Newbie allotmenteer

Cheapskate

Hi everyone,

Couldn't see anything, so am starting a new thread to ask some questions.  

I have grown before, on a small scale in my garden, and have 3 fruit trees in my garden.  I got my first allotment this year, but have done very little. It was very overgrown, so I am basically starting from scratch in the new year.  Not afraid of hard work (of which there will be a LOT), but after some hints and tips, dos and don'ts etc, if this is ok.

I live in West Yorkshire, allotment is on a small site, not a lot of shelter from the elements, and I know one plot holder as she lives around the corner.

I know the tip about using large sheets of cardboard for weed suppression, but please bombard me with anything you feel might be helpful!  Thanks very much in advance!  

A xo

Farway

Just work on a bit at a time, by this I mean don't go mad & stressing trying to sort it all out for this season

I would try & find the spot you will plant your permanent features, like rhubarb, fruit bushes / raspberries etc and get the plants ordered for these spots now ready for the off in Spring [they can be "heeled in" if arriving before you are ready]

Prepare those area first so the new plants can settle in while you think about the rest

PS, spotted elsewhere, sort out where you will site your compost heap, and may be try & source some old pallets for it now?

Jjah

Congratulations on your allotment!!!!!
It will be lovely to have a really large plot.

I'm hoping to learn and be inspired too so will be reading the replies as I'm hungry for horticultural knowledge 😊

Get to know your neighbours at the site.  Greenfingered folk seem friendly and eager to share their tips (and seeds/cuttings ). 

I had advice yesterday to start chitting spuds so have done so immediately.

That's one thing you can be doing on your windowsill at home.

Potatoes even grow in WOODCHIP! So if you are doing the no dig approach to gardening, you can use the potato seed in your mulch over the cardboard. (Tip from My Family Garden YouTube channel).

When you have harvested, the woodchip/mulch will be great for compost use.

Watch as many YouTube vids as you can in your spare time.  Charles Dowding is my personal gardening hero but can be a little overwhelming to see the large scale market garden so immaculately kept.

'My Family Garden' and 'Simplify Gardening' are the ones I'm currently binge watching in the evenings 

Start saving cardboard now! 

The compost bays tip from faraway is a definite to do on your priority list.  It will save you a fortune.

Jjah

Oh another top tip...

Bags of mustard seed and fenugreek seed or other whole pulses can be bought in bulk from ethnic stores for next to nowt!  They are perfect for using as green manure. 

Just feed the land that you won't be able to utilise just yet by growing the seeds and then either dig it back in afterwards or just smother again with more cardboard and mulch to feed your grateful soil livestock populations who will transform it in return

Ps, coriander seed is also great to buy from the ethnic stores in bulk.  Coriander is pretty hardy and it's great to have fresh and on hand.
And don't forget that you can harvest some of the aforementioned green manure for the table too!
Winner, Winner, vegan dinner

RAS

Hi
Since you plan to cover it with cardboard, start by cutting down an area of weeds, checking carefully for perennials as you go. Depending on the local policy, you may have fruit bushes, rhubarb, strawberries, cane fruit or herbs hiding there. Either mulch the weeds under the cardboard or use them to weigh it down. If necessary you can grow large plants straight through the cardboard.

But also check the allotment attitude to digging; one person I know was thrown off for allowing weeds in winter. She was growing  green manures.

Zazen999

Before you do too much, what is the soil like and what are the weeds that you have on the plot?

twopenny

Take a flask of tea and go and have a look at your neighbouring plots.

See what other people are growing and how they are growing them. That will give you an idea of how to deal with the exposure.

If there's anyone there you could ask their advice too. Nothing a gardener likes more than telling others how to do it and it will help you to get to know the characters

Have you already got a copy of the regulations that tell you what you can and cannot grow. Usually it's trees that are fobiden but not always.

It might be an idea to start off some plants at home then and with the seed sales on early this year get a few more packets than you need and you can then maybe swap with others and start a good bond.

Farway

twopenny said:

Take a flask of tea and go and have a look at your neighbouring plots.

See what other people are growing and how they are growing them. That will give you an idea of how to deal with the exposure.

If there's anyone there you could ask their advice too. Nothing a gardener likes more than telling others how to do it and it will help you to get to know the characters

Have you already got a copy of the regulations that tell you what you can and cannot grow. Usually it's trees that are fobiden but not always.

It might be an idea to start off some plants at home then and with the seed sales on early this year get a few more packets than you need and you can then maybe swap with others and start a good bond.

While you are chatting away ask if the previous tenant had "club root" on the plot.

It is often prevalent on allotments and will limit your brassica growing, but forewarned is fore armed as the saying goes

Good idea about the regs on trees, find out before you decide to buy some

DiggerUK

Hi Cheapskate, I'll add my voice to building a compost bin first of all, it's the heart of an allotment in my view. It's also the only 'dustbin' you'll need, unless you want to be carting bin bags of rubbish home all the time. 

Start a regime of using a compost caddy at home, you need a good variety of materials for the healthiest compost.

Once you've got your compost bin in place, deep dig and weed the whole plot. We put all our weeding in the bin. And as others have pointed out, you need to know what soil you are dealing with. 

Would recommend you get potatoes in as a first crop, reason being that you need to dig deep and work the soil..._ 

silverwhistle

Too late to ask for useful Christmas presents! :-)  Last year I got some root trainers and heated propagator, which even in sunny Hampshire were very useful: in Yorkshire... :-)   I've just finished my first year and can second the advice not to do too much. On the occasions you can only manage a short session down there go with a specific aim in mind ("I'll weed that bed") to avoid wasting time. One day I'll organise myself to follow my own advice..

Kantankrus_Mare

Congratulations on your allotment!! I've had an allotment for 16 years.....(cant quite believe its that long as sometimes I still feel like I'm a beginner LOL) 
My tips would be: Grow only what you like to eat
                             Don't try to get on top of it all in the first year.
                             Listen to others advice but read up as much as you can as well                                 and then just do your own thing.
                            Grow some flowers along with the stuff to eat.....good for the                                     bees and makes the plot a pleasure to visit.
                               Get a portable radio......my happiest times, especially during                                   lockdown, has been weeding a bed and
                             listening to my favourite radio staion.
                             Take a flask and snack.
                             Source a greenhouse, invaluable!

Happy gardening and I hope it brings you as much happiness as it has to me!