Sloping allotment

[Daddy Pig]

Has anyone got experience of working a quite badly sloping allotment? Mine is SE-facing, and drops off about 5' (1.5m) from top to bottom, and has a lesser end-to-end slope too. The soil is chalky/sandy and very free draining - so the slope makes watering a bit of a nightmare.
I have levelled the top third of the plot and made raised beds, getting them level was a major task - but believe me, they're level. The other 2/3 of the plot is open soil, which currently has lots of spuds and squashes in it, along with some uncultivated (though weeded and/or covered) areas.
I am thinking about terracing the rest, to make two more stepped strips (with or without more raised beds) - but I don't want to spend a lot of money putting in hard infrastructure. Has anyone done this effectively and cheaply?
Or is there another way to deal with the slope. My father-in-law suggested planting grapevines!

[Bernie boy]

This year I started a new allotment and my site is on a slope facing south. I built raised beds and I have good crop of veg.

[muddy fingers]

Daddy pig, we have a steep sloping allotment, not sure what facing it is?
We have(i should say OH) has terraced the top and then did the raised beds as well. We then terraced the next section and used old pallets as fencing to keep the soil in.
The soil from the bottom will fill the beds and also lots of manure.
We have stepped the upper bottom section and then just leveled the bottom as we hope to put in a shed at some time.
This is only are second year and drainage is a major problem, we regliously,in dry times have to water every other day as allotmanet is ten miles from home.

The best experiment we have done so far is to put straw on the beds we put really fine, really mature manure on the beds first then just raked it in, then quite a thick layer of straw around the beds( leave gaps around onions, leeks and garlic they like fresh air on the bulbs)the soil stays moist and has improved, our marrow and peas have really benefited and almost doubled in size within a week-ten days!!
Good luck and it will take a little longer but just plan ahead and do a little bit at a time and before you know it you will in control!

[Peter]

I slope slightly.

Daddypig, no relation to young Pigletwille one assumes, my plot slopes about four to five feet over its twentyfive-thirty metre length, most of that drop is over the first five metres.
The slope faces due north and we have a hedge/tree belt to the south.
I inherited a primative terrace on the first five metres (southern end) and have adopted and maintained it. This year I converted this "top" section to a fruit terrace with raspberries, strawberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and gooseberries. In the process of doing this I recut the drop and distributed considerable quantities of topsoil and manure to make the terrace more level, thus actually increasing the drop.
The rest of the plot has a very gentle slope down to the main path and will get flatter as I rotovate extensively.

See my blog for some pictures.

Other plots on the site either work with the slope or due to cultivation start to level off, consequently cutting in at the top of the slope.

[snohare]

Why don't you just get some builder's rubble and use it to build some bogstandard terracing walls ? Builders are always keen to get rid of concrete rubble, it costs them £25 a tonne to landfill, so if you see a skip it's worth stopping to ask them if you can have some. But don't let them just promise to dump a little onsite...they'll give you a skipful and say, "Oops, sorry, too late now" ! Better by far if you can take a trailerload away yourself - that way you can choose pieces that are easier to build with, don't have attached ironmongery etc.
It may require some sledgehammering, but it's not hard to build low, two or even three course dykes with rubble, and they add lime to the soil too. One thing I would say though is, use some mulch matting underneath/behind them to keep the weeds from getting a hold. (They look great planted with aubretia, thyme and so on, too. )

[Daddy Pig]

Thanks

Thanks for all the helpful replies... there's obviously several ways to deal with the slope issue! Whilst considering the options, my concerns are - (a) not wanting to spend too much time (and possibly money, but time is really precious when I am working f/t and have a young family) on putting in 'hard' features, and (b) what I am 'allowed' to do on the allotment. Building walls etc sounds like it would be a no-no, as the rules on my plot say nothing that cannot be carted away when you leave... so no hard-stands for cars, for instance. Also, if there is too much structure, is there not a danger that it becomes difficult to rotovate/till - it's good to have some nice clear runs to go at with the hired-in beastie?
Anyway, it's raining this morning - when I had hoped to be up at the allotment - so I've got some thinking & planning time...Realistically any terracing etc work isn't going to happen until October time, when things have quietened down on the growing (and weeding) front.
Thanks again for your advice.

[Daddy Pig]

Inspired by Peter - thanks - I have started a blog. This has a few pics, so you can get some sense of the lie of the land... Mind you, it never looks as steep on a photo as it does when you're toiling up and down with a watering can!