Totally new - where do you get your supplies from?

[daisydog]

Hi

You'll have to excuse my ignorance.  I've just got an allotment and  reading up and trying to take it all in. 

Where do you mainly get your seeds etc from?  Are there any 'no, no's'? etc

Does that make sense? 

Any help appreciated.

thanks

Lisa :)

[daisydog]

[daisydog]

Following on.

I've got three water buts.  They'll only be collecting rain water as I don't have a shed and guttering yet.   Is it ok to water with any water collected from them?   What happens if the water turns murky?  Can it still be used to water crops?

Thanks.

[Hi_Hoe]

Hey Lisa! Congrats on being an allotmentist!!

There'll always be someone here to take your hand and show u the ropes!!

anyroad, wiv regard to your question, some people here buy their essentials from overpriced garden centres etc.. but most of us use the old 'beg steal an borrow' method! Your average poundshop will serve you well for most things gardening, and Wilkinsons/ Aldi/ Lidl B&ms etc  seed ranges are really great value for money. Basically, the idea is to grow as much as you can, as well as you can and hope it owes you as little as possible!! Also as an allotmentist, u may start to find that nothing goes to waste - everything has an alternative use -   plastic cups? plant pots. -    old flags? pavements. -    Pallets? fencing/ compost heaps/ firewood/ raised beds. -     Kitchen scraps? compost    - Shoe laces? plant ties. -    old windows? seed covers....u get the idea!!

As for water, store as much as you can as it will be invaluable in drier spells - no matter how murky!! If you have nettles on your plot, a good idea is to make a nettle fertilser.

Get to know as much as you can absorb about each crop u want to grow, and bear in mind your crop rotation plan and you wont go wrong  

Best o luck, Lisa

Hi Hoe

[Jeannine]

Hi Lisa, welcome to A4A. I am in Canada but was in the UK till 77 then Canada till 2000, UK till 2009  then back to Canada again, so I buy seeds from all over the world and have for a long time. There are some no no sites and some excellent ones. It pays to look globally these days.There are some decent UK sites one or two that many of us wait for their sale times as you can pick up some good bargains then but usual prices can be costly.

A good bit of advice is to take a deep breath when you go seed shopping or you may overbuy like many of us do. Bear in mind many seeds will be good for several years whereas others need to be new each year.

A lot will depend on wether you want basic veggies  ot are looking for something a bit different.

You will find tons of support and very good advice from A4A , there are some very knowledgeable people here who will always help.

If you are more specific about what you want folks can point you in the right direction and you still have time to ask companies to send you their free catalogues, lots of info in them even if you later decide to buy at the garden centres. Just tap in seed catalogues  online and all sorts will come up.

Good luck with your new lottie, I hope you have a super season.

XX Jeannine

[lottie lou]

Don't forget - supermarket overpackaging is a great source of potential seed trays, drip trays etc.  Also the tray etc that ready meals come in can be used (contents eaten or dumped as you wish).  Just a couple of holes poked in the bottoms for drainage.  Check out Wyevales as they sometimes have a used plant pot dump where you can leave unwanted pots and collect anything you want.  On a lottie you will meet many friendly people who will offer you excess plants, produce, advice etc.

[Hell4leather2]

Hey we all started from scratch at some time or other.  best place to get your first seeds is the local garden centre have a chat with the guy moving stock around they normally know quite a lot. check online but make your you put in your area to get the right climate zone.

oh and there's a lot of trial and error involved as well .... have fun

[davejg]

Get talking to your fellow plot holders, there normally a few with spare plants they will let you have. Also if there are any local societies where you can get seeds, spuds etc cheap. I use ebay for all my seeds but if you put your location in your profile those local to you can poit you in the right direction.

[steveg1966]

Congratulations on becoming an allotmenteer when I got mine a year ago it all seemed very daunting but after a few weeks everything came together and I am sure it will for you.I get most of my stuff from wilkos as they are cheap also find out off the other plot holders if they get free manure delivered from the local farms and you will also find that people tend to fly tip useful stuff on the site we had a load of old decking dumped that is now my raised beds also eBay is a great source for tools and other large objects like poly tunnels etc.

[GREGME]

Lisa welcome
with seeds it doesn't matter too much where you get them from - just make sure you know what particular variety you are getting so you will know what to expect.  Supermarkets, garden centres, poundland ebay etc all ok. Occasionally you might get a pack of seeds that don't germinate well but it's fairly unlikely. Seed swap events can be good too.
And try not to buy more seeds than you need as someone else suggested earlier.

[jimtheworzel]

try poundland plastic cups, very cheap
good for raising beans and brassicas   
local chippy fish boxes good for holding sown cups, sheet of glass for  a lid   bingo a mini greenhouse and it cost nowt

   jim

[goodlife]

We've got this topic on going about seed shopping sites ... http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,62941.msg727822.html#msg727822



...dig your money out!

[Robert_Brenchley]

There are always loads of seeds on eBay, some of them quite uncommon varieties. Then there are online sources like vegetableseeds.net, which must be one of the cheapest around. Some, like Thomas Etty and Real Seeds, specialise in traditional heritage varieties. If you save seed from a couple of varieties (lots of advice available here) then the annual seed swop is one of the best sources of the less usual varieties.