God I'm Impatient

[organic]

It would depend how confident you are about getting a plot soon and clearing it in decent time... but could it be worth getting a load of things started in pots at home? If you got the seeds in now it'd be a week or two before they started showing and with a bit of potting up you might be able to keep them going for a month or more... then start putting them in as and when you clear the space on the plot when you get it.

Of course, it'd be a waste of seeds if the allotment fella doesn't pull his finger out and get back to you... unless you could give them away or sell them from the front of your house?

At very least it'd get you growing stuff and maybe, just maybe keep you in step with the growing season.

[Crosby]

Of course, it'd be a waste of seeds if the allotment fella doesn't pull his finger out and get back to you... unless you could give them away or sell them from the front of your house?

At very least it'd get you growing stuff and maybe, just maybe keep you in step with the growing season.

Agree, I've already got various seeds planted in trays in my green house which were originally for home use. I normally plant way to much anyway and end up giving loads of plants away to friends and family.

Hopefully this guy will come through by the end of the month and if I can get a quarter of the plot clear and ready for planting by the end of April then I'll be happy.

[organic]

Aye - I'm at full-speed ahead trying to get the beds dug properly on my plot. Clearing as much as I need to start planting what I need to and then moving on to clear some more.

I'm starting to turn into a bit of an evangelist for this... but if you've only got a small space to start with you might want to have a look at the book "Square Foot Gardening" - get it from one of your local libraries if they have it, get a preview on here Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to ... - Google Books or just buy the book.

It's a great book even if you don't follow the planting scheme he advocates (lots of useful info in there) but if you do it's amazing how much you can grow in a small space.

4' x 4' (1.2m x 1.2m) with a vertical frame at one end is enough to grow:
16 heads of lettuce
32 carrots
9 spinach
32 Radish (if you're into them)
16 spring onions
16 beetroot (plus the beet leaves for salad use)
2.5kg peas
9 turnips
8 bunches swiss chard
1 cauliflower
1 broccoli

That's according to the book anyway. If you want to take your time clearing the plot, maybe setting up "square foot" beds as you go would be the best way even as a temporary measure if you'd rather a more traditional approach.


EDIT
I've just re-read that section and I've made a mistake...
That's how much you could grow and harvest between early March and late April to early May "before the weather is warm enough to plant tomatoes, peppers and squash".
Reasonably impressive for a couple of months in a small space, eh?

(I know, I know I'm relly talking about it a lot recently - but I'm still amazed by how much you can grow in such a small space - hence using it on my plot and harping on about it on here! )