I'm about to take on an allotment site for the first time. I haven't seen it yet so have no idea what state it's in, but suspect that I'm in for a lot of weed-clearing and digging!
At the moment my plan is to start by clearing a quarter of the plot and then planting it with small fruit trees / bushes (depending on what I'm allowed to plant). The reason I'm considering fruit trees / bushes is that I think they'll be relatively low maintenance whilst I'm trying to get the rest of the site under control - I don't want to plant something that's going to turn into a jungle overnight. Eventually I want to have a mixture of fruit, veg and flowers so I wouldn't be planting something that I'd end up tearing out a year later.
Does this sound like a sensible plan? Are fruit trees / bushes fairly low maintenance? Can I plant them at this time of year? What would you recommend for a complete beginner - I'm thinking of blueberries, gooseberries, raspberries and a couple of dwarf fruit trees (if I'm allowed to plant trees). Where's the best place to buy plants - from Homebase, via the internet, from a specialist garden centre or.....?
Apologies for asking so many questions! I really don't have a clue what I'm doing but am very enthusiastic and am keen to get started sensibly rather than taking too much on in one go so I'd love to get some advice from 'old hands'.
low maintenance to me = red currants, white currants, black currants, blackberries (+ similar such as loganberries etc) and gooseberries except for a bit of pruning here and there to keep them nicely shaped
welcome :)
Get them from a specialist; the best places are online. I haven't had good experiences of garden centres, but you may be lucky.
What's your soil pH? You probably don't know, but don't even think of planting blueberries until you know the answer.
Friut Bushes/trees would have to be grown in pots at the moment so tend to be rather expensive. You can get them much cheaper barerooted during the winter. They are low maintenance but do take quite a long time before you get a good crop off them. Fruit tree take several years. I have a bramley which is three years old and this is its first year of fruit. Places like Lidl and Aldi and Tesco sell them quite cheaply and my experience of Lidl they are good value. Lidl gooseberries turn up red and are very tasty. If your budget runs to a specialist nursery you will get more choice and better stock.
Rhubarb is quite easy as well. Takes up quite a lot of space. Look for this early in the new year, I got much bigger plants by sifting through the boxes in the garden centre when they first arrived.
Thanks for the welcome and the helpful advice. I'm afraid I really am very ignorant about gardening matters, so I've got a couple of questions about the answers!
- Why do fruit bushes need to be in pots at the moment? Can't I just buy them in pots and then put them in the ground? Is it something to do with upsetting roots whilst they're supposed to be producing fruit?
- What soil pH is good for blueberries? I don't know what my soil pH is, but I do know that one of the first things I need to do is to find out....
- Which specialist websites would you recommend?
I ldon't mind waiting a couple of years to get a good crop - I'm in this for the long haul. The main reason for starting with fruit bushes / plants was so that I could show obvious signs of cultivating my plot whilst battling back the overgrowth. I don't want to get thrown off!
ike the sound of rhubarb :P
Hi EnglishRose - we're all at different levels of ignorance, so no need to apologise!
QuoteWhy do fruit bushes need to be in pots at the moment?
I think yes it's to do with the growing season. They would have to be transported and sold n pots which is more expensive. But if you ordered one now, bare rooted eg from Ken Muir or another fruit specialist, they would deliver it in winter, when you could plant it out.
QuoteWhat soil pH is good for blueberries?
Blueberries like an acid soil. So unless you're on top of a peat bog, you probably haven't got the soil they like. But I'm sure there are ways to do this. You might add peat to the soil, or feed them with fertiliser for 'erricaceous' plants.
Quote- Which specialist websites would you recommend?
For frut trees and bushes, I like Ken Muir. But I've just bought some strawberries from Fothergills. I've had nice stuff from them too.
Don't worry too much about getting thrown off and coping with weeds. If you go each weekend, and do a couple of hours, then you will make progress. If you do more than that, you'll make faster progress.
If you know you want fruit trees and bushes anyway, it's a nice idea to get them this winter - like you say, it'll take a year or two before you get fruit anyway, so an early start is good.
I am just coming to the end of my first year so understand how you're feeling. :)
I can thoroughly recommend the book 'the half hour allotment' which helped me keep it in perspective - but don't buy it, just borrow it from the library as it's not one for keepsies, just a good one-time read.
I bought 5 fruit trees in midwinter from Blackmoor nurseries and can thoroughly recommend them for good packing, fast delivery and quality of trees. They're all now in flower, though I don't expect fruit this year. They worked out half the price of anything the local nurseries had even with the postage.
Lidl plants are good - look out for their strawberry plants next spring- 12 for £2.99 if I remember rightly - I've had lots of fruit from them already. I've had deadfull experiences with homebase - especially their plants and compost.
You may want to check the pollination group of the trees - they'll need to be compatible with at least one other or you can find varieties that are self fertile. blackmoor website has info on this.
Don't forget that your trees will cast shade- you'll probably need dwarf rootstock (to limit the height and spread of the tree to a manageable size)
My top tip would be to make a plan of what you'd like to eat from the allotment, work out when you'd need to plant those things and plan beds/containers for them, and then buy seeds - DO NOT go buying a packet or two every time you see some in the shops as if you're anything like most of us you'll end up with loads of spare that go out of date before you can use them. (or have a look at Real Seeds online who sell smaller packets for 50p+ ). Get some salad seeds for catch crop when beds are empty or you have gaps.
Take some photos and post them here - nothing more inspiring than looking back on your progress.
I didn't know any of this before i joined allotments4all :) this place is the best source of advice and encouragement. no question is a silly one and people are lovely.
good luck and post how you're getting on. How big is your plot? where abouts?
It does seem strange to plant bushes, even strawberries in autumn yet that is when you do. Plant when it is cold and they will come back to life in spring.
Keep in mind that berries do need a lot of space. Raspberries are good but tend to be invasive. If you can isolate them a little, say by ramming a barrier into the ground, to stop their babies shooting up all over the shop, they will give much fruit. In two years they will take up about twice as much space as when you start!
Rhubarb is a good idea give it space too, and a rich soil. I planted mine in early spring.
You can also buy for now some plug plants for the autumn crops, things like cabbage, oriental greens and kale cabbage, as well as Swiss chard. It is getting a little late to sow those and you might not feel ready for that.
You can also start preparing a patch for garlic! That too is planted in later autumn, start now preparing a patch with some manure if you have some, and in November you can plant your garlic for next year!
Good luck!
I'm amazed by just how much useful information I've picked up in 24 hours on this site - and I haven't even seen my allotment plot yet! And everyone seems so friendly, too. Thank you!
As for my plot - it's in south east London and I'm told that it's 5 rods large. I'm definitely going to draw up a plan as soon as I see it; I already have a few ideas in my head about layout but don't want to get too carried away until I know what's there already. I'm hoping that the previous tenant might just leave a shed behind, which would be truly fabulous as there's no way I can afford a brand new one and I can't transport equipment to/from the site because I don't have a car.
Speaking of equipment, I guess I'm going to need things like a spade and a fork (!). I'm prepared to invest in something that's really good quality so that it lasts; am I better buying them online rather then from Homebase?
amazon sell tools - I got a good set with spade, hoe and fork from there cheap as in a bundle and with free delivery as over £15. If you're tall it's worth checking handle sizes as you'll want something with longer handles to save your back.
Wilkinsons are good for value and better range stuff and are good about refunds if there's a problem (even seeds that don't germinate!)
B&Q are expensive but have good range.
you could ask on freecycle or gumtree or ask around the allotment once you get there, i'm sure many people will have duplicate tools they could lend/give- i found tools on my allotment cos it was so overgrown!
Heavens, yes, it is easy to pick up tools at garage sales etc. Just check them out - what counts is that the handle and attachment are really solid, if the metal bits are dirty or corroded that is not too hard to fix. Or on freecycle, as someone said. I tend to do just about all my gardening with: a spade, a fork, a hand digger, a rake and a really big pickaxe! Which is brilliant for really cutting into the ground to turn it over or dig things out, and to tidy the edges of weeds!My hubby brought that home from a house demolition!