please help an allotment newbie

I am very excited to be picking up the keys to my new allotment tomorrow

it is a half plot and quite small - forgot to ask the exact dimensions but I guess about 100m2.

the plot is new and has been cleared - it is currently bare soil with a few annual weeds - no sign of perennials yet....

the people who showed me around the site were saying that i would soon be breaking my back digging it over but I am pretty keen on the 'no dig' method - not through laziness but because I genuinely believe it is better.

So, any advice for me as to where to start - my feeling is to cover half the plot in as much manure as i can afford and as much cardboard as I can scavenge and then cover over with silage sheet and leave it til next year, when the 'no dig' magic will have worked. Is this a good idea?

I am on three month probation so need to get working on something so where to begin with the other half? the dreaded double digging?

any advice gratefully received

thanks,

Emily

 

The 'no dig' theory is a bit of a misnomer in that the area is deep dug (or double digging) with as much compost / manure added and then each year more compost / manure is added and no futher digging done. You must start off by digging. If it was previously pasture, expect wireworms. Cheers, Tony.

 

Thanks Tony, luckily the site was not previously pasture. I think it was probably plots which became overgrown and have now been reclaimed. I'm sure there will be plenty of other pests to worry about though, even if wireworms are not a problem....

My understanding of the 'no dig' system as proposed by Charles Dowding is that it is definitely no dig.... maybe I am not getting it

Anyway, I forgot to mention there is also a potential drainage issue - I am at the bottom of a gently sloping site.... so any advice on the best way to improve drainage would be great. I am hoping for raised beds eventually but this will depend on funds for materials.

 

I really do struggle to understand why modern gardening seems to be so complicated.
I'm probably just stupid, but you dig it, you manure it, and you grow stuff.

No dig, raised beds, double dig, are fine for those that want to make it a lifes work, me I just want to grow stuff.
So I'm probably missing the point.

 

Well, if you're not going to dig it, how you going to tackle the drainage problem?

 

hi pete, i guess my head is just spinning today with what to do as i have only just agreed to take the plot. I'm just reaching out........

i feel like trying to take on the whole plot this year might be stretching myself so thought that the best thing to do would be to mulch the other half and let it take care of itself for a while. From my quick look at it today the soil looks really nice and i don't think it will be improved by messing it about too much.

i think your advice to just dig it, manure it and get on with it is spot on for the rest of the space.

hi clueless, i'm not against digging per se. just on the areas that are going to be cultivated. do you think holes or ditches are best in this situation? i don't want to end up diverting excess water onto another plot. of course, all this is academic as it never rains here anymore....

 

If you dig it, lots of things will happen. First of all, you'll get lots of air into it, which will ensure that anaerobic bacteria (the bad kind that turns your soil sour) can't thrive, whereas the friendly micro-organisms can. Also the soil will be naturally free draining, so your drainage problem goes away. And of course your new plants will have to expend far less effort to push roots through freshly dug soil than through potentially compacted soil.

 

what about comfrey plants on the part your not aiming to use? could use it as fert? prob have to barrier it off as i hear it self seeds but seems a waste to waste space that could benefit what your aiming to grow x no idea about allotments just suggesting x

 

There is a sterile vareity of comfrey that has been especially bred for use as a fertiliser.

'Boking 14' it is. Doesn't seed everywhere, as it is sterile.

 

im not sure how easy it is to get Boking 14 ??? but i think u can contain comfrey roots in large pots if u want to ..but that dont stop it self seeding..it could be a space filler n useful i think,i split a plant last yr and im praying i get loads of leaves for fert on my tom plants of both plants so im not understanding why google search sites say its so vigorous x

 

Very easy

http://www.organiccatalogue.com/p11...g-14-Pack-of-10-Spring-2012/product_info.html

 

I like to think that I'm open to new things. But to me, there's something inherently wrong with just leaving the soil, as with the 'no-dig' method. Sure, I have no doubt that there are merits, but to me it seems 'natural' to get the spade into the ground

 

No real idea myself as I am new too
Only I would at least dig the bit I did not want to use straight away and stick potatoes in it
Then cultivate the half that I did want to use, by digging, fertalising and planting what crop I wanted

Jack McHammocklasing

 

Hi all,

thanks for your thoughts - have been away from GC since the weekend as I have been........... digging the allotment

The going is slow as there are all sorts of lovelies in the soil - couch, nettles and bindweed mainly - yum.

I am surprised by how controversial no dig seems to be here on the forum, but i think i'm gonna go for it on about a third of the plot, so will let you know how it goes.

will definitely find room for comfrey probably under the trees at the back of the plot - so there will be lots of stinky comfrey fertiliser

thanks again

Emily

 

This is a problem. It is the most aggressive, destructive weed I've ever had the misfortune of knowing. It will very quickly kill everything you try to grow, unless you get it under control.

Now here's the problem. Pull it out, and half a dozen new shoots will appear, so in effect you propagate it by fighting it. Digging it out is not an option, as its roots can run 4ft underground in all directions and still send up shoots that find their way through, drawing on energy reserves from their connected growth in plots that are outside of your control. A few years ago a group of scientists tried to get it classified as a controlled species, pointing out that it is as destructive to other plant species as the likes of japanese knotweed and himalayan balsam, but bindweed was classed as native so left alone.

Its not all doom and gloom though, unless you're opposed to the use of chemicals. Bindweed is a proper hard case, and will happily fight all challengers, but it can't beat my mate round-up (other glyphosate based herbicides are available). It requires frequent and persistent treatment though, and once it appears to have been eradicated you still have to do daily patrols to seek it out and spray it.

good luck.