Buddingbudha

Hi guys n gals, newbie here just introducing myself. Sorry about the silly title but it was the first thing that came to mind. I took on a 61 sq metre allottment in March this year which had not been used for about ten years. No previous knowledge or experience. Couldnt wait to get started. Worked my but off digging a few beds, planted toms/peas/beans/onions/leaks/etc. Interesting watching them die off one by one...well not all of them, but first lessons learned..dont plant too soon. Have learned a few things since then and am still enjoying, but it is hard work. would be interested to hear if there are any alternatives to the backbreaking digging. Also, best ways to avoid birds and slugs, and of course grass and weeds.
Love to hear from you all
Regards

 

Hi Buds ( see we all get nicknames here),

Unfortunately there is no alternative to digging, but look on the bright side you have some cracking arms by the time you are done.

61 sq ms, crikey thats gonna hurt, but once you get into it you will find yourself hooked.

What made you jump in at the deep end?

And have you come across trenching and layering and bast8rd trenching and stuff yet-now that is fun LOL


What sort of things have you had success with so far?


And welcome to the forum

 

Welcome to the forum Buds.

 

Hello and welcome Buds.

good luck with the allotment.

 

"would be interested to hear if there are any alternatives to the backbreaking digging"

Have a look at Raised beds.

You can rotovate, but that will chop up all the weed roots, and give you 10x as many. You can get around that by spraying with Roundup before (which will kill everything it touches, but does not persist in the soil), but whilst there are folks happy to use chemicals there are just as many who are not.

You can cover with plastic mulching sheet to prevent the weeds growing - so Rotovate, cover with mulching sheet, plant through the mulching sheet in the first year.

But raised beds is the best of all IMHO.

 

Welcome on board :D

 

Good evening Buds, and welcome.

 

Welcome along buds, are you into buddhism as well as budding plants?

Jane x

 

Thanks for all the lovely welcomes, makes me feel just at home. Someone mentioned "trenching & layering" sounds great...What Is It?

 

welcome to the forum buds :thumb:

 

to the site BUDDINGBUDHA I do hope you will join me in the allotment section as I'm a newbie allotmenteer myself!.Hel.xxx.