Part 0800.0005

[millymollymandy]

After waiting for three and half years I have an allotment. They have given space for 50 new allotments on my estate and I got one. They are all barren and at the moment mine has a big puddle in the middle because of all the rain

 

I need a shed and a plan!

 

I have access to horse manure and obviously lots of chicken poo but am I right in thinking that it needs to be rotted down first rather than digging in fresh stuff?

 

It is rather daunting as I have 100 square feet of allotment to fill so not sure where to start, any advice?.

[Snowy]

Oooh nice one!

My allotment was the same - a barren piece of field with a peg at each corner!

First you need to decide how you are going to work it - as segmented, raised beds, or as a whole patch with a path down the middle.

Does it need much clearing? And what needs clearing - weeds or couch grass? Mine was all couch grass - I tried digging it out, but it beat me. I wish I'd used glyphosphate on it to start with - even though my aim was organic, the couch grass just laughed at me!

Will you have a path between each plot, or are they all next to each other? If they are, it helps if you can agree to have paths between each one, by using say a foot of yours with a foot of theirs and share maintenance of the path. This gives you more room to work with and stops your plants encroaching onto their plot and vice versa. I have a shared path on one side of my plot which works really well. The other side involves adjoining growing areas and my rhubarb is constantly growing over my neighbours plants.

[Olly]

I haven't had an allotment for some years, but I do remember that daunting feeling! Plan it out - a very good point by Snowy about the paths - and break it down into beds, and work one bed at a time. That is a big allotment! It might be sensible to plan e.g. to cultivate half of it to begin with, and just keep weed control on the other half so you don't annoy the neighbours, until you have got things up and running.

 

Think about where you want a shed (ideally not too far from the main path, as otherwise you'll have to carry things the whole length of the allotment every time) and where it will cast shade. Are you going to put fruit trees or bushes or similar in - where do you want those? Is there any shade cast by existing trees? How big do you want to make the beds, and are you going to aim for a greenhouse or a polytunnel in the long term? Even with raised beds, you can change your mind and move things about later, but it's worth a bit of pre-planning. Make sure your paths are wide enough to get a wheelbarrow up and down easily, and don't make the beds so big that you can't reach the middle from the path.

 

I also think glyphosate is worth considering, although not organic it does break down safely and it could save you a lot of work at least for the first couple of beds. I would plan some short-term crops that will come up quickly as this will keep you feeling motivated while you work on the other areas. It's probably worth hiring a rotovator, if the ground is completely untouched, although this will chop up couch-grass and perennial weeds so if you're going to use glyphosate, do that first.

 

Re the chicken manure, yes it is too 'hot' to use immediately on young plants, and there could be a health risk for veg crops as well. No reason why you shouldn't spread it on areas that you are going to cultivate in a month or two however, and let it rot down that way. Horse manure is 'cooler' and generally doesn't need to be left quite as long, again it would be a good mulch for uncultivated areas. Good luck!

[sjp]

re horse manure theres a bit on here about contaminated manure these also a bit about starting a new plot that mieght be of help http://www.sandwellallotments.btck.co.uk/

personally I wouldn't rotovate as all that happens as said above is the weed roots get chopped up and that makes life hard in the future the weed killer option is a good one but with the weather as it is this year it might take a lot longer to work than it should, coupled with the fact that glyphosate weed killer isn't what it used to be

[Snowy]

I bought the liquid concentrate of round up from a small garden centre on their recommendation. Applied it with a watering can (kept especially for the purpose!) The first time I used it, it rained in the evening but I noticed some die back after a week. I repeated it about 2 weeks later and this time hit lucky with the weather - it killed off everything! Now I just need to find time to go and clear away the dead stuff I keep a load of plastic sacks in the back of my car so I can fill them and go straight to the tip afterwards. I do struggle to keep my plot in a reasonable state, but even just doing a couple of hours a week keeps on top of it. Any less and it does get out of control! I figure if I can just about manage now, things will improve as the kids get bigger and can either entertain themselves more or provide more effective help!

[counturchickens]

There is a good DVD you can get, called the allotment. I think it was made by bbc Bristol. My suggestion is cultivate a small area and sow some French beans, peas, courgettes, salads etc that you can still sow now, then plan the rest. Harvesting even a little bit will encourage you! Good luck

[chickencam]

We have a huge allotment and it can be quite daunting at times. Start with quick crops like radishes and lettuces. We sow a few lettuce seeds in a 3 inch pot then prick them out as soon as they are large enough to handle usually within a couple of weeks of sowing, into the sort of cell blocks that you buy flower and veg plants in from garden centres, with 12 holes in each and you can get 2 of them into a standard seed tray. You can then grow them on and plant them out within another couple of weeks. It may be worth bouying some lettuce plants from the garden centre to get you started, but don't be tempted by large leggy plants buy small sturdy ones otherwise they run to seed easily.

 

French beans are well worth doing now, either sow your own in pots and keep them warm and they should germinate within a week or so, or again buy plants, they will crop pretty quickly. you can still sow carrots, turnips and beetroot at this time of year and there are usually loads of brassica, courgette and sweetcorn plants around in the garden centres too.

 

Clear a small area first and get something in then take your time with the rest.

[Space Chick]

We've had our allotment for just over a year after 4 years on the waiting list.

 

last year it seemed daunting, so we did a bed at a time approach. This year we are worried we haven't enough space

 

make sure you have walkways between beds, and I'd recommend a greenhouse too.

 

We were going to be organic, but after some rather evil weeds, it was glyphosphate. Then we had mutant slugs so the slug pellets came out!!

 

Mostly, have fun! and remember Rome wasn't built in a day.

[millymollymandy]

Thanks for the advice I think that starting with one bed at a time is a good idea as I could get quite carried away and spend a fortune down the garden centre!

 

There is a path between allotments already which is useful, and thinking about the positioning of the shed is something I hadn't considered. I think I need to go and sit with a cup of tea and work out where the sun is and get growing. I can't wait it's very exciting