The all new 2019 growing your own thread!

JIL wrote: »

We have been offered an allotment, however it's not in a good way, it's full of weeds and clumps of clay mounds.
Any tips of how we can get it useable would be very much appreciated.

I suggest you first look at whether there is anything worth keeping (fruit bushes, for example) - assuming it is a wasteland I personally would use a weedkiller such as SBK stump killer that has glyphosate in it as a kickstart. It is obviously not organic but does not leave a soil deposit. You can then cover the soil with a weed suppressing membrane that will help to warm it up. Then you have a time window to prepare seeds and order plants, design your layout and so on. Buy a soil testing kit and find out what soil you have (clay is hard to work with but usually nutritious for plants). I would urge you not to rotovate at this stage, you could end up with lots of tiny roots propagating (ground elder, bindweed and couch grass are my personal problems)

If your library has one, I recommend borrowing (or you could buy) "Practical Allotment Gardening" by Caroline Foley - I have a copy and keep coming back to it. Think about access (raised areas), paths, composting (burning?), storage, light and what your neighbours are doing.

If you want to break up clay clods (not mounds) then potatoes are a good crop and will "clean" the earth, leaving a much nicer texture after you have grown them. Beans will fix nitrogen into the soil. Mixing clay with grit, sand and leaf-mould will help to improve it and depending on you mound size you could start some compost bins off (pallets are our choice), mixing layers to retrieve later.

I will stop... How exciting for you and the perfect time of year to start!

JIL wrote: »

We have been offered an allotment, however it's not in a good way, it's full of weeds and clumps of clay mounds.
Any tips of how we can get it useable would be very much appreciated.

I use Mypex membrane and whilst expensive means you can cover part of the plot whilst the weeds die down, and concentrate on the rest a little at a time.

Wouldnt it be great if we were all on the same allotment site?

The site where my plot is.....is mainly older men. A few are very friendly but others keep themselves to themselves.

I must admit when I first got a plot over ten years ago......I felt intimidated by all these "experts" who would give me lots of advice, some of which was conflicting.

I quickly learnt to listen to the advice........go away and do my own research and then do what I thought was best for me and my plot. :rotfl:

I've made mistakes along the way but thats part of the fun. Trial and error and even from one year to the next, some things work, some dont. C'est la Vie

Ooh yes, I am very up for the virtual chat over the fence between our various plots. I love learning new stuff and picking up on the tips of others. My plot is looking wretched, it is just a bit too cold and wet for me this week. I have at least dug and cleaned a few leeks. I am going to use them in a past dish instead of the pasta!

Living proof - I got some compost from a garden centre that is local to me.

Today I did battle with the leaf compost in the garden. The structure into which I put the leaves to rot down was looking like a Kansas style tornado had passed over it so I used some bits from the mystery pile behind the shed to fashion a new one. Took a while but at least the leaves are actually staying put now. Also sowed some seeds indoors for Peas, leeks and tomatoes that say they can be sown now. I'm all a bit unsure about it as I usually buy plants but I'm going to have a go. My FIL who was a fabulous gardener used to do this. I wish he was still alive so I could pick his brains.

It's pouring here now so I'm glad I tackled the leaves today rather than leave it for tomorrow (s'cuse the pun).

Any advice welcome on when to sow seeds