NEW PLOT

[margyf]

Dear all

Hope you all well and enjoying the brighter weather.

I have a new plot which I have been cleaning up. By this I mean taking out all old crop, digging and seperating into seperate beds.

I was down there this morning I still feel my handy work with the fork and spades hasnt really paid off. Im tempted to borrow the rotivator and do it that way.

Some of my fellow allotmenters have been kind enough to show me theirs and add a few tips here and there.

Like:

Divide plots into seperate beds- I mean should I be looking at raised beds
* Look at working on small sections at a time
* Go for no dig approach and use mulch

My compost heap has all the previous owners crap in it and it looks awful I dont know where to start with it.

Any help would be much appreciated

Regards

Marg :(



Please could anyone advise

[margyf]

[pete10]

Hi your plan sounds good , Lots of digging to start but there on after a lot easier.
Big you beds and plant as you go or cover the beds until ready for planting.

[kt.]

Im tempted to borrow the rotivator and do it that way.

Don't do it!    You will create twice as much work for yourself in the longrun

[star]

You can empty the compost and put a layer of fresh manure in the bottom of the bin, then a layer of compost and another layer of manure. Carry on till all the compost is back in bin with manure. Cover with some old carpet and leave to rot down.

If the compost is very dry water the heap, if its very wet add newspaper and cardboard in layers as well as the manure and dont water. You will end up with lovely stuff later in the year.

Im an advocate of no-dig myself, but you may need to dig and weed some of your plot to get a crop. You could cover part of it with black plastic or carpet and plant through it later on.

Just my thoughts ;)

[Deb P]

I inherited two baths full of the previous tenants' 'compost' when I took over my plot ....it was full of bindweed and couch grass.

I decided rather than waste the small amount of decent compost mixed in with it, I had to bite the bullet and dig it all out and remove the roots, and put the good stuff left after that on the plot. I would recommend you do the same, make a new compost heap with anything decent and get rid of the rubbish.........no quick fix I'm afraid! :-\

All of my plot was covered on couch too...I know it's tempting to rotovate it, but if you choose to do one area or raised bed at a time, you can clear  it of any nasty weeds as you dig it, (let alone the rubbish you might uncover and damage a rotovator!) cover it, then you will not have a worse problem when everything starts growing strongly in April, especially the weeds......Rotovating will just chop up any nasty perennial weeds and distribute them all over your plot, each little bit will make another weed.......unless you are prepared to rotovate several times in a row to weaken the regrowth..