New allotment New to Gardening

[Pip]

I used a mattock when I was in africa (they come in a number of sizes) they are the dogs danglies! I have never seen them over here but will be looking out for one now.

[WiZeR]

here you go Pip

http://www.get-digging.co.uk/

Your search is over

[Suzy]

Hi everybody, I have learned so much since I first posted. We were at the garden shop the other day and got very confused by the assortment of seeds. Can anybody recommend which are the best or does it not matter. As this is our first allotment any advice greatly received.

Suzy

[Lesley Jay]

Suzy do you have a list of the different varieties available at the garden shop? I can tell you the varieties that I grow that I would recommend. Tell me what types of vegetables you want to grow and I will tell you my favourites.

[Suzy]

Hi, We are hoping for carrots, beetroot, courgettes, onions or any that you could advise for our first allotment crop.

Suzy

[andrewo]

Hi, We are hoping for carrots, beetroot, courgettes, onions or any that you could advise for our first allotment crop

Carrot, beetroot and onions (best with sets, seed can be hit and miss and you really need to start them indoors) can all be planted in situ, from April onwards.

Courgettes need starting in a propagator (on a windowsill in a three inch pot with clear plastic bag over it will do) and must not be planted out till May after hardening off (any frost and you will lose them, hence May plant out). However, if you're worried you can make a mini cloche from a pop bottle for your courgette (dead easy just cut a big pop bottle in half and use the top and take the screwtop off). Just make sure you plant the courgette in a dish shape e.g. dig a hollow in your soil, disc shape, not deep, just enough to hold water and plant the courgette in the middle.

Suggest that you also do mixed salad leaves and try some tomatoes outdoors, they do grow especially the yellow varieties.

Also, potatoes are a great crop, cover a vast area and you can plant radish between them, radish will come up first and then you have two crops from one space.

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Suzy for carrots I use Fly Away and Resistafly which the carrot fly do not like. Beetroot I stick to Bolthardy which shouldn't bolt and I find it stands in the ground well. Courgettes I grow Defender which is a green courgette and Gold Rush which produces yellow courgettes. For onions I find that either Setton or Sturton gives good results for the kitchen. With onions to be planted in the autumn and left in the ground over winter I use Radar and Electric. As Andrewo says buy onion sets but don't plant if the ground is cold and wet. Green Valley cabbage is lovely. Lady Di runner beans are tasty and stringless. Blue Lake climbing french beans are really nice and so are the dwarf Safari Kenyan French Bean. Masterpiece Green Longpod or Imperial Green Longpod Broad Beans are great. As Andrewo says do try outdoor tomatoes. Ferline are good as these are blight resistant and outdoor tomatoes do taste and smell really good. These are only a few of the vegetables that I grow but they are all great tasting.

[andrewo]

Hi Suzy for carrots I use Fly Away and Resistafly which the carrot fly do not like. Beetroot I stick to Bolthardy which shouldn't bolt and I find it stands in the ground well. Courgettes I grow Defender which is a green courgette and Gold Rush which produces yellow courgettes. For onions I find that either Setton or Sturton gives good results for the kitchen

I grow my carrots under fleece or in raised beds, this keeps the flies away, as does companion planting. As for courgetters I grow Zucchini F1 and vary the varieties each year (plenty of manure for these though). Onions, I love jermor as a shallot but must admit that stuttgart are a dream.

[nick the grief]

Get hold of a copy of Joyce Larkoms Book Suzy, it will give you loads of info and is a great read.

Also, have a word with some of the more senior plotholders, they love feeling useful and they can advise you what grows well on your plots, some of them may even have a few spares for you as well, yuo can't go wrong if you offer to make them a cuppa if you've got a kettle in your shed

[Emma]

Hi,
I've just joined the forum and read your message. I got my first 1/2 a plot last winter. It has been the best thing I have done in years and have just taken over another 1 1/2!. The hardest bit about the first year is clearing it and this is the time most people give up. Having never grown anything myself I allowed last year for experience. I grew quite a few things in the end including the most amazing cauliflowers which I had been told were hard to grow. But I used it as a learning experience and as I wasn't expecting much from my first crops I was pleasently surprised when things turned out better that I expected. The most important thing is that you enjoy it and next year armed with a whole year of growing experince then you can get serious! One thing I will say is if you are growing carrots then I would advise you net them with insect netting. As if the carrot fly get in then it will ruin the crop and there is nothing like your own fresh carrots. Good Luck x

[scooby]

hi suzy
my wife and i are quite new to the allotment scene, when we took ours on it was covered in brambles and weeds, we cleared it a small bit at a time (it took a year to do the whole plot) as we weeded a small patch we planted with a crop that was appropriatte for the time of year.

The best crops in the first year for us seemed to be potato's runner beans broad beans and sweetcorn.

we now have an allotment that is weed free, set out in wood edged beds and provides us with all the veg we can use, don,t be put off do little and often and good luck.

mark and sarah

[nick the grief]

Hi Suzy,

If you read all the threads here on starting they will all tell you what Scooby said. Don't try and do it all in one go, all you'll do is get disheartened and end up with a bad back!! I always say like Alchohol Little & often but there are some here that dis agree with me about the alchohol intake

Spuds are great cos the cover the ground and you get to dig it when you get them up. First job is to get rid of the oriid perennial weeds (Brambles, Docks etc) the the rest you can cover with black plastic to smother them & just roll a bit back as you digg it.

Don't worry that your lottie doesn't look like everyone elses, they are probably retired and are waiting for weeds to come up So long as you can show that you are making an effort most sites are OK with that. It's when you take one on and leave it like the chap who's got the plot next to mine that troubles happen.

Don't be afraid to ask either us or fellow plotter at your site, they will be more than helpfull, whereas were just mad

Look forward to seeing some piccies of your progress.

[Suzy]

We spent our first morning at the lottie yesterday and dug over a very small fractionl. It was very rewarding. We had a chat with some other people.

Unfortunately the site manager had rotivated it without asking, thought he was helping as it is such a big plot and we are new. Thanks for the tip about the black bags, a colleague at work had suggested laying old carpet or lino to kill the weeds, but we do not have any available. What do you keep the bags in place with?

I have been trying to grow some courgettes from seeds In my window ready for planting first week April, but todate no sign (it has been three weeks) is this normal.

Suzy

[Lesley Jay]

Suzy courgettes should germinate within 8 days. I find that they are best when started off in a propagator so I would guess that it isn't warm enough for them. I would wait a bit for the weather to warm up and then try again. The seedlings grow pretty big quite quickly and you need to wait until the danger of frost has passed before you plant them out so I would wait. Don't use old carpets because they can contain chemicals which could be washed into the ground.

[nick the grief]

Yes LJ's right your much safer with Black Plastic. If you know any friendly farmers see if they will let you have some of the stuff they cover Silage pits with, it's easier than using bags. & the easiest way is to way it down at the edges with soil ot tuck it in a slit made with the spade.

Don't worry to much about the helpful site manager, it will have chopped up bits of root but they'll be easy to pull out as it's all been turned over.

I was told to keep rotavating my plot when I got it as it would weaken the weed, don't think it will some how, so stick to what your doing.