i now have an allotment..help..help..help..

COOLTRIKERCHICK · 19 May 2006 at 3:28PM

after years of dreaming for the good life. and not being able to afford a smallholding... today i have been told there is an allotment available for me..
i went over to have a look..and yes it does need a lot of work, but it is manageable...they said it was 10 poles long... first of all does anyone know what length that is ? all i know the plot was a lot bigger than i thought..

also we are a family of 4 would this plot keep us in veggies ? and will i see a saving on my food bill ?
the plot is about 10 miles away, so will only be able to get there a few times a week and is only £10 a year....there are about 40 other plots ....

also any suggestions in what i can put in straight away...
i am so exceited about the allotment, but i am also scared, of the thought of what i am taking on as well..

calleyw · 19 May 2006 at 4:27PM

5.5 yards = 1 rod, pole or perch

Really you need to be going virtually everyday not a couple of times a week. As plants need to be watered and weeded etc.

Potatoes you can pop in now. What sort of things do you eat?

Most seeds can still be planted straight in to the ground at this time of year. As long as it has been dug over.

Because the soil in my garden is so horrible and we are still in the process of putting in soil conditioner in the form of compost. I have started all mine in pots.

I have runner and dwarf beans, mixed salad leaves, purple sprouting, cabbage, beetroot, spring onions and a few cucumbers inside on my windowsill.

I love being able to go and cut lettuces straight from the garden when making a salad. Lovely and tastes lovely.

Yours

Calley

COOLTRIKERCHICK · 19 May 2006 at 4:47PM

hi..calleyw.... thanks...i think over the next few weeks i will be so excited about the allotment i will be over there more, but as you say i will really need to be there quite often to really see the benifit and keep it under control...at the moment i have lettuce and bits growing in pots ..well recycled painted bake bean tins around the place, and going out the garden and just picking a leaf and eating it straight away , there is nothing like it .....
how do you grow your beetroot in pots ? i know this sounds like a silly question , but i thought they had to be grown in situ.....do you get good results ?..even though i have this allotment now, i still want to be able to pop outside my back door and be able to nibble at the things around me..
i'm hoping that it will save me moeny in the long run on my food bills, plus i have the satisfaction that i grew it myself, with no chemicals...and teaching my kids about what food should really taste like....

calleyw · 19 May 2006 at 6:03PM

I have the beetroot in some seed trays and I will plant them out when they get a bit bigger. Most seeds can be transplanted once they are big enough.

I do this as I said because my graden is still being dug over. But also because I think it gives the seedlings a better chance. As slugs and snails can't get to them.

Do you know if the allotments suffer from rabbits. As you will need to get some fencing as they will eat anything off.

Keep an eye out in wilkinsons as soon they will start to be selling off seeds etc off cheaper. So you can be ready for next year.

Yours

Calley

lottiegirl · 19 May 2006 at 6:11PM

hi I got my allotment 5 rods & 25 pounds a year in October. It was covered in 6ft high brambles . It is now covered in onions garlic potatoes strawberries carrots peas & beans with many more things at home awaiting to go in. My 2 boys 8 & 10 have their own areas and are learning how things grow and enjoy messing with the soil.
Factor into your decision how you will get there, how much time you have got, costs of tools and a storage facility to store tools , (you do not want to be working out what to take and taking things daily). Grow what you enjoy eating. I would not be without my allotment now it is addictive , its great for getting me fit, and fresh good food into the deal. Good luck.

moonrakerz · 19 May 2006 at 6:51PM

Been growing my own veg for years.
Safest bet, to start with:- New potatoes, onions (from sets), runner beans, late carrots (miss the carrot fly), lettuce, outdoor tomatoes, leeks (after the spuds), broad beans, spring onions, radish (really quick !).
Get growing, the taste of your own veg is soooooo much better than boughten !

COOLTRIKERCHICK · 20 May 2006 at 9:50AM

hi.. thanks...as for as i could see yesterday there wasnt a rabbit problem, as no one had fencing round their plots...we are going back up today to show the boys, but will not be doing any work as the amount of rain we have had over the last few days has been terrible, so if think the ground will be to wet to work...
i have asked on free cycle for surplus veggie plants, and some one got back to me who has a plot in the same allotments...plus someone has offered me strawberry plants.....

i cant wait to get runner beans and potatoes in, as there is nothing like a plate full of runner beans new pots...and some lovely fried bacon, with some butter over the pots and runners....mmm my mouth is watering allready at the thought of that......i know it doesnt sound healthy with the butter,, but at least it will all be fresh and local....
i am sure i have seen somewhere..or read, at the bottom of my plot, the grass and weeds are thicker, so could i place black plastic over some of it, and cut holes and then plant potatoes....would that work, and kill 2 birds with one stone so to speak....so the weeds would die back, and the potatoes grow and break the soil up ?
is it to late to sow leek seeds to put in after the pots?....

even though i havent got my smallholding that i allways wanted...this is the next best thing.. at least i got some land to grow...i allready got some cheickens and ducks ,so i am getting there slowly.....

do you find you get a lot of surplus to freeze ?

i am so excited about my plot it feels like:xmastree:

tiredwithtwins · 21 May 2006 at 9:24PM

lol.....your enthusiasm is infective!! makes me wanna go outside and start digging the garden over, rain or no rain! (or it would if it wasnt 9.25pm and dark out!!)

just wanted to wish you luck with it....sounds like your enthusiasm and eagerness will help your bumper crop along

COOLTRIKERCHICK · 21 May 2006 at 10:25PM

hi.. thanks tiredwithtwins.....i really cant wait for all this rain to stop...so i can get started.......i will prob...do to much on the first day of starting, and end up with aches and pains, and blisters... but hayho.....if it means that my food is going to be fresh...andi know there are no chemicals sprayed on them, and not being flown thousands of miles to be on my plate.i dont mind....
what really made me make up my mind about trying to grow my own veggies, was a book i read called not on the label... cut a very long story short. an undercover reporter went to work in various food factories etc... and it is shocking,, how our food is grown and prepared...and as i have worked in various factories which deal with food...i know she is not exagerating....
and at the end of the day....i feel the supermarkets what us to belive that they have our health and the quality of our food at the top of their agenda... when it is totally at the bottom..... PROFITS.... is all that they care about, and who has the biggest share of the market....
so i allways recommend people to grow something, even if it is cress for their egg and mayo sarnies..or some salad stuff in pots....
let me know when you start digging....maybe we can compare blisters....

take care............happy growing.....................

culpepper · 22 May 2006 at 12:04PM

Mulching is useful if you cant get there every day as it will retain water around the plants.The white fleece is good for protecting any brassicas against cabbage butterflies and permeable so if it rains the plants get watered.
I started my veg patch last may and the first thing I did was dig a 20 X 5 bed and plant potatoes.Then I did another and sowed french beans.The rest of the garden I did in 20 X 5 beds and as I did each one,I covered it with weed supressing black material,plastic,corrugated iron or cardboard so I could get on to the next bed without constant weeding of the finished beds. I used a pick axe and we burned a lot of very big roots.
You will be able to get onion sets around about august/september and could plant them out and leave them all winter to harvest early next July.
The old war time allotments were 10 rods but were laid out in rows,a lot of people use raised beds now which means you can plant closer in grid formation and get much better yield so I should thnk you could easily feed 4 from that area.

Anastacia · 22 May 2006 at 8:00PM

More brain picking of the allotment specialists please !

We have just got the keys to our long awaited allotment as well. Its brand new with georgeous nearly black top soil. Needs weeding but not an un-manageable amount. But the rain just wont stop long enough to do anything. My dad says not to go on it or we'll just turn it into a mudbath. Is he right in saying that our plants will catch up ?
Also we are starting with a 5 rod patch for my family of 4 & my sister & her husband. Do you think we are right in thinking we should ask for another 5 (atleast) ?
Lastly, whats the conscensous on chicken keeping. I think you all managed to put me off last time I asked but I am ready to be put off again now! There are some cute fat little brown hens running about over their now.

Thank you
Anastacia

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i now have an allotment..help..help..help..

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