very new and very nervous!

[mumsie]

hello everyone! im a new member and this is my first ever post! im looking for quite a large portion of advice and any input will be gratefully recieved!
i have just been given a huge plot on an allotment in my estate after waiting forever to find one, then getting this almost by accident! sorry, i have atendancy to drone on....
i would like to know, ok here comes the list...
1) what is best to plant from seed now and in the next couple of weeks, fruit or veg?

2)what is best to plant together ie; which plants help eachother like with attracting insects and stuff?

3)can i use horse manure, and if so when and how would i use it? ( i live right next to a riding school and they sell the manure a pound a sack)

i think that might be enough for now so thanks in advance!

[piskieinboots]

mumsie dear (sounds like I'm talking to my Ma here ) they are good questions but the answers run into books and books of advice.....so first off - welcome to the Grapevine and it is currently wine o'clock so I will return to answer some later or maybe tomorrow

Oh and waaayhaaay on getting a plot - most excellent

[mumsie]

wine o clock? I LIKE that time! i think ill join you! thanks for the welcome. whenever you are ready to answer i am ready to "listen"! cheers muchly!

p.s i couldnt think of a username, so i just put the name my friends call me! my real name is kerryann if thats easier

[Trotter75]

Many congrats on the new plot, what i do is grow most of the stuff at home in trays, this will give you a good few weeks to dig over the plot and tidy it up a bit. my advice is probably useless as this is my first year and have owned a plot for 2 weeks

[zazen999]

Hi and welcome.

First things first; what condition is the plot in and what do you like to eat veg wise?

Also, pop your location into your profile, it should show in the top right hand corner of your posts so that local grapes can advise on regional conditions.

I'm on for a Pimms here but not until 9.

[jennybb]

Hello, there and congratulations!

I am no expert - we took on a very neglected plot in January, my back is shocking, so my OH has had to do the digging - 1/2 of the plot had been used for lawn, so we rotavated and put spuds in as they are supposed to be good for clearing. The other half of the plot was full of bindweed and hundreds of raspberry canes. We were lucky enough to have a greenhouse on the plot which was great for starting stuff off while we cleared. Amazingly it actually looks like a really productive proper allotment. Second to last bed was dug for me to plant into this week - one to go which is under plastc.

It depends on the state of your plot. There are quite a few things that can be planted straight into the ground at this time of year. There is loads of helpful advice here. I've become a bit of a "seed packet gardener"

I hope you enjoy it as much as we are - it's the best thing we ever did, even though in January it was very daunting. I have become hooked - it's lovely to be eating our own produce.

[dexterdoglancashire]

Hi and welcome to the Vine!

Even though this is my 3rd year growing veg - I'm no expert - but one thing I would say is - give it a go! This is the first year I've managed to grow tomato plants from seeds.......and it's my third year trying squash - fingers, legs and eyes crossed it works this time!

It's an excellent way of learning what will grow when, and if it doesnt work, make a note for next year. The only thing you can't control is the weather, and that does contribute for a lot.

Please let everyone know how you get on - with photos if you can! Good luck Bernie aka DDL

PS try using the seach facility - type in what you want to know and you'll more than likely come up with the answer.

[SarzWix]

What you can still sow this year;
Beans - Dwarf French Beans will still give you a reasonable crop before the frosts come, climbing ones will be ok if you're in the South.
Carrots - try faster growing ones like Amsterdam Forcing or Early Nantes
Beetroot - any type you fancy should still be ok
Spring Cabbage - Duncan, Greyhound, etc
Salad Leaves - Salad Bowl are a nice "cut & come again" type (you just cut a few leaves off each plant and they carry on growing) or there are plenty of other types to try out
Swedes - Just time to sow some of these for winter stews
Also Autumn Planting onion sets & garlic are available to order from lots of the mail-order companies now, to plant out later in the year.

As for your manure, a lot depends on whether it is 'fresh' or 'well-rotted'. If it still visibly looks like poo & straw, then you can't really put it where you want to grow things now - it's too strong and it will 'burn' your plants. However, in areas that you won't be using this year, you can cover the ground with thick cardboard & pile the muck on top of it - this will smother weeds and the worms & weather will break it down so that it'll be lovely to dig over & plant in next Spring

Hope this is some help, and welcome to the 'Vine

[terrier]

Hi Kerryann AKA Mumsie and welcome to our little hideaway from reality. Congrats on getting your own lottie. I suppose the only advice I can give is to not overdo the planting until you are sure the ground is ready to grow stuff. There's nothing worse than putting in a load of stuff in a hurry only to see it swamped by weeds in a couple of weeks. Cultivate a little plot and plant your favourites, then go on a weed crusade to clear the rest of the lottie for the Autumn planting or even next spring.
It's better to see a small patch growing well than to see a lot of work going to waste due to poor growing conditions.
Whats you're favourite veg? Still time to plant all sorts of stuff. Let us know.

[Alice]

Welcome to the Vine Mumsie. Congrats on getting your plot.
Big questions there. You'll get better answers if you break it down into a lot of little questions.
There's still time to plant lots of things, but what state is your plot in.
Enjoy the adventure.

[Flummery]

Welcome - Don't be daunted. Tackle a bit at a time - and grow your favourites (then you'll REALLY look after them!

[moggssue]

Hello and welcome - from a fellow newbie plot holder! This is my first year with an allotment and I just love it. If your plot is in a bad way then little and often is the way to go, as others have said. And, again echoing others, if you grow what you really like to eat then you'll enjoy it all the more and will make more of an effort, see some great rewards and move onward and upward next year.

Good luck - most of all, enjoy it!!

[Matt.]

Go for quick growing cops. As mentioned salad veg - lettuces and radish are ideal. Also peas and beans should come enough. I'd also plant courgettes and squash as these give a huge volume of produce from such a small area.

[TinyT]

Hello Mumsie, I'm pretty new too gardening and the forum too.
You could try some beans. I've just put in my 2nd lot of borlotto dwarf beans, they are coming up okay. They don't seem to need too much weeding etc either. Guess you could try a gardren centre too for some estabilshed sweetcorn, and salad plants to quickly put in.

[scooby]

hi mumsie, my best advice is don't try to do too much at a time, take it easy and steady. there is a good book full of sound advice for all standards of gardener, its called "grow your own vegetables" by joy larkcom if you want to get it and need to order it the ISBN number is 0-7112-1963-x ive found it very useful over the years.

all the best scooby