First Time Allotmenteer (Advice please)

[OllieMartin]

Hi all,

I'm just in the process of converting half my back garden into an allotment-style veg garden.
I'm making 4 raised beds to do a standard crop rotation of potatoes, legumes, brassicas and root veg.
I've got a friend who keeps horses delivering some horse manure for the potato patch, and am just building the raised beds now.

I just wondered if those more experienced of you could give me a quick "top 10 considerations" type list to help me get started.

It's always the case in these situations that I'd have done things differently the second time through, so want to avoid mistakes like planting beans so they shade the other plants etc.

Thanks for any input

[Maximillian]

Hi and welcome! First consideration....grow what u like to eat!!! Sounds silly but I've seen people grow stuff because everybody else does and it's only good for the pigeons!
Got a compost bin? Site it where it's eAsily accessible
I'm sure people with alot more knowledge than me will give you plenty of great advice here. It's a lovely site.

[TEB]

A lot of root veg wont like going straight into a bed that has just been manured as it causes forking.
Brassicas like an alkaline soil and need firming (heeling) in really well
You may want to consider netting for Brassicas because of Pigeons/cabbage white butterfly, also some sort of protection for carrots, Parsnips etc because of the carrot fly (fleece or similar)
Are you thinking of fruit, strawberries for instance - these will need a permanent position for about 4 years before rotation
Label everything at the time of doing
Cannot really think of anything else except for "have fun" and every gardener has a different way of doing the same thing and its a case of whatever works for you.

Ps did I mention the need to label everything straightaway

[OllieMartin]

^ Haha, yes you mentioned the labelling! I have planned to do that.

I have a compost bin, which I recently tipped out and re-laid as it was not working too well. (I've also read that human urine can help it along!)

So far I only have the 4-type rotation system and some lettuces and rocket planned (along with my herb garden that has never got going properly in the last 2 years as I tend to kill it off my using so much of it!)

I also have corn, which doesn't seem to fit into the rotation, but my understanding is it likes acidic, manured soil so would it go with the potatoes?

Thanks for the advice

[TEB]

Yes urine is used as an activator. Is it a dalek type compost bin, trouble with these is that it gets a pain trying to turn it, I try and keep a spare one so I can empty a full one into this or if this dont work I just fill it up and leave it for a couple of years instead
With things like lettuce and rocket and quick growing crops like radish I tend to fit in where ever possible. With sweetcorn I planted mine in with the legumes (right by dwarf french beans, as the sweetcorn grows taller than the dwarfs), sweetcorn is wind polinated and it is recommended to block plant. Once I dig my spuds up I then plant leeks in their space.

[NOG]

Raised beds will take loads of soil to fill.
1. Compost Bins
2. Water Buts
3. As much manure you can get
4. Good quality tools
5. Get on Freecycle to see what you can get.

[OllieMartin]

Raised beds will take loads of soil to fill.
1. Compost Bins
2. Water Buts
3. As much manure you can get
4. Good quality tools
5. Get on Freecycle to see what you can get.

Yes, I have considered the amount of soil needed. I don't intend to raise them very high, it's more to create a division between the beds so I can ensure each bed has been given the right mixture of soils for the plants going in them.

1. Compost has been in process for a little while now.
2. Yes, water buts. I'm currently scavenging for one as I'm on a water-meter it will save me in the long-run.
3. Manure ordered from my horse-keeping friend. Free!!!
4. Going on the birthday present list!
5. Freecycle group request sent.

Great advice. Thank you