New here with a new allotment

[stormpsy]

hi there all, im steven and im very new to this game.

here are a few pics of my lotty i took on in april.

[stormpsy]

now i have done some work on it well..... covered it to keep it under control

june

[stormpsy]

so many questions i dont know where to begain.

i have a plan of what i want but dont know where to start.

think the biggest question is grass, grass from the path ways i need to take up there isnt much of it but how.

weedvine (if thats what it is) is everywhere i cut back what i thought was most of it but its started to crawl back up the 2 apple trees.

sometimes i look at the plot thinking im out of my depth but i think its just cos im new to it all.

any help will be helpfull
thank you
steven

[Bigmallly]

Good job Steven & welcome to the vine, this time next year you'll be able to compare your pics and see the difference.

[Bigmallly]

If you need to take grass up, take it up in 1 foot squares & stack it upside down, next year you'll have lovely compost to use. I'm assuming the grass paths are on your plot & not between plots.

[stormpsy]

as you can see there was a holly tree that i didnt want so i took it down and freed up quite a big area to the side of the green house too.

i want to start down the right (fence side) side so i can put up a fruit cage.

[stormpsy]

thank you

yes there the paths i mean are the ones on my plot. i like the look of grass paths but my friend has bark paths and easier to maintain

[veggiechicken]

Hi Steven and welcome. You've done a lot of work there
Instead of taking up the grass why don't you cover it with cardboard and lay bark on top?

[stormpsy]

thanks veggie, since browsing round the forum i had a change in mind. tempted now to use raised beds and like u said cover with cardboard (got an infinite supplier to that hehe) instead of digging down to weed fabric and bark

[Veggielot]

It can be quite daunting when you first get your plot with so much to do. I found the best thing to do is to break it down into sections and work on one section at a time, don't try and do it all at once. You have done the right thing with covering it up as this will help control the weeds, uncover it as you go and you will find it makes things easier.

The weed growing up your trees is sounds like bindweed, I had quite a lot on my plot when I statrted. It will regrow from it roots so just cutting it down wont get rid if it, try and pull up as much of the roots as you can, you probably wont ever get rid of it completely but removing any new shoots as soon as you see them should get it under reasonable control.

[veggiechicken]

Keep it cheap and simple - you have enough work to do growing things! Cardboard is great because it just rots down and you don't have the hassle of lifting it that you do with fabric

[stormpsy]

thanks viggielot

yea thought bout dong sections and cover up till ready. hence why i thought bout doing the cages first done right side of fence cutting done that holly tree helped and the raspberry and blackcurrent bushes seemed to of been attacked by the bindweed now too but as i dont know the age or type i was thinking of taking them up and planting new ones (there in my garden now in planters)

[veggiechicken]

Take cuttings from the blackcurrant bushes and grow some more.

[Guykp57]

Welcome to VIne,Keep the pond it's good for frogs etc who then keep slugs away...love the fact it's on the flat as I've said before mine is on a slope but I love it, means I can look over it from my homemade decking( from pallets), keep up dating with pics.

[stormpsy]

thanks guykp57 cant belive the amount of frogspawn in there when i took it over and now im finding baby frogs all over the place lol

posting in my section 2 albums of more pics. its flat and nearly square 30m x 12m top past the apple trees and 30m x 9m at the bottom behind shed

yea will do just that veggiechicken