1st allotment advice

Good Afternoon,

The plot i have been lucky enough to get is on a new housing estate and is a new allotment site, i am the 1st person on the plot so where do i start?

the plot is mud with a few weeds covering the area, do i need to fertalize every area im looking to plant or just the potatoes area?

Im a complete novice when it comes to growing fruit and veg but am very eager to learn.

 

Sorry its also covered in lots of different size stones.

Thanks

 

hi Paul and welcome to the site
pull up the weeds, get some old manure dug in and what you aren't going to plant straight into cover over so you dont get weeds growing back through, i am sure that those with more expert advice will be along shortly, take a look through other peoples post and you will pick up more ideas
we all start with no or little knowledge but we help each other along

 

the stone just pick out the big ones as you go

 

Ok Thanks Kaz, i get access to the site on the 1st November and am really excited to get started.

Reading books and researching on the internet and its all so confusing lol.

Im guessing as its a brand new site i wont need to do any double digging or is it best to anyway.

 

Paul
any chance you can take and post pictures of what the plot looks like now, also any advice that we give can be different depending on where you live so can you give us the area you are in and any idea what your soil type is ( dont panic a good discription of colour and texture will give us an idea )
Double digging is good if the ground is solid ( if you are adding manure do it at the same time to save energy and time ) but growing spuds in solid ground will help break the soil too,

 

also do you know what the land was before ?

 

i will post pictures and details of soil when i can access the site fully (ie next week)

My location is Basingstoke in Hampshire, the housing development is built on farmland a few years back and the allotment is on the edge of that so guessing the same land.

 

What is the soil like? Sandy or clay? If you say its "like mud" then I expect its clay.

If so I would double-dig it, incorporating rotted manure between the two spits, and then leave the surface rough for the frost to break down by the spring. (If you don't know what is entailed in double-digging please ask )

If heavy clay you could also consider raised beds - either posh ones with boards around the edges, or "lazy raised beds" (like mine!!) where you just dig a spade's depth from the "paths" and heap that onto the "beds". Make the beds 4' wide, no more, so you can reach them from either side and the paths wide enough that you can kneel in them at a bit of an angle - so width equal to a bit less that your height from foot-to-knee - and then NEVER walk on the beds. You won't have to dig them again (The fact that the "raised" bit is only a few inches higher than the "lowered" paths will still make a significant difference to the drainage of the clay)

You will be in time to plant some Autumn Garlic, but for the rest I would let the weather at it through the Winter and plant in the Spring.

You could also consider planting [i.e. now] some soft-fruit, e.g. Raspberries. If you were able to plant a row at the South-East end (i.e. facing the prevailing wind) they would help shelter the rest of your plot from the normal day-to-day breeze

Consider crop rotation - ideally split the area into 4 zones, and rotate crops around them (ask here for how, or have a look in a book). I find that my brassicas need twice as much space as anything else, so I have 8 zones - 4 for the normal veg rotation, and another 4 which includes one for Brassicas, and other areas for cut flowers and some other veg like Sweetcorn

I do sincerely hope that the builders never went anywhere near this land before it became an allotment and that it transitioned directly from field-to-allotment, otherwise you'll need to dig out all their buried rubbish.

Think about compost heap location, and anything else to put in an "industrial" !! section of the plot. Shed maybe?

Do you need a book? First purchase should be Dr D G Hessayon's "Vegetable and Herb Expert" - that might actually be the only one you ever need! but if you would like something that is a reasonable cover-to-cover read have a look for books by John Harrison. They tend to be entry level, and his "month by month" books are a "read" rather than just a reference. If you want something more detailed then I like Joy Larkcom's "Grow your own Vegetables"

As you are new to this then in the first year grow only what you know you like to eat. Failures on a crop that you enjoy eating won't seem too bad, but failures on a crop that you may only be mildly interested in growing will feel like you have completely wasted your time. Also, if you have to make a choice between THIS and THAT then go for things that:

Taste better from garden than supermarket. Top of my list in that category is Sweetcorn, but anything where the Supermarket varieties are bland (varieties the farmers grow are for convenience of harvesting / supermarket handling & shelf life, rather than Flavour)

Expensive in Supermarket. Runner beans, for example. Asparagus (takes about 3 years before your first crop though). Conversely Main Crop potatoes are very cheap to buy in the shops, and farmers have fantastic cool storage to preserve them over winter - your's will all be sprouting in the cupboard by Christmas! so give Main Crop spuds a miss - but First Early Spuds are expensive in the shops, and taste fantastic freshly harvested.

If the allotment is near your home then consider if you coudl "pop in each day" to pick food for the table. If you are only going to be able to get their once a week then consider growing things that don't need picking 3 or 4 times a week - such as Runner Beans

 

Hello and welcome Paul.

I can't really advise, Kaz knows more about this stuff than me

All I'd suggest is to turn it all over, pick the larger stones and roots and debris out as you go along, and get some manure in there.

Once the plot is clear of weeds, make sure the perimeter fence is good. You don't want rabbits getting in once your veg starts to grow. They'll destroy everything.

 

Good point.

Re: Stones

Remove any large enough to warrant it as you dig, as others have said. I don't have a lot of stones in my patch, but when I'm working there I have two buckets, one for weeds and one for stones, and I pick up any that I find. The stones get tipped into a pile at the edge of the plot and then next tie I need some stones for a path, or drainage etc., I have a ready-pile

 

Thanks there is some excellent advice there, I will know more about soil when I get my keys but with regards to the manure, where would I get some and how much do I need? Do I just get bagged stuff from home base?

 

Do you drive? If so, your best bet is to ring round a few local riding schools/livery stables and just ask if you can have some. Some of the more modern thinkers sell it, but I think most are just glad for someone to come and take it away because it saves them a job.

Then once you've found some, get a roll of heavy duty sacks, Wilkos do rolls of 20 that are not quite as strong as proper heavy duty stuff but a lot stronger than bin liners (don't use bin liners), then just pop along. If you grow taties in the first year, you'll get away fine with very fresh manure, otherwise you'll have to stand it somewhere to rest for a few months before use.

Get as much as you can carry/are allowed to take. Hire a van or pickup if necessary.

 

No, you need too much / will be too expensive!

As Clueless1 says. However, many allotments arrange communal deliveries of manure - you just have to be there, on the day, with Barrow, Fork and Elbow grease!

If you allotment is new then perhaps this is something that you/someone could organise?

Others may disagree, but if you are digging for first time this Autumn then fresh manure would be better than no manure. It will have rotted quite a bit by the Spring.

But much better would be well rotted (6 months minimum) if you can get it. Many stables have huge piles, some of which have been stood there for years! Well-rotted won't smell, which will be benefit if using family care to transport it although it will still be messy to handle, so you'll need ground-sheets / heavy duty sacks, or a pickup, or a farmer willing to deliver a trailer load.

 

P.S. Don't put the manure on the bed (which is part of your crop-rotation) where you will be growing roots (Carrots / Parsnips) next year