New allotments Autumn 2010 Chat

angeltreats

We got an allotment today! Been trying for about a year and a half but finally the town council acquired more land for allotments and one of the plots is ours They are very new and there are no boreholes yet, apparently they're being done next month.

I have no idea what to do with an allotment, or how to grow anything, but it'll be fun finding out.

diddly74

angeltreats wrote: »

We got an allotment today! Been trying for about a year and a half but finally the town council acquired more land for allotments and one of the plots is ours They are very new and there are no boreholes yet, apparently they're being done next month.

I have no idea what to do with an allotment, or how to grow anything, but it'll be fun finding out.

Me neither really. I am a 3rd yr Student Nurse! :eek: (that is scary enough) so I don't expect to have a lot of time to devote to the lottie, but if nothing else I will have fun learning - and my MIL will be on hand to help - she is a quarter partner lol.

suzybloo

My sister and i got an allotment between us a couple of weeks ago, and have amazed ourselves at how much we have managed to get done. We have very little experience, I only had a veg garden when we were first married 25 years ago, and she has never had a veg garden. Anything we are doing is that shown when we were little by my dad as all veg was homegrown in those days! It has a greenhouse and shed, and only costs £15 per year. There is a toilet on site, and water as you need it. We have managed to get the whole lot dug over and as of today we have 8 dreels of tatties, row of beetroot, 2 rows spring onions, row carrots, 3 green bean wig wams, 2 rows of radish, rhubarb, rows of rocket and 2 rows of onions - and we are only half planted! 12 tomato plants, cucumber, courgette and butternut squash plants are in the greenhouse to be brought on a bit further. The folk around us are so helpful, and giving us plenty of tips. One of them was gardner to the Queen at Balmoral so will have to keep an eye on how the royals do things! This year will be a hit or a miss but even if we can get something out of it it will be worth every minute. Being out in the freshair is an added bonus - plus the suntan is really coming along. My nephew is 12 and is taking a great interest in this so hopefully anything we can teach him will stand him in good stead for the future, as I am sure there will be few people in years to come who know how to do a garden unless we can teach them now.
Hope you are all enjoying your allotment as much as we are!

angeltreats

I went to see our plot yesterday and it's lovely - much bigger than I thought!

I'm hoping to get to Wilkinson today to get a big spade and fork so we can start turning over the ground. Our allotment is in a brand new block that used to be an agricultural field so there are no weeds and no rubbish, nothing to clear away, which is nice, but I have no idea whether I need to put compost/manure/anything else down - can anyone enlighten me?

A few people have started planting already but I don't know where they are getting their water from as the boreholes haven't been put in yet - will have to ask them. I see a few tall tent shapes made from bamboo canes which I presume is for growing beans, and lots of CDs and old beer cans hung around to scare the birds away. Shame you don't get those free internet CDs anymore with magazines One person has put a little shed, but having had a look on Argos etc websites, they are a bit expensive for me so maybe something to think about for next year.

gazza975526570

angeltreats wrote: »

I went to see our plot yesterday and it's lovely - much bigger than I thought!

I'm hoping to get to Wilkinson today to get a big spade and fork so we can start turning over the ground. Our allotment is in a brand new block that used to be an agricultural field so there are no weeds and no rubbish, nothing to clear away, which is nice, but I have no idea whether I need to put compost/manure/anything else down - can anyone enlighten me?

A few people have started planting already but I don't know where they are getting their water from as the boreholes haven't been put in yet - will have to ask them. I see a few tall tent shapes made from bamboo canes which I presume is for growing beans, and lots of CDs and old beer cans hung around to scare the birds away. Shame you don't get those free internet CDs anymore with magazines One person has put a little shed, but having had a look on Argos etc websites, they are a bit expensive for me so maybe something to think about for next year.

If the ground hasnt been used i personally wouldnt bother with any manure etc as there should be adequate nutrients in the soil

The wogwams will be for beans

I wouldnt bother with a shed - they just attract thieves and vandals - no reason to keep things of any real value there

I also think the cd;s are a waste of time and IMHO do nothing to scare birds away - plus they may your plot look untidy

scotsaver

angeltreats wrote: »

We got an allotment today! Been trying for about a year and a half but finally the town council acquired more land for allotments and one of the plots is ours They are very new and there are no boreholes yet, apparently they're being done next month.

I have no idea what to do with an allotment, or how to grow anything, but it'll be fun finding out.

Congrats, just take it slow and steady, get books out of the Library, check the Internet and ask on here - you'll get loads of advice.;)

suzybloo wrote: »

My sister and i got an allotment between us a couple of weeks ago, and have amazed ourselves at how much we have managed to get done. We have very little experience, I only had a veg garden when we were first married 25 years ago, and she has never had a veg garden. Anything we are doing is that shown when we were little by my dad as all veg was homegrown in those days! It has a greenhouse and shed, and only costs £15 per year. There is a toilet on site, and water as you need it. We have managed to get the whole lot dug over and as of today we have 8 dreels of tatties, row of beetroot, 2 rows spring onions, row carrots, 3 green bean wig wams, 2 rows of radish, rhubarb, rows of rocket and 2 rows of onions - and we are only half planted! 12 tomato plants, cucumber, courgette and butternut squash plants are in the greenhouse to be brought on a bit further. The folk around us are so helpful, and giving us plenty of tips. One of them was gardner to the Queen at Balmoral so will have to keep an eye on how the royals do things! This year will be a hit or a miss but even if we can get something out of it it will be worth every minute. Being out in the freshair is an added bonus - plus the suntan is really coming along. My nephew is 12 and is taking a great interest in this so hopefully anything we can teach him will stand him in good stead for the future, as I am sure there will be few people in years to come who know how to do a garden unless we can teach them now.
Hope you are all enjoying your allotment as much as we are!

You've done well to get so much done - it's amazing how addictive an allotment can be, when I'm not on my Plot I'm on here reading about what everyone else is doing or I'm browsing through all my Gardening books or I'm in the Greenhouse potting on my seedlings, I love it.:D

timmmers

Synonymous wrote: »

Hi Guys,

Diddly74 I agree with what's been said, get your name down while you're in with a chance and taken on a half plot or find someone likeminded to share with. I'm currently sharing an allotment and its ideal while I learn coz a full one at the moment would be so overwhelming!

I hope someone can help me with a pea problem - I have bought some mangetout seeds and have no idea how best to sew them and in what formation and how many plants I need! The packet says sew them outside, but the books say start inside away from the slugs in toilet rolls, what is the germination rate like and how many plants will I need when its just me (I will freeze any surplus of course!) and space is limited? How do you support them etc, help!

I got my plot last week and am gonna cover sections of it to kill the growth so it's not really going anywhere just yet, but last year I had the pea problems in my back garden (everything had a go at 'em except me)...this time they are planted with 2ltr milk containers used as cloches over them and they are safe, same thing with a few other things like lettuce while they are young. I may leave the milk containers there and allow plants to grow out of the top if that works, maybe help keep crawlies off a little? YOu need to push them well into the soil in case of high winds which can mess them up as they are light.

t

timmmers

angeltreats wrote: »

I went to see our plot yesterday and it's lovely - much bigger than I thought!

I'm hoping to get to Wilkinson today to get a big spade and fork so we can start turning over the ground. Our allotment is in a brand new block that used to be an agricultural field so there are no weeds and no rubbish, nothing to clear away, which is nice, but I have no idea whether I need to put compost/manure/anything else down - can anyone enlighten me?

A few people have started planting already but I don't know where they are getting their water from as the boreholes haven't been put in yet - will have to ask them. I see a few tall tent shapes made from bamboo canes which I presume is for growing beans, and lots of CDs and old beer cans hung around to scare the birds away. Shame you don't get those free internet CDs anymore with magazines One person has put a little shed, but having had a look on Argos etc websites, they are a bit expensive for me so maybe something to think about for next year.

Sheds being large things can be cheap 2nd hand. I didn't need one and saw loads, so I've no doubt one will turn up soon in one of the two places they crop up.
This page takes your postcode and presents you with local ebay items (usually stuff needing pickup and obviously local), http://www.localbargainfinder.co.uk/ if you don't see a shed, you will see other handy gardening stuff eventually and it can be awesome on price.
Try asking on freecycle for sheds too, that's where my last one went but it wouldn't have if I hadn't seen someone asking to jog my memory. Better to have a shed taken down and removed than need to do it yourself
Same goes for greenhouses too BTW

t

Kieron_n_Stephy

After much badgering our local parish council, last October We was successful in getting our own allotment. Its a good sized plot and was left by previous tenant who didnt tend to it for a year.

Since October we have planned our allotment and have divided it into three areas. We fully dug over the first area, left it during winter months and have just planted broccoli, beetroots, sweetcorn, rhubarb, potatoes, swiss chard and peas. Weeds are still coming up, but I'm on a mission to ensure that every visit we do we have to do half an hour of weeding to ensure we are on top of it.

We also was lucky to acquire a 8ft square summer house and some old victorian bricks, so have set the summer house up, decorated it inside and out, put shelving up and got a sofa, yes a sofa from Freecycle to put into it. We have put this summer house in the third section of the plot under some gorgeous cherry trees, apple tree and one other unidentified tree!

For the second part of the allotment, I've simply covered it over for now with tarpaulin to kill as much of the weed as we can. I've also been on the scrounge for some pallets, cut them up and made some raised beds ready to put into this second part of the plot. I was horrified at how much raised beds ready made was! So used pallets, and only cost me £4 in box of screws to fix them together and another £5 in fence paint to bring them up to stratch.

Stephy and I have agreed that this allotment is an experiment in the first two or three years, see what we can grow, see what works and see what didnt. We aren't going to rush it, just take our time and see how it all develops. We've also made a path on the side using old victorian bricks etc, we aim to recycle as much as we can.

Because Stephy and I run our own business, time is a factor along with our family, however we have noticed since getting our new allotment, we have a new interest in our life, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle and also all the free exercise and fresh air we can ask for. Our three year old Josef loves climbing up the trees at the moment.

We decided to call our plot "Franks Place" in memory of my beloved Grandfather who taught me all about allotments when I was a nipper.

So those who are waiting for an allotment, keep badgering the council for it, those who have recently been successful in getting one, take your time, do a bit by bit, dont rush it otherwise you will burn out.

Kieron :j

loucroft

Franks Place sounds wonderful, you really have done a wonderful job so far!

I have to agree, don't overdo it because its easy to become fed up with it. Concentrate on a small area of the garden, get that cleaned up and planted, and then the visits become weeding, feeding and watering that area for half an hour before moving on to clearing the next section.

Great to read all of your posts, I'm a bit of an oldy ( 2 years not my first year lol )

Loub