New allotmenteers

[kelotty]

Hello everyone

I'm a newbie.  We took on our first allotment this year and like so many other newbies it is weed infested and totally bare, no shed, nothing.

What I would like to ask is does anyone know where to source 'stuff' for an allotment like wooden pallets to make a compost bin/ corrogated sheets and so on to generally reinforce the allotment.  Old fences..and so on.  Even old carpeting and cardboard..where do we find all this stuff.

Also how much does black polythene cost?  After trying to be ambitious and prepare all our paths/12 beds/a lawn area ..on approaching our allotment all one can see is weeds!!  We are thinking of just maintaing and filling up 4 beds with as much veg as poss and covering the rest.

To be honest with a husband who works all week and 2 yound children aged 2 and a half and the second only sex weeks, we were talking this weekend about giving up already.  We really don't want to quit but feel with no experience and knowledge and only a few hours on the weekend to commit, that we have taken on more than we can handle.

Any ideas/sgueestions/encouragement very welcome.

Kelotty

[kelotty]

[gecko]

Black polythene sheet at allplas works out at 25p/m2 if you buy a 200m2 roll. Buy 6 rolls and it gets discounted by 20%.

I'm looking at buying probably 2 rolls and I wonder if there are enough people on here that we could organise to buy 6 or more rolls, get the cheaper price and then find a way of distributing it amongst ourselves?

Any thoughts anyone or does someone have a cheaper source for the sheet anyway!

[tim]

http://www.kayshorticulture.com/ are useful.

[Svea]

kelotty,

don't give up. don't be discouraged by the amount of weeds you see on your plot. try and keep them strimmed so at least it looks like a lawn area, then, as you said, get a few beds going and grow some stuff in there. it's really good fun growing your own :)

you can find carpets, and large sheet of cardboard at your local tip, or scavenge in skips. you dont need to use black plastic to keep the weeds down - though it seems to be the most efficient at doing it. just dont spend lots of money, but see what you can scavenge. cardboard can also be found at your local white goods store (you know, the large boxes that fridges and washing machines come in). the cardboard will biodegrade but in the meantime will also help keep the weeds down.

and dont be afraid to ask for help. can you organise a digging party with a few mates in return for the promise of homegrown veg later in the year? something like that might get you off to a good start.

also, ask help and advice of the lottie neighbours - one of them might just have some plastic they dont require this season etc - maybe you can borrow some stuff too

good luck
svea

[westsussexlottie]

If we know where you are roughly one of us might even be able to offer some plastic/cardboard/plants?

[Mothy]

Kelotty,

Don't give up!!

I started out on an overgrown plot in December and enlisted 2 mates to help me strim, rip out and burn head high brambles etc.

Digging then consisted of nothing more than 2 hour sessions and I spent the next few months gently turning the plot over. As soon as I had a bit dug I planted some garlic & shallots just so that I could see something growing.

If you can clear a patch, plant it as you go! Try and cover the rest with old carpet or black plastic until you come to dig it.

Good luck!!

[giantseye]

Hi Kelotty

Don't panic.  I took over a very overgrown plot in mid April, and it has taken alot of time to get it looking right.

I tried to get all the weeds up by digging it myself, but I startedto get disillusioned with it. :-[ :-[ :-[

So I went and hired a rotovator.  I buried most of the weeds with that, and then covered over half of the plot with weed fabric. ;D ;D

I have now got half a plot with some veg in it, but I will not try and over do it as I will be able to get more things grown next year. :D ;)

The garden centres at the moment have a lot of veggie plants available, so do small sections at a time, and get some strawberries or tomatoes etc in.  If you do it a small section at a time, then it becomes more rewarding that trying to hard to get everything cleared. ;D

Try hiring the rotovator, it did wonders for us ;D ;D ;D

Good luck to you  :D

[Roy Bham UK]

 ;D Hello Kelotty ;D I was on the brink of quitting and followed the advice from memebers here by doing small areas at a time, in fact I decided to have small beds approx 12ft x 4ft down either side of the path, marked them off with string, then started digging one bed at a time, far less daunting with little or no pressure. 8)

[moonbells]

Hi Kelotty!  :)
Welcome to A4A and don't panic!

I think everyone is a bit daunted when they first realise how hard it is to get a lottie into production! Even if it's not so bad like mine weren't, it's still a fight to get it going. 
I keep a diary (URL at bottom) which shows all my ooopses and hurrahs and ups and downs, and even after 2 years with half a plot I still managed to let a second half get away from me before I roped it back in again.  Think positive. Take photos at the start, clear some and then take more.  Then you have a record of progress (and you can post them on here for more moral support!). 

I can recommend carpets! Your local carpet shop will probably have a skip round the back with reject bits in that they're removed. They have to pay for removal so the more that walks out on its own the better for them, so they will usually say to help yourself when you ask. Strim a load of the plot, stick carpet on it (overlapping the joins) and move on to the next bit.  Then, when you've got to the end, uncover the first piece and start to dig it over.  It won't be as bad because it will have been weakened by the carpet (assuming a few weeks of gap) and then you can start to plant.  Even as late as autumn you can plant stuff, eg overwintering garlic and onions.  Then you gradually do the rest, knowing that the carpet will prevent new weeks germinating. Perennials may push it up, in which case you flip over the carpet and dig the offender up. 

I wouldn't recommend a rotavator if there are a lot of perennial weeds in there, since it only cuts the roots up into smaller bits, each of which regrows into a plant. Bindweed and couch are the worst here.  Cover, weaken and dig over.  Of course I'm assuming, possibly erroneously, that you are planning on organic growing. If you don't mind chemicals then spray the lot with glyphosate (roundup) on a calm day and then wait for 3-4 weeks. Bear in mind that even if you do this, you will still have to dig it over and remove the roots. Also be careful not to spray on neighbours. The spray drift is a lot more than you think...

I'm currently fighting creeping thistles - which seem to appear as fast as I dig them up!

best wishes, don't give up, keep talking to us and gradually you'll get there.

moonbells

[Merry Tiller]

Just chill and take it one step at a time clearing it gradually & growing a few bits & pieces as you go, each weed you pull is one less on your plot

[supernan]

Pallets 'R' Us operates at your local industrial site. You know the ones just out of town, with the roads that go round in circles. Have a drive round in daylight, plan your night time route, take an accomplice. they can drive, 'cos they won't want the other job of slinging the pallets in the car or trailer.

Or you could ask the guys hanging round on their f*g breaks if they could let you have some.

Raid the skips at your local carpet store. Underlay makes great weed suppressant. Also I have used it to make collars to go round brassicas to deter cabbage root fly. Use carpet for your paths, pile side down.

Check out your local stationery office supply store. mine has a heap of office furniture, metal shelving, old doors etc. They are usually quite happy for you to take stuff, it saves them money on skips.

My lottie has not been worked for 4 years. so plant lots of spuds, they are great for breaking the soil up. Try a bit of everything you will see what does well on your land. And talk to the others on site most bods who garden are helpful.

Have fun and good luck.

[clairenpaul]

Hi Kelotty  :),

Don't let it get you down, there's lots of us in the same boat. When we are feeling like we'll never get it sorted out we spend a bit of time on here - lots of encouragement and a good laugh  ;D.
I would agree with Moonbells totally about the rotavator, the council rotavated some of the vacant plots on our site but didn't do ours before we took it. we were pretty gutted for a start as the ones they'd done looked great and ours was totally covered in weeds but now they are having LOADS of weeds coming back where as the area we have dug and planted is not too bad - just annuals really and it doesn't take long to hoe them.
Why don't you ask at local factories about pallets, plastic and stuff, if they can't reuse them (like some food factories can't) they'll be only too pleased to let you take them.
We seem to be way behind all the other allotments on our site and people on here too but we try to think that this year is going to be the worst and next year will be better.

You can buy lots of plants but I'd try car boot sales and markets rather than garden centres to save a bit of cash.
Good luck and don't give up - think of all the lovely veggies you'll be eating eventually  :)

[moonbells]

Just a caveat on the buying plants from boot sales: you could inadvertently introduce club root or onion white rot or similar nasties to your plot, if they don't have them already.  Garden centres are usually ok because they grow everything in sterilised compost. 

If in doubt about the growing medium, don't buy the plant!

moonbells

[philandjan]

Welcome to the world of the mad and the slightly less mad!

We've found that it's really a case of agreeing priorities.

Jan was overjoyed when I got her the allotment in March.....the greenhouse at home was suddenly full of seed trays. However, the allotment wasn't really in a fit state; it had not been cultivated properly for a number of years and was a sea of water sitting on a firm clay foundation.

I have been digging frantically to try and keep up with Jan's planting schedule - as quick as I dig a row she pops plants in!

This year is seen as being a case of getting whatever we can out of the ground (weeds and clay for me, veg for Jan!), then doing all of the proper things (like digging in manure, compost, etc, planning proper crop rotations and all those things) at the end of the season and into next year.

Weeds are a constant nightmare and as long as you realise that beating them is a marathon not a sprint, you can reconcile yourselves to progressing at a slow, steady pace.

It is a joint labour of love (or so I'm told!).

[Greenfingers Jo]

If you are going to add compost, how about turning the bags inside out when finished with. I noticed last night that most compost bags haver black lining.
;D
Jo

[kelotty]

Thanks all for your friendliness and great tips.  Excuse all the spelling mistakes in my first post - I was typing with one finger with baby in arms!!  Sorry!
I have a renewed vision on what we need to do on our allotment and will do it bit by bit.  Watch out weeds and skips - here we come!

Best wishes
Kelotty

[redimp]

philandjan - do you only have one fork and one spade, or even only one of those?  Share the labour and the creativity (not necessarily 50/50) - it will be better for both of you.