I have just taken on a new allotment,although all the allotments are very overgrown and the lady from the council has met me at the site,we have had to pretty much guess where our allotment starts and finishes,i am(i mean hubby is) going to try and strim it then cover with polythene,carpet etc and then try and work our way through it bit by bit,I'm hoping if we are in the wrong place someone will tell me once we start,all the other plots are rented although most haven't been used for a long time,certainly not around me,there is apparently an allotment association being started and the council has a certain amount of money to be spent on this allotment to put up fences ,lay paths etc,so hopefully things will improve. I was wondering if anyone could help me with plans for allotments,are there any on the web i could get inspiration from as i cant do much this year i want to be planning,i will want a shed,compost heaps,maybe a pond but definite wildlife areas,also i would like some sort of fence or hedge around parts of my plot,what does everyone else have,I'm thinking raised beds will be the way to go,i want lots of fruit and salad veg,then maybe carrots, onions,cabbage,swede,potatoes,also cut flower beds,i know it will take time to get all that, but i need some advice on the best place to put everything,I'm desperate to get started but need to clear the site first so its safe to take the kids down(1 yr old and 6 yr old)at the moment it really is a jungle!Will take some photos and show how work progresses!Becky.
;D
Hi Becky! Welcome to the site! Lots of useful stuff in here, best place to start is the "Wiki" button at the top of the screen, there is a bit in there about methods of cultivation, have a look around. Also, if you click on "Search" and fill in a topic you are interested in there will be lots of posts from before!
Enjoy, and show us lots of pics, we love em!
;)
I have not started to work my plot as I'm waiting for a friend to come and lay it out for me but I wondered if this may give you any ideas.
I have decided to have three rows of raspberry cane wire ( thicker than most) with posts put all round the plot just leaving about a 4' gap to get in and out.Up these wires we will be growing blackberry's,loganberry's,raspberry's,apple cordons,scented roses,jasmine,clematis in fact any thing we fancy. Not only will it help to ease the wind whipping over the plot but it will also give us a bit of privacy and for you keep the children in the plot.
Just a thought I think you have to ask if you are allowed to do this sort of thing but there shouldn't be a problem.
Welcome aboard and I hope it all goes well for you ::)
Sounds like you know what you want beckbeck, loads of time to enjoy planning!
Can't speak for fruit (novice here) but when planning my veg I listed everything that the family enjoy eating or preferred to eat fresh off the plot. Then thought about how much we'd get through in a week, multiplied by four for a month, and that gave the number of plants needed. Then looked at plant spacing, and that gave the bed area to plant/sow that month to get a succession of good things.
If you mark out your bed areas and paths with string for the first couple of seasons, you'll be able to make changes to the layout and fine-tune the bed widths - you might want a couple of very narrow beds for the weans so they can reach to the middle of 'their' patch. No need to edge the beds, in fact one of my neighbours has started to un-edge his.
Unless you enjoy digging, you don't have to dig. And if I had my time over again, I'd skip the compost heaps too :o. I've always been lousy at making compost, and the stuff goes straight onto the garden as mulch now ;)
If that appeals, more info at http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s-5-21-189,00.html
Good luck with your new plot, and happy gardening :-*
I find the green wire grid rolls useful for boundaries, about half the price in Wilkinsons... also makes good bird protection...
Good luck with the plot Becky!
:)
Thanks for all your advice,Chocolate that sounds like a good idea about the wire
round the plot,i had wanted to plant native hedging but it would probably be
easier to use the wire round a couple of sides,i just really want to get something
down on paper as i cant do anything practical yet,has anyone got any advice on
what they wished theyd done if they could start from scratch again?Becky. :)
Hi there, nice to know I'm not the only one with new allotment problems. I found a couple of websites about crop rotation etc, but found Andy Clevelys book'The Allotment Book' to be much better. We've only had our site for three weeks, and the clay soil is rock hard (sorry to everyone who's sick of hearing me moan about it). Like you, I can't wait to get started! my 6 year old grand-daughter, who lives with us, has chosen her bit of the plot to grow strawberries! We're quite lucky on ours, we have a good site association with tools for hire cheaply, and on our plot we've inherited 2 sheds, paths, greenhouse frame, compost heap and baths to store the water. It's just the growing bits that need sorting!! Keep your eyes glued to this website, coz this gang help you through the grot and make you feel there is an end in sight! Good luck and any good tips, pass 'em on!
Hi Beckbeck, welcome
Try the following site, it's a blog of a guy in Leeds and he explains the thoughts and considerations that he took into account in planning his allotment layout. I hope it helps.
http://www.keirg.freeserve.co.uk/diary/tech/start3.htm
Welcome from me too.
I'll second Mike's recommendation of Gavin's website - it is brilliant and helped me a lot, especially about crop rotation and when to plant different things.
(By the way, what's happened to Gavin and his diary? does anyone know?)
Wish I'd known about Gavin's blog at the start! Good innit? :o
Only thing I'd add is that he must have very long arms for 4 ft beds - my beds are 1.1m wide so I can reach to the middle. If you lay out with string for the first two seasons, you'll be able to get your own 'best width' :)
Yeah SS but Gavins a man innit
He'll have know sweat reaching
a million miles if he wanted too
My dibbers come and its great will
last a life time, will shop there again!!
;D ;D
I keep meaning to make my beds narrower, as they're four feet, and I have trouble reaching the middle. It'll happen, eventually.
hi becky im new too!!....think its so hard at the begining to decide what to do first i too need a safe place as i have six kids in all but 3 little ones ben 3 and 23 month twins!
will look forward to your posts to see how your getting along
tracy