New allotments Autumn 2010 Chat

scotsaver

Rotwein44 wrote: »

Hello eveyone,

I have just been to view and accept an allotment of my very own! I have just read this whole forum as I am very excited and can't wait to get started. I can't believe it will only cost me £10 (although there is no water supply) for the year from the local church and am itching to get started.

The first job is going to be to get it dug up as it looks like it hasnt been touched in years! I had a chat with some of the other plot holders, including my new neighbours and apparently there is a man with a tractor somewhere nearby who will come and plough the plots for us for a good price so as soon as all the spare plots have new owners they will arrange for him to come and plough for everyone, then he will come back in the spring to rotovate. So I have been hunting for shed/ greenhouses etc on ebay and reading on here for advice! I need to sort out a barrell of some sort for water collection and get some pallets to construct a compost bin!

Am I right in thinking I can now sow onions, shallots, broad beans, peas and garlic? I also have some raspberry, blackcurrant and strawberry plants in pots, can I plant them up now or would it be better to leave them in their pots until the spring? :beer:

rotwien44 - congratulations.:j I remember how excited I was when I got to see my plot for the first time, December last year and I still love it each time I go up there. Had a lot of digging over to do as it had been neglected for some time, also didn't have a lot of paths etc dividing it so I've had a lot to do up there but now have a shed, 2 water butts, 4 compost bins, paths dividing beds, a herb bed and loads of veg planted up.

I put some Runner beans in a few weeks ago and they are poking through already, never grown anything over winter before so can't give any advice I'm afraid but if your Site is anything like ours then there will be plenty of people to give you help and advice - good luck, you'll love it.;)

jedi82

Hello everyone,

We got our allotment about a month ago. It used to be a field and the owner has dug it all over with a tractor, which is fab. The only thing is, when I try and dig there are loads of turves. I have pulled a fair few out (I planted some onion and garlic) but just wondered whether I should be digging it all over now (it is very hard work especially with all the rain we've been having) or is it best to wait til spring and then dig?

Am so excited and am driving my DH mad! So far the kids are loving it (5, 3 and 1) but I think it is because they can squelch in all the mud!!!

Looking forward to chatting over the season!

Jedi x

themole_2

I have just started on my allotment and still finding my feet... bit of a novice and wondered if buying a collections like the Ultimate Allotment Collection is the way to go it is down to £49.99 rather than £74.05.

They have an even better one Supersize Allotment Value Collection priced at £79.99 which is a saving of more than £30 on its normal price of £110.58 but think that is a bit too much. However I see D T Brown run a special scheme for Garden clubs so it might be worth speaking to my fellow allotment owners.

Bargain Seed and Plants for your Garden Club or Society

loucroft

Hi themole

I've learned not only from people at the allotment, but loads of guys here, to try and get seeds for as little as possible as quite often seeds from mail order companies are not always as they seem, I'm sure others will elaborate on that though

Great for you to get started with yours though, hang around here and ask questions if you need to we're all pretty friendly and passionate about our lotties!!

Lou

Heather25

Hi, this is my first year also. I couldn't resist sowing some seeds (cabbage, cauli, peas, carrots etc) in my new greenhouse when it arrived in September and they are all coming up. They've slowed down in the colder weather but what a joy to see something growing. Will they last until March for transplanting outdoors or should I keep them inside with fingers crossed. My father-in-law hangs a hessian bag with sheep droppings in his water barrel and digs seaweed into his soil. He always has a good crop.

loucroft

Heather, the sheep droppings thing is an eye opener but this is the kind of thing that keeps us going - humourous yet useful, a bit like peeing on your compost heap....

CommitedToChange

just thought I'd pop in and wish everyone a belated happy new year.

I can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can get started - I've got my seeds and tools and I'm going to start saving for a shed (as well as advertising on freecycle!)

Hope everyone is making plans :-D

scotsaver

I too can't wait for February/March when I can start sowing seeds in the Greenhouse. Was up at the Allotment this week to just do a little tidying up, not much to do there at this time of year but I miss it so much. Pulled some more leeks while I was there and just looked around longingly at the space/empty beds and picturing what it will look like in the height of Summer.;)

CommitedToChange

I just paid my rent for my allotment and discovered they have pretty much dug it up to fix the drainage problems!!!!! Thank goodness I didn't do much before christmas! Lol at least this might solve the water problem.

cootambear

Rotwein44 wrote: »

Hello eveyone,

I have just been to view and accept an allotment of my very own! I have just read this whole forum as I am very excited and can't wait to get started. I can't believe it will only cost me £10 (although there is no water supply) for the year from the local church and am itching to get started.

The first job is going to be to get it dug up as it looks like it hasnt been touched in years! I had a chat with some of the other plot holders, including my new neighbours and apparently there is a man with a tractor somewhere nearby who will come and plough the plots for us for a good price so as soon as all the spare plots have new owners they will arrange for him to come and plough for everyone, then he will come back in the spring to rotovate. So I have been hunting for shed/ greenhouses etc on ebay and reading on here for advice! I need to sort out a barrell of some sort for water collection and get some pallets to construct a compost bin!

Am I right in thinking I can now sow onions, shallots, broad beans, peas and garlic? I also have some raspberry, blackcurrant and strawberry plants in pots, can I plant them up now or would it be better to leave them in their pots until the spring? :beer:

best to wait till spring for the strawbs