Just got an allotment (Merged)

katskorner

Went down to my allotment yesterday with a car full of stuff for the plot and found the council have put locks on the gates and not bothered to tell us the combination code!!! We have been on at them for ages to make the place secure but us allotment holders actually need to be able to get on site! So that has messed up my clearing up exercise this weekend. Plus I found that the wind has damaged my fruit cage and smashed several panes of glass in my greenhouse. I suppose I was lucky though as one allotment had the shed up-ended by the wind.

hex2

Also try https://www.allotments4all.co.uk - nice knowledgeable people.

Noah'strolly

tenuissent wrote:

I've certainly read forum hate mail from people who inherited a neglected allotment with pieces of strong, rubbery, smelly carpet embedded in a thick mat of weeds and nearly impossible to dig out.

That's what happened to me! It was put down to clear weeds but the plot wasn't used for a year or two and they grew through the carpet. I had to dig it up and hack it into pieces small enough to beag up and take to the tip.

Katskorner, the wind had my fruit cage over too. My plastic compost bin and a home made one (both full) were over and the fence at a interesting angle. Mind you, I'm not surprised at the fence - I inherited a seven foot homemade fence mostly made of old palets ( a real wind catcher with little stability!)

I can't wait to plant something, since getting my keys in October I've enjoyed spending two or three mornings a week on my plot clearing and fixing it up but I really want to see something grow!

beefster

I've inherited a plot i would like to utilise to grow my own flowers and veg. Its far too wet to work on at the mo and very overgrown...... I have strimmed the worst of it down a month ago and removed the debris but..... Thousands of small parsip plants from the seeded parents, thistles and grass abound...... Old potaotoes rotting in the ground etc.

Is there anything i can do to give me a head start with the clean up. Thought about covering the whole thing in old carpet / black plastic??

angelavdavis

Yes you can cover it up, it will prevent it getting waterlogged. This will allow you to turn it over when its dries out a bit

katskorner

Get hold of some RoundUp (nothing else works as well) and spray it all in spring. Then lay down compost / manure to feed the soil (unless you are wanting to grow parsnip and carrot as they hate rich soil) and let the worms bring it all down. Turning it over before the cold weather is great because you can rough dig and the frost breaks up big lumps. The weeds won't grow till spring so you can tackle them then.

Flymouse

Beefster, I wouldnt be tempted to cover the ground with old carpet. this has often been used on allotments esp in the past but although it seems a good OS way of recycling its now been realised that apparently carpets are full of nasty chemicals that will leach into the soil. One of our plot neighbours lends us his gardening magazines & I read advice in there recently saying they shouldnt be used for this reason.

angelavdavis

I think that carpet without underlay is the preferred one - particularly wool based isn't as bad.

Personally, I would use a large sheet of tarpaulin or plastic(with some holes in).

Similar to your idea, spent newspapers are also good, they can also just go on the compost heap at the end so you don't have to store anything.

beefster

The plot is approx 40m x 10m and a bit too exposed for the newspapers..... they would blow all over I think!

Re. Roundup. Is it ok to use on a patch you are going to grow in?? All new to this so excuse my ignorance.

I might get a big roll of weed membrane and cover the lot rather than carpet. Shame as i have quite a bit of the old stuff in some old sheds on the plot we have moved to. All for the tip instead then.

angie_loves_veg

beefster wrote:

The plot is approx 40m x 10m and a bit too exposed for the newspapers..... they would blow all over I think!

Re. Roundup. Is it ok to use on a patch you are going to grow in?? All new to this so excuse my ignorance.

I might get a big roll of weed membrane and cover the lot rather than carpet. Shame as i have quite a bit of the old stuff in some old sheds on the plot we have moved to. All for the tip instead then.

papers can make a mess, yes - I used large sheets of cardboard, and they were OK if they were weighted down.

Roundup - not organic (you can get on with being eco once your weeds are under control!) apparently it breaks down 'on contact with the soil' - so yes, use it, it kills the plant via its roots, then plant in the soil - just follow the instructions on the bottle, but it *does* work.

weed membrane (unless you know something I don't) is VERY expensive. If you have carpet anyway, I would use that.... I have used wool carpet with hessian (not rubber) backing very successfully. the more natural the carpet, the less worries you have about chemicals i guess

Just keep asking questions - it's the only way to learn:D

:dance: