Just got an allotment, where to start

simo28

Hello all,

My father has just got an allotment, 10x10 metres and has no experience in this. It is a totally overgrown plot full of weeds. Obviously the first thing we will do is dig it out (this coming weekend) but how much can we achieve at this time of year?
Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Or recommendations for good online resources or books we should be looking at also.
Thanks in advance.

RebelButtMunch

simo28 wrote: »

Hello all,

My father has just got an allotment, 10x10 metres and has no experience in this. It is a totally overgrown plot full of weeds. Obviously the first thing we will do is dig it out (this coming weekend) but how much can we achieve at this time of year?
Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Or recommendations for good online resources or books we should be looking at also.
Thanks in advance.

Give it a rough dig now and let it break down a bit

Harry Palmr

simo28 wrote: »

Hello all,

My father has just got an allotment, 10x10 metres and has no experience in this. It is a totally overgrown plot full of weeds. Obviously the first thing we will do is dig it out (this coming weekend) but how much can we achieve at this time of year?
Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Or recommendations for good online resources or books we should be looking at also.
Thanks in advance.

Given the time of year treat the winter as prep for the spring, dig it pull every rock and stone, every weed and clump of grass, apply a "dutch" hoe to lightly till the clumpy ground and this will help level out the surface. Once done you could use a winter grass to improve the subsoil but if you're a newbie at this it may be wiser to take the least technical approach (and you're up against the germination clock) - an alternative to grass is to cover the whole plot in a strong mulch - I'd use agricultural strength plastic - the stuff bales are wrapped in. Cover the plot area in a manure or composted material first then cover with the plastic.

This will keep the ground free of weeds and when you pull it off next March it should be ready to start planting/sowing into once the "false seed bed" effect is dug out or dies (any weeds in the soil spring forth as soon as the cover comes off and the sun gets to work) once you've cleared the plot you are ready to go.

looksee

The traditional advice was to grow a crop of spuds first time. Don't know if this is still received wisdom!

Hocus Focus

looksee wrote: »

The traditional advice was to grow a crop of spuds first time. Don't know if this is still received wisdom!

Yes, the thing about spuds is that you dig the ground when putting them in and again when taking them out, with consequent improvement in soil texture.

simo28

thanks to all for the advice. The weeding and digging has begun. Shame we'll have to sit on it till spring but I guess that's the nature of it.
Does anyone know of good books or websites I should be reading?

Harry Palmr

Some links general links to have a look about in

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=84
http://www.jackwallington.com/13-tips-to-help-allotment-newbies-by-an-allotment-newbie/
https://www.nsalg.org.uk/growing-advice/how-to-plan-an-allotment/

by the way while it's up to you I'd really work the plot on an organic basis. Your soil will thank you. Allotment scale is quite small enough to avoid chemical inputs as long as you're taking it seriously and not letting the place go to pot.

ps where abouts are you?

beer enigma

National Society of Alloment and Leisure Gardeners site - UK based - is worth looking at https://www.nsalg.org.uk/growing-advice/monthly-advice/october/

baaba maal

I definitely wouldn't plant it up with spuds! The ground needs to be dug, but I think the real value is growing things that give a good return (in terms of quality of food more so than quantity) or are interesting or unusual- so courgettes, mixed salad leaves (sown in rows but sowed over successive weeks to give small batches of leaves), a few caulis and broccoli, and kale as a winter crop. Soft fruits can also work well.

Also look at what the neighbouring allotmenteers are growing, or what they would recommend.

Any decent veg-growing book should do- the best give a month by month guide to what tasks should be done- really good for getting you through the first year.

Learn to enjoy the processes and don't just focus on the produce!

rolion

baaba maal wrote: »

Learn to enjoy the processes and don't just focus on the produce!

The QOTD !!!
Exactly,enjoy the proces(es),take your time,live it through...
Thats going to be a really nice experience...lifetime maybe!

I will say first year is a learning step,with the excitment built around your first seeds planted, then the first and uique appearnace of the magic green leaf then the huge amount of love and care to plant/move them in the soil,then feed and water...dont wanna to scare you but the annoyance of losing them,of getting them "burned" or yelow or lost will be there too .. the fight with the Mother Nature and the associated pests...

Please come back here and tell us when you finally managed to chat with the plants !

Have fun...

Shrubsandsudz

If your dad is getting the plot now, my advice would be:-

1.rake up all the leaves and **** you can find from nature to compost down. Cardboard, newspaper (but seperate the pages out) food scraps, grass clippings, straw or old hay if you can get it and buy a roll of black plastic.

2. spread all that stuff over the plot, as thin or thick as you can, cover it with the black plastic and let nature do its work. Come april time when the soil is warm enough to work, you'll have killed the weeds, grass, and the worms with have done a lot, if not all the fert work without having to break your back.

3. When it comes time for planting (this is what I do now) is uncover the plot 2 weeks before planting and flame the place.....a roofing torch on a propane tank will do it..(so much fun) burn any sprouting seeds and weed seed and cover it back up. The when you come to plant, flame it again, and plant your little seedlings into weed free, rich compost.

Lazy I know. It does take you to think ahead, but as a first year you can grow much more than just spuds. I don't call it lazy, I call it smart. You will have to weed during the season, but great way to get a jumpstart with minimal work.

simo28

Hi all,

Just an update. We're still digging out the weeds. Slow going because of the weather and possibly because we know we can't really get anything planted so in our heads there's no big rush.
I will keep updating this thread but it looks like the real excitement won't be till 2018.
Thanks again for your advice so far

RegisteredMice

simo28 wrote: »

Hi all,

Just an update. We're still digging out the weeds. Slow going because of the weather and possibly because we know we can't really get anything planted so in our heads there's no big rush.
I will keep updating this thread but it looks like the real excitement won't be till 2018.
Thanks again for your advice so far

In a similar situation, so will be eager to see how you get on.
Best of luck...

Thanks to the previous posters too, great advice.

simo28

RegisteredMice wrote: »

In a similar situation, so will be eager to see how you get on.
Best of luck...

Thanks to the previous posters too, great advice.

I'll be back up there in the next few days so I'll post some pics of the current state.

Zardaz

simo28 wrote: »

Hi all,
...we can't really get anything planted so in our heads there's no big rush....

If you could get a small patch cleaned up and a bit of compost into it, you can plant garlic, onion sets and broad beans this time of year.

LurkerNo1

There is no need to go digging over the winter. I did this myself in the past and converted to over to no dig. It saves you a huge amount of work for equal to better results. From a 5x5 meter plot In my first year i had so much extra produce i was bartering with a local cafe and i and my parter eat and juice a lot of veg. Compost spread in late winter or early spring will see you through until the following year with no need for extra feeding. I am harvesting Oriental Greens now from same compost that was spread in March and has already grown two crops.There is much less weeding and watering too. Many Horticulture rules and musts are total myths. Charles Dowding website is excellent or if you prefer to watch videos his youtube channel has all the info you need. Stephanie Haverty his partner also has a great blog.
Be prepared too from people on your allotment giving strange looks or saying it wont work you have to dig, just let them be and let them see the results.
https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB1J6siDdmhwah7q0O2WJBg
https://nodighome.com/

Harry Palmr

Ah the no dig ethos, which is great unless you are working on compacted ground and winter is coming and the site keeps flooding with even short bursts of heavy rain.

LurkerNo1

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Ah the no dig ethos, which is great unless you are working on compacted ground and winter is coming and the site keeps flooding with even short bursts of heavy rain.

I garden in one of the most build up areas on the west side of Galway City, its pretty much Connemara. There are a few inches at the very best of the ****tiest housing estate soil before you hit subsoil compacted by machinery. Conventional advise would tell me its useless for growing vegetables, i need to get a digger in and take it all out or build raised beds at least 9 inches high. One of Charles Dowdings growing areas for his market garden is on an area that was compacted heavily by machinery building a conservatory. You may have bigger problems than even digging may solve or you may not, the water table is high at the moment, see how things are in Spring.

simo28

A little update on my progress. About 12 hours of work to get to this point. It hasn't been fun but no pain but no gain I guess. I'm trying to decide if it's worth preparing the whole plot for planting next spring or to aim to make it more manageable for my first full year. I think it will be a mix of "no dig" and the straight weeding method.

RebelButtMunch

simo28 wrote: »

A little update on my progress. About 12 hours of work to get to this point. It hasn't been fun but no pain but no gain I guess. I'm trying to decide if it's worth preparing the whole plot for planting next spring or to aim to make it more manageable for my first full year. I think it will be a mix of "no dig" and the straight weeding method.

start small and managable and build from there. I'd rather be able to feel like I could take on more that feel overwhelmed at the get go

baaba maal

simo28 wrote: »

A little update on my progress. About 12 hours of work to get to this point. It hasn't been fun but no pain but no gain I guess. I'm trying to decide if it's worth preparing the whole plot for planting next spring or to aim to make it more manageable for my first full year. I think it will be a mix of "no dig" and the straight weeding method.

Jaysus, Thomond Park is looking rough:D

As RBM suggests, small and manageable is good. I would definitely cover part of that patch over winter- the soil will be warmer, earlier and give you a bit of a headstart.

simo28

baaba maal wrote: »

Jaysus, Thomond Park is looking rough:D

As RBM suggests, small and manageable is good. I would definitely cover part of that patch over winter- the soil will be warmer, earlier and give you a bit of a headstart.

Yes, that is the plan. I'll organise the no dig area this weekend and then get some more weeding done on the rest.