SammyKayes Allotment Adventures!

twopenny

I've tried the 'no dig' and it works fine. Only problem was compacted soil after a year or two where I had to walk over/around planting stuff. Also from heavy rains.

So after digging to get the soil good, no dig I am now lightly fork when necessary to keep it aerated.

Mamitch

I recommend Charles Dowding’s No Dig YouTube videos and also Ben Vanheems’ GrowVeg.com YouTube videos- both are inspiring and make it all seem possible. Enjoy watching these videos over the quiet winter months, and making plans for spring on your new plot. 

yp70479

If you like them put garlic and broad beans in pots now for planting out in spring when you have prepped the ground. For basic varieties Lidl's seeds are cheaper than any garden centre or seed catalogue. If you are allowed a greenhouse check out Facebook market place, e-bay Gumtree etc. I got an 8 x6 for £50, sometimes people give them away just to clear space. (but take photos before dismantling). Check out Homebase if your local store is closing for storage boxes, plastic sheds, waterbutts, etc. Check out your weeds!. If you have dandelions, docks, bindweed or couche grass DO NOT ROTOVATE - you will just spread them and make the problem worse. If you can manage it strimmer down any excess growth this winter and cover (woven landscape fabric is best and you can put thick cardboard underneath it). Weight it/peg it down well so it doesn't blow around. Then in the spring peel the fabric back a bit at a time, prep the ground and plant up. Be prepared for LOTS of weed seedlings in the spring, so keep the hoe going and chop them off before they get big enough to seed (hand dig any of the bad perennial ones though). Ask existing plot holders where they get their manure from - it's usually cheaper by the lorry/trailer load, and sometimes people will share a load. Sometimes the council provides bark chip that you can use for paths - especially after Christmas when they chip the Christmas trees.
After 20 years of watching newbies come and go I can tell you the secret is to get a bit of the ground working for you and gradually increase this through the year. Don't try to clear it all and then plant, because by the time its cleared the weeds will be growing back on the first bit you dug. Do a little and often. If you kill yourself digging and then don't come back for 3-4 weeks then the weeds will have grown and you will get disheartened. The best plot I've ever seen was a guy who came down to the allotment each time Coronation Street was on!

CapricornLass

I would echo the little and often approach.  If its really weed infested, then its worth clearing an area which you feel  able to work and keep under control for the first year.  Green manure crops are useful to grow in cleared areas which you don't manage/plan to plant up, provided you turn them into the ground before they flower.  Expand that area year by year- it might take five years or more to get the whole plot under control, but worth it  Strim down the rest of the area, and rake up the weeds.  If you are able to,  putting down cardboard on weedy areas for anything up to a year will help kill the weeds, as will black plastic.  Black plastic will also help warm soil  up early in spring.

A hoe is useful for quickly chopping off weed seedlings on your cultivated ground. I can't see a compost heap?  Its worth looking out for some old pallets and construct some : ideally they need to be a metric cube each, and you will need three of them, one to fill up, one to be busy breaking down into compost, and one which you are using to put on the allotment as compost or mulch.

Potatoes are good ground busters (with a lot of soil movement with all that earthing up).  Think about what you intend to grow.  There's no point of planting a twenty foot row of runner beans if nobody in the family eats them.  Growing crops that aren't available or which are expensive in the shops are also worth concentrating.  Growing soft fruit is also usually worth it, especially if you like things like redcurrants and gooseberries, which are not readily available.  I've also seen other people plant fruit trees like apples and pears. (Cherries are lovely, but every bird in the neighbourhood will make a bee-line for them and devour them long before they are ripe enough for you to eat, so personally I wouldn't bother.)

Its worth talking to other allotment holders, especially the ones that have been gardening there for years, as they will know local conditions, what grows well there, and are usually very generous in providing information and tips and techniques as well as surplus plants.

I think its a lovely idea to involve your MIL.  You never know, she might enjoy it so much she might be happy to help in the rest of the allotment!

sammy_kaye18

RAS said:

You've got strawberries, particularly in the bottom right hand corner.

Now is the time to clear around them, identify any runners the Council haven't cut off as these will make good plants by the end of next season and plant to one side. And possibly lift the old leaves and trim the stems back to 3cm, removing any old fungal infections and hoping the new growth comes through clean.

I had to go back and look then myself! It was all buried under brambles when I took the picture as you can see but yep thats definitely strawberries! I have plenty of them in my own garden but I know in the middle of that patch is the Italiam Arum as well so may need to pull that first! 

sammy_kaye18

twopenny said:

Sounds good

For Chives it's worth buying some already growing. I won't suggest supermarkets because that's very hit and miss. A decent clump of Chives at a GC is around £3. That should grow well and can be divided for next year. Then plant the seeds as well. But they take a long time to establish from seed.

Think about Garlic Chives if you see any. Look fabulous, flower later in the July gap when the bees need something. If cut they can be kept in a pot of water for the kitchen for a while.

Mint? I've put mine in a cheap large pot with the bottom cut off to stop it spreading. Doing ok.

This is a good time to scan the GC's for bargains. Or for things like lavender or mint, take cuttings and bung them in, firm the ground.

Defo make contacts at the allotment site. People often can spare Strawberry plants and Rhubarb.

Oh I didnt know about chives from seeds....I do have some seeds but will keep a look out for plants as well or put them into plan for when Im able to find some plants. 

I am busy scanning GC, sale sites, freecycle and the like for things I can use and repurpose on my allotment. 

sammy_kaye18

ShinyStarlight1 said:

Have you heard of ‘no dig’? A few very successful allotment neighbours have done this. It involves disturbing the soil structure as little as possible while nourishing it. Charles Dowding leads on this - you can find some YouTube videos about it. We’re going to do it next year, after years of normal allotment digging.

I have seen the no dig method. Im debating whether to try it or not as the soil and plot itself seems to have been well cared for and looked after prior to us taking it on. I was thinking about growing straight into the ground in beds but realised its my first year, I dont really know how it fairs with water/drainage/flooding etc yet so I think a basic border made from bricks or boards will help to contain soil etc and I will go from there. I may try a few no dig beds and a few in ground beds. I will still stick to potaotes in tubs though I think as I know I can be sucessful at this - have plenty of tubs I have grown in successfully and dont want to take up bed space if pots works just as well. 

sammy_kaye18

Hello All
Just replying t some messages and checking in. 

I had a minor op just after allotment and today I got my stitches out so I am feeling more able and hoping to get down the allotment soon provided the weather is playing ball. 
I did managed to go down with my son and clear a load of the brambles. I measured the plot and drew it out into a notebook. Made a note of sun direction etc, had a quick nosey what others were growing and had going on, and spoke to a few people. 

Then Monday I went down with my son again. I completely cleared the hard standing, and my son cleared out the raised bed area in the top corner. We put more liner down on the grassed area and I have some on order as well as pegs and extra pegs to make sure it will all hold in place. 

I have been reading The Allotment month by month book and looking through seeds I have as well as scouring free sites, freecycle, local pages, gum tree etc for bits and pieces. MIL has been clearing out her shed as well for bits and pieces too. 
Husband has brought me a shed to store things on the allotment but it also is big enough that I / we'd be able to sit in it if the weather took a bit of a turn. 

I have been thinking about the best way to tackle it and agree that I am working my way slowly from one end to the other. I want to get the hard standing and little beds at the top cleared and everything else is currently covered over. Then when I am happy that they are sorted I will move my way down. 

I was considering growing straight into the ground and making paths around the in ground beds but I think at the minute I will make a basic frame from wood and use that as I dont know what drain off, flooding etc is like and I dont want to plant seeds and plants to have water wash it all away which is quite likely in Wales lets be fair.....

I also think if I work my way gradually I will grow some things and keep them in pots. I think Potatoes for example - I made myself a load of tubs for growing in my garden for potatoes so I may move some of them down the allotment and use those rather than having potaotes take up too much ground space.

Someone asked about manure - we have lots of local farms who regularly come down to the allotment and drop off a lorry load so I have plenty of access to well rotted manure. Im not too sure about wood chips but I think bark might be a good way to make paths etc if I cant find any slabs or bricks to use. 

Son is also a dab hand with building and has promised his grandma a bench to enjoy the allotment so no doubt she will be down there with us fairly often. But he has also said he will make some small pots for her to put things like mint etc in so they dont take over. 

Im still to tackle the Italian Arum. I dont know whether to dig it up and replant somewhere or just offer it up to another plot holder but we will see. 

I will definitely add a weeding hoe to the list, and have noticed a rather well stocked biscuit supply in the tea room. 

Which has also reminded me I have to ask permission to put a structure on my plot so I need to write that too. 

twopenny

What a lovely family you have! And a son who's hepful too - that's a bonus

Begining to sound lovely and yes, tempting though it is to plant stuff the coldest weather is to come so probably best left.

I found that our builders merchants (3) have a crate tucked out of sight where broken items go and unneeded wood. It's been brilliant.

They also sell cheap an end of range sometimes and then there's Sets/Setts for block paving. At £3 each or less I've got them proping up my smart compost heap, some pavers as steps. Then there's broken bricks you can actually build with if you want character or free props for bits and pieces.

Thinking of your paths between plants or accross the plot.

Broken pavers may only have a corner knocked off.