We have just aquired our 10 pole allotment in Aylesbury, Bucks. The council is "skimming it and rotovating it in the next week or so.
We would like to raise a variety of general veg, plus softfruits. I'm a night worker and hope to be able to put in an hour/ hour and a half most mornings after finishing work.
We think we want to use a bed system with a five year rotation.
What if anything will we be able to produce from seed this season, or should we put all efforts into prepping for autumn plantings.?
Hi Pyrotech and congrats on your new plot! it's an ideal time to get one as you should be able to grow most things this year depending on the state of the soil - I've only just planted potatoes and onions - still plenty of time to sow most veg (I find the suggested sowing dates on seed packets are just a guide and as we've had such a long winter there's not been much point starting things off before now - lots of people here were still sowing carrots in September last year).
My advice would be to dig over a bit (maybe even just an 1/8 - 1/4 of the plot and get something in there (garden centres have small veg plants on sale now) - that way you'll keep your interest going while you work on the rest of the plot - and it's always a good idea to try and grow your varourite veg first - so you've got something to look forward to. Keep the un worked part covered up to keep the weeds down (otherwise you might spend all your time weeding beds that you're not ready to use yet).
I took on my plot in June last year and managed to grow leeks, sweetcorn, courgettes, carrots, beetroot (very easy), cabbages and chinese greens. This year we've concentrated on making 12 raised beds and getting the whole plot into more order - next it'll be making paths and pallet compost bins - there's always something going on.
hope you enjoy it and keep posting questions - there's always someone on the site who knows the answer
DF
This is my first year at lottie-ing, and so far I have very little in the ground - just shallots, potatoes (last Saturday), onions and a few fruit bushes from Poundland.
I'm module-sowing in my conservatory and mini-greenhouses, and because it's been so long a winter I haven't got a huge amount waiting in modules, and still a fair few packets unopened.
So in my, very inexpert, opinion, you're not too late at all to sow and grow veggies this year.
mother earth will take care of most things you will throw at her. amazingly! :D
i did a lot of early stuff last year, and didnt need to have done. cabbages and o/w brassicas wont get started until june this year, toms and related plants are about 10cm high at the moment and will be planted out mid-may (but you can buy plants from market/garden centre), small stuff like lettuces, rocket, radishes can go in now. carrots and parsnips ditto
potatos can also be put in now
really, as DF said, it's a great time to just tuck in. read the back of packages, use conventional good sense and off you go :)
great advice from everyone - I too am only just really getting started this year. This is my third year and I think that I have been a bit premature each year so I have deliberately put it all off a bit this year.
Personally I would recommend trying some onions, beans (french/runner), courgettes (an absolute must as they are so easy), tomatoes (mine do great just planted in the soil on the allotment), spuds and sweetcorn and salads. As Dirtyfingernails said just do a little bit. I would steer clear of carrots as the ground needs a lot of prep.
Get some brassicas started from seed at home, as you can plant these through black plastic when the time comes. Put potatoes in through plastic now, and that way you can get a lot more of the plot producing than you can actually dig in the time available.
Thank you all for the encouraging responses. It's amazing how much books and seed packets differ from real life experiences.
Think I'll throw mother nature a curve ball and plant a bit of everything. 10 poles sounds small till your stood on it.!!!!!! :o