I'll get some piccies once I've worked out how to get them off the new camera ... i've got a little video of it so I'll work out how to do that and then you'll be able to see. We've finished weeding it all - docks, bindweed etc; and also managed to get through the 'hill' a matthook (sp?) had to be used to dig with in places, it was also useful for digging out the rosemary 'tree' roots. It's been sort of leveled out as well now as one side was a couple of feet higher than the other. Hel - I'll get it on here today if I can otherwise got to wait for the other half to finish work and do it for me, lol. I haven't got a before piccie but theres another allotment that about in the same state as ours was so I'll get a piccie of that one.
katherna, look forward to seeing pics, you mentioned a seating area by shed thats what i eventually am doing was just wondering how you are doing it as i was going to get large paving slabs from no frills they are only £1.47 each and you have to put a good layer of sand then put the stone slabs on top i was going to use around 16 of them and put my little 6x4 shed on top and put heather screening and little picket fences around then sitting area my table and chairs with umbrella. good luck in how you are arranging it iff you dont want to do it this way, was also wondering how long you had waited for your allotment
The piccies aren't on the camera :( having to look through hubbies hard drives .... might take some time though. I'm going to take the camera upto the allotments later if the rain holds off and then I'll come back and post straightaway. Personally I think he's deleted the pics and video as I was trying to work out how to use it or maybe he thought it wasn't important :( Fingers crossed I can remember how to use it, lol, piccies up later on today of .... soil, lol, as we've managed to level it (well sort of anyways) and the plants we found on there as well.
Finally got some piccies. As you can see we're pretty much surrounded by allotments that have been neglected - we'll be getting new neighbours soon though. One taken from each corner. (Hopefully I've managed to upload the piccies right)
Another thing, no several things you could put in before the winter. If you like it plant garlic in the autumn - October. good choice of varieties in the catalogues now. Broad beans Aquadulce. Good early crop before the spring sown ones. I use polythene tunnel cloches and sow Spring onion Ramrod and Carrot Parano in the autumn. You can also sow hardy annuals for early cutting such as Cornflowers, larkspur and Calendula. To keep the ground reasonably weed free and stop the nutrients washing out in the winter rains you can also plant up any bare ground with winter tares. This is a green manure crop and you are basically growing your own manure. For that I would look at Moles Seeds http://www.molesseeds.co.uk/ They sell to the professionals but they will sell to the general public. Sometimes you pay a little bit more but get many times what you can get elsewhere - particularly applies to green manure. Their seed is good, much better germination than some of the ordinary seed firms. Professional growers wont stand for rubbish. If you want to put in fruit then this winter is the time to put it in - strawberries, fruit bushes, rhubarb. I managed to get an allotment a few months before you, but mine is a privately rented one on its own, 2 1/2 times the size of a normal full size plot. Its big and the weeds were 6 foot high! I have just taken delivery of a 20 X 12 foot polytunnel which I have to erect and I have to put in a gate and 100 metres of fencing - to keep the bunnies out and my German Shepherd in. A lot to do but it is exciting. I wish it were closer than 3 miles away, otherwise I would have chickens there. I am putting some of my bees on the plot next year.
Went up there yesterday, not as many weeds as I thought there would have been, those pigeons did a good job of picking up the weed seeds. Hubby got stuck in with the hoe and I got my mum a multi pronged cultivator (she's pretty made up about that one as she's a bit arthritic and can now do something). I'm potting and rooting runner from the strawberries as I don't know how long they've been in the ground, plus they're not in the right place for where we want them. I remembered to take up the hosepipe to fill up the waterbutt as well as bucketing the water in a soft bucket (trug thing) isn't ideal. All the things we've moved haven't died lol, so they got a water when we were there. Also marked out a few paths so it's starting to look more like an allotment rather than like a patch of soil. I've got to take my string up there later on to mark out the paths a little better so my little boy doesn't run all over the plot where we've decided some of the beds are going. I got a bargain from B&Q for my little boy grow your own sweet peas, nasturtums and butterfly mix all reduced to 10p each. So thats his garden at the allotment and his flowerbed here sorted out for next year. Theres a delivery of manure at some point in the next couple of months - 50p a barrow (we've got a big barrow) so will be making full use of it, plus it's delivery point isn't too far away from our plot so not far to walk if hubby or my dad aren't off work that day. Theres also a fun day tomorrow so we'll be going to that. Geoff - we don't have a problem with bunnies luckily enough, a badger family does come through but were at the opposite end so not too much of a problem. I know that theres a fox that comes down the side we're at - maybe thats why there are no bunnies. If we were allowed I'd have chickens not sure about bees. I found a rhubarb (not sure about when to move it, was just going to wait till it started to die down for the winter and then move it) and have been offered some raspberry canes when someone is splitting theirs so not looking too bad on the fruit front at the moment. I'm only five minutes walk away from my allotment and I don't work (fulltime mum to my little one and will be looking after my grandson from Sept) so popping to the allotment isn't difficult if something small needs doing, anything large then I have to wait until hubby or my dad is off work. Rosa - I was on the list for just over a year. I started off 20th and was told it could be a few years, by new year I was 13th and mid July I was at the top. Lots of people do drop out of the lists as theres a wait but hang in there and you'll get yours. Remember your tools and shed etc; won't go out of date or anything like that, so by the time you're at the top of the list you'll have everything you need for your plot, unlike us, lol, we had the basics - hand tools, hose pipe, wheel barrow, those type of things but didn't have a shed we could use. My dad is now pulling pallets apart to make a small one we can store everything in safely. We're going to have a little lawn there so small children have somewhere safe to play and can eat. Some sweetpeas are going to be climbing up and probably over (theres a 4' limit on structures) the shed not sure about any other climbers yet, I've already got one piece of willow trellis doing nothing in my shed at home and I'll buy another when they're being sold off cheap locally or in the spring.
My goodness Katherna it's really nice to finally see your plot and by the looks of it you have been working away like mad people, it's great that you have a few helpers after all you will be able to pay them all back come next year with your lovely veg. Good luck and happy digging/planting sweetie.:thumb: Hel.xxx.
Hi Katherna, OMG Blimey the allotment is massive !! I though allotments were a fraction of that size, I am a newbie but plan to grow some veg on an uncultivated area of "garden" we have - id be interested to know how you have been getting on and any updated pics you may have. Cheers Ross
Enjoyed reading about your allotment Katherna! We got one this year as well, and it's so much work to get it up and going after being neglected - but well worth it. Really looking forward to the fruits of our labours next year as we'll be able to get an earlier start than this year Well done - you've accomplished alot in such a short time already.
Congratulations Katherna, You seem to have done loads of work, well done. We, hopefully, will be embarking on this great adventure soon having just been told we are in line for 1 of 5 plots, all VERY overgrown! but I am feeling undaunted and excited. have fun xxx
Just keep digging and cutting back blackberries. 1 good thing is to grow the first year is potatoes, they brake the soil up nicely and have large foliage to cover the area so the weeds dont have much chance to grow. just dont give uo (as lots of new gardeners do on our site) and after 2 seasons you can have an established great allotment, we have bbq-s there, sharing all the great food what we produce, the best thing ever!! (the start is always hard, i was cutting and digging out blackberries for oh long and long hours in the last 2 years)
