Just got an allotment (Merged)

kiwifruit_2

I would love an allotment but there are none avaliable in our area.....does anyone know if it is ok to apply to a neighbouring village that has vacant plots avaliable or is this a no-no??? thanks

charlies_mum

kiwifruit wrote:

I would love an allotment but there are none avaliable in our area.....does anyone know if it is ok to apply to a neighbouring village that has vacant plots avaliable or is this a no-no??? thanks

It can't hurt to ask - apparently lots of the allotments where I have mine are rented to people outside the local area.

albacore1854

Your local council has a duty to provide you with an allotment.

It's a little known fact but, if you find four people liek you, and all request a plot, the council must act.

kiwifruit_2

lol albacore but i fear finding 4 people like me would cause them to run and hide instead of finding us an allotment lol.....there are (i think from memory) 13 allotment sites in the town i live but they all seem to have waiting lists, yet the village next to us (less than 5 mins by car) has 2 allotments with vacancies, but because Im abit spongybrained with it comes to the 'rules' of allotments I didnt know whether to embarrase myself by enquiring. Anyway with a bit of prompting now - I shall ask lol......thanks

GreenNotM

Hi C's Mum

Great advice in #40 & #38. I won't mention aspect to N&S etc or to maybe put in extra beds for sweet corn, etc etc

But first, even before the shed is to put up a compost bin ( 3 pallets :money: ) or at least select the site for it and start to put any green material there. Your council may do cheap/reduced ones. And then you will have somewhere to put ur pee . What not to put in the compost bin is another matter.

Look at getting the best tools you can, the right size and preferably stainless steel - you can pick up S/S spades and forks for £1 in ASDA - but at the end of the season.

Don't try to dig too much just a few inches at a time, other wise you will end up breaking the fork/spade. As it is only your first year look at having 4 foot wide beds - this way they can be tended with out walking on the soil. And dig the bed narrow-ways the 4ft length - it will seem less work and look like you have done more ( Dig going backwards ) No need digging over the paths where nothing is grown. Try old carpers to surpress the weeds on the paths and hoe twice, at weekly intervals, before planting to help exhaust the seed bank. (Seed bank = all the seeds waiting for the right time.depth.warmth to germinate in your soil) The idea of having lil boarders around the bed is that the soil is not compacted so it is higher then the compacted soil on the paths.

Please do not give up on flowers - they are helpful for attracting pollinators and predatory insects. Some are even edible, the flowers and seeds not the insects :rolleyes:.

Anyway before the internet ppl used to read books:eek: A good one for beginners is "Vegetable and Herb Expert (Paperback) by D.G. Hessayon"
Reviews at Amazon but WH Smiths have it 40% off..
My 1985 version gives ideas on yield - per plant or 10ft row etc. Reading the reviews, it still contains excellent information from where to start digging over, soil care, crop rotation etc to cooking and storage.

HTH

GreenNotM

kiwifruit wrote:

the 'rules' of allotments I didnt know whether to embarrase myself by enquiring. Anyway with a bit of prompting now - I shall ask lol......thanks

My allotment assoc gives allotments to locals first and then non-locals most places have to be open for all, so they cannot turn you down.

This is the right time of year to ask as the tenancies are up and rents are due etc and you can get ready for the growing season ...

katskorner

On a growing note: one of the best things I grew last year was sown as a bit of fun and yielded really well. Try butternut squash scrambling up a fence. Our allotment is all fenced because of rabbits and this year I plan to grow alot more butternut squash around the fences on the inside of the allotment as the ones I had last year were gorgeous and we had some roasted on Christmas day along with my own parsnips and carrots and potatoes. The kids loved it too!

albacore1854

In year one its a learning curve, anything you produce is good, but it won't be economical. In year two you can look to improve, along with the soil, and learn from mistakes in year one. By year 3 you should really be aiming for a degree of self sufficiency.

kiwifruit_2

wondering if anyone on here can help me pleaseeeeeeee In NZ, we commonly use a product called 'Pea straw' for mulching and as a good source of nitrogen for the soil etc.....I cant seem to find anything other than straw over here in the UK, and am wondering if A: its a product people use over here and B: is it called by another name or C: is there a similar kind of product people use??... Pea Straw if your not familar with it is, as the name suggest, the left over Pea plant once it has finished producing and has dried so it is like a 'straw'....it is then baled and great for the garden. Theres a picture of it (albeit not a great picture) on the following NZ gardening site about half way down the page....thanks in advance :beer:
http://www.bestgardening.com/bgc/howto/careborders07.htm

clairefun

albacore1854 wrote:

Bring back Geoffrey Smith, even Titchmarsh.Surely the BBC can put her, Monty Don, and Rachel de Thame out to grass.

Ooh no, not our lovely Monty Don. He gets so passionate about it all! And he loves to get stuck in and get his hands dirty...there's something I like about that . A lot.

Might just have to go have a cold shower now...