Beginner's allotment basics

Prudent

This week I got offered a quarter allotment plot. The plot is in bad condition, overgrown, very uneven and full of hundreds of bits of tiny plastic and other rubbish. I am though really delighted. Progress will be slow as I have a disability and my partner is well into retirement, but the allotment association are happy for us to do things in small steps.

I want to keep costs down as much as possible and I am wondering what are the basics needed in the early stages. Neither of us can manage heavier DIY so we accept that this will mean buying some things rather than making them. Tools are not too much of an issue. We already have some for our small garden and there is a shed of communal tools at the allotments. 

My initial thoughts are:  

A compost bin (I think one will do to start as we are taking the weeds home and putting them in our brown bin)

A long hose as the plot is quite a distance from the tap

Some long planks of wood to section off beds 

Some membrane and something to make paths from (suggestions welcome) and create a wee seating area. I will need to sit down and rest frequently.

twopenny

Sounds good.
I'd start with the seating area and the paths to make life easier. It will give you time to think about where you want the layout as thoughts can change re how to make it easier to manage.
Its a good opportunity to just work on the clearing and getting the soil in good easily workable condition at this time of year.
You'll get to meet people and look at how they are doing things.
Have you got somewhere there to store some items? 
Where will you grow your seeds? Or maybe it would be better to buy in small for the first year.
Oh and check the direction of the sun. You may need to think of shade by growing some taller things to shelter others the way things are going.
Congratulations!

Farway

Sounds good, but please check if hoses are allowed before you jump in. Often they are not for various reasons, some of which are selfish folk hogging the tap, leaving hoses running for hours etc

You may get the OK nod from your association due to your disability and not able to carry cans etc.

Prudent

Thanks, Farway. Yes, hoses are allowed.

Prudent

twopenny I don't have any storage so initially, we will have to take everything with us. So far I have just spent ages sitting on the ground picking up the tiny bits of plastic as I want to avoid digging them into the ground. OH has been digging out thistles to make it easier for me. At some point, we will need to consider storage. I am hopeful this might lead to a bigger plot as they work by allocating a small one first to see how you get on. They are decently sized plots so even if I could get a half plot eventually I would have space for a small shed and a small polytunnel. 

LessImpecunious

You might like to consider a no-dig approach to your new plot - the claim of no-diggers (and my experience as a newish convert - in a garden, not allotment) is that it is labour-saving especially in terms of ground preparation and ongoing maintenance (weeding). There's lots of advice at https://charlesdowding.co.uk/faqs/ and, specifically re. allotments, at https://charlesdowding.co.uk/allotments/; and a very helpful FB page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/Undug

One advantage of no-dig would be that you might not need to dig out every small bit of plastic (though you might want to remove larger rubbish), as you would be planting into a mulch of compost laid over the soil, which remains permanently undisturbed (unless you need to dig out perennial weed roots). I would avoid membrane under paths (or anywhere), and recommend woodchip for making paths (often available in bulk at allotments - tree surgeons happy to offload their waste!); wood/planks for edging beds have some advantages but tend to harbour slugs and snails, though can be useful temporarily to create your beds. Also, would highly recommend saving every bit of weed/green waste you can - not disposing of it elsewhere - to make a compost heap (a bin helps to keep this together, but not necessary - though a few pallets tied together works well) - whatever kind of growing you do home-made compost is one of your most valuable (and money-saving!) resources.

Prudent

Thank you so much LesImpercunious. What a wealth of advice in one post! We will take membrane and boards off the list. Some people do have woodchip down so I could ask where they got it. There is no woodchip supply already at the allotments. Do we simply compact the soil and lay the woodchip on top? I think we will need to dig the ground to some extent as it is full of ridges and dips. It will need to be levelled out to be workable. We are making progress on the plastic, but as some bits are just a few millimetres there is inevitably going to be some left in the soil. I picked up bits this morning and my partner worked on lifting weeds. There is quite a lot of waste such as drink cans, roofing felt, and odd bits of metal under the surface of the soil too.

Thankfully there is a big pile of manure and we have been told to help ourselves. 

I had wrongly thought that I shouldn't compost weeds in case the seeds are put back into the soil. Composting them at the allotment will be much simpler. 

LessImpecunious

Prudent said:

Do we simply compact the soil and lay the woodchip on top?

I think we will need to dig the ground to some extent as it is full of ridges and dips. It will need to be levelled out to be workable.

We are making progress on the plastic, but as some bits are just a few millimetres there is inevitably going to be some left in the soil. I picked up bits this morning and my partner worked on lifting weeds. There is quite a lot of waste such as drink cans, roofing felt, and odd bits of metal under the surface of the soil too.

Thankfully there is a big pile of manure and we have been told to help ourselves. 

I had wrongly thought that I shouldn't compost weeds in case the seeds are put back into the soil. Composting them at the allotment will be much simpler. 

No Dig methods often suggest laying cardboard on soil with woodchip or compost/manure (paths or beds) on top - this helps if you have persistent/perennial weeds underneath which you haven't managed to remove all of - but otherwise woodchip straight onto soil...

Agreed, you'll need to level, but maybe with minimal digging - maybe slicing off a layer on humps and moving into hollows? depending on how many perennial weed roots (as well as rubbish) you need to get out...

Good composting (with the heap heating up) should hopefully reduce seed population - best if you can cut weeds down before they seed - but the benefits of composting as much material as you can almost certainly outweigh the disadvantages (perennial weed roots in compost will often try to regrow, but occasional turning of the heap (or picking out and throwing back into the heap when removing compost) will usually kill these too)... Good luck!

twopenny

I hope you'll post photos of your progress 

silverwhistle

First thing I did when I got my allotment (apart from the clearing.. aargh!) was build a compost heap from pallets. It's a two bay one, like an E, into which all the green waste goes, some of the horse dung that gets delivered to the site along with grass cuttings from my neighbours and sawdust from another neighbour. It's now a haven for frogs and slow-worms. I also have a scounged Dalek composter which is handy as I can lift it, spread the contents and then move it around the plot..

You'll find most people very helpful and may well get some seedlings when somebody has unexpected success, and if you reciprocate when you get good germination of seeds everybody wins.

Have a wander round the site and you'll get plenty of ideas, even if you never achieve the success and tidyness of some of the plots. You'll see messy ones too which I always find heartening. :-)

Prudent

Thank you silverwhistle. Those ultra tidy plots are a long way from where mine is just now. I have a source of compostable coffee cups which will also go in my compost. I have trialled them at home in my Dalek composters and they are composting nicely.