaagh  :)   You'll be able to return the compliment this time next year  :)

[slowfood]

Thanks to all but I have had to print this off as Ed^Chiliak's list has really given me something to think about. Thanks Svea I'm going to try Kohlrabi (Stir fry?)

[Svea]

i eat it raw (cut into chunks and nibbled like a raw carrot) or cut into oxo-sized cubes and steamed for 10 minutes, adding the shredded leaves for the last three or so.
makes a tasty side dish/veg dish.

try stir fried - why not? i havent yet - they dont often get to the cooking stage in this household though ;D

[telboy]

Slowfood,
Welcome!
You have a good neighbour & this website.
What more could you ask?
Good growing & success!