Allotment update

[out in the cold]

where you finding the IP address? That part of your mod armoury? Stop banned folks re-registering with new names etc?

Fairly reassuring actually

[SarzWix]

Oops, I'm giving away our secrets...

[Aberdeenplotter]

you didn't, you didn't answer

[buzzingtalk]

Had another good day on the plot today - the weather was amazing!!! 4 hours work in total, most of it boring, such as bagging up rubbish and digging up rotten carpet...I now have a mountain of bin bags waiting to go to the dump, but the suspension on the car will not hack it, so am going to have to wheelbarrow it down to the main road (200m away) and dump it in my campervan to go to the dump.

I did manage to dig over a good bit though and dig up some very large bramble roots, great fun It is starting to look a bit less like a mess and more like a plot...am off there after work tomorrow to use the last few hours of light and will be doing a bit of digging, but finally some measuring and plotting out. I just wish there was something i could be sowing/growing now!!

[rustylady]

Won't be long before you can be sowing broad beans and peas. Also planting onion sets and potatoes.

[buzzingtalk]

Can't wait - I'm off to India next week for 2 weeks, but when I come back I'll be on it. Only problem is I can't chit any potatos as I have no space that sounds suitable - my house doesn't get a lot of light in it and its kept very warm, any advice?

On a side note, I went to my old house to pick up the post (moved out a year ago, and informed the council of new address) and the allotment people are STILL sending letters to my old address despite repeated correspondence with them. Its making me angry now!!

[Bigmallly]

You mentioned in an earlier post about putting chippings on plastic for paths. Make sure the plastic has drainage holes in & be carefull when it's wet. I used weed suppressing membrane covered with chipping. £20 for 50mts sounds a good buy to me.

1m x 50m 100g Weed Control Ground Cover Membrane Landscape Fabric Heavy Duty: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors

[buzzingtalk]

@Bigmally - thanks The stuff just arrived and its very thick; will do well keeping weeds out plus is permeable. Will be planning on covering it in a good few inches of bark chippings over time, am going to contact local tree surgeons to see if they have any I can collect (I have a large van so can fit loads in!) then will have to run it down in bits in the car as the van won't go up into the plot as not enough room to turn.

Just now had another 2 hour session after work - did a lot of cleaning up and cutting of old carpet...now have 22 binbags full of rubbish Although, I think that's the worst of it gone as I have dug sporadically back to 2/3rds down (getting the largest brambles out) and there doesn't seem to be any carpet buried down there which is good. Keep finding broken glass, tiles and plastics in the soil though. I have sent the council an email to see if a skip is ever delivered to the plot as technically (according to their rules) you are meant to remove carpet etc before leaving the plot else they will do it and charge you, so somewhere along the line someone hasn't done it and has left muggins here to do it! The suspension on the car isn't too happy so loading it full of rubbish is not an option haha.

It is nearly dug to the half way mark now - going down for another 2 hours tomorrow (light at 5.30pm!! Woohoo!!) after work to dig, dig, dig. Got Saturday afternoon (2 hours again) and all day Sunday to get it dug to half way to keep the council happy. I also have tuesday morning but I am hoping to make some raised beds and lay some membrane down then to start getting a feel for how it will look. Then i am off to India for a few weeks, but when I'm back I have a few very quiet weeks at work (2 days on each week! lovely) so will be finishing it off then and starting to tackle the back too. I just hope the weather holds out and doesn't snow or rain too much...its looking good for sunday though

[Bigmallly]

Just a quick word on the fabric. It suppresses the weeds, it doesn't stop them.......but the few that do come through are so easy to pull out.

[Samurailord]

About bark chippings - it may be worth speaking with your local council - ours are very happy to deliver a load whenever we finish off the last one which would save you using your van for transport.

Andy

[buzzingtalk]

Oooh good idea - what area of the council would you speak to? That would save a whole load of faffing.

Been on the plot again today for 2 hours - excellent session! Am nearly dug to half way down now...have cleared all the surface rubbish and raked it over so I have a clear path for Saturdays session after work (2 hours again) am going to dig like crazy and try and get it done on Sunday so I can spend a few hours doing nicer things like building beds, and fixing the fence

[buzzingtalk]

Woohoo - pretty much half way dug over - will be another 2 hours tomorrow, all being well, then I have dug over to the half way mark. I have around 30 (!!!!) bin bags full of rubbish now which are piled up for easy access at the front. I am going to rake as much over as I can tomorrow as the ground is pretty uneven and there are big holes in some places. I hope this is enough for the council - it says 'at least 50% needs to be cultivated' so I'm guessing dug over, just about raked and levelled is OK? Seeing as there is nothing I can really be doing for another month anyway. I am going to cover some of the raked ground with my weed membrane so its at least covered until I am ready to plant.

I have a day off work tomorrow so will be finishing the digging, and clearing the remaining rubbish. Then some fun - weeding my strawberry bed and planting some new plants in there Plus I'll be laying out some wood for a few raised beds, ready to build on return from holiday in March.

One problem I am having is how much bramble waste there is - they are absolutley huge! I have an incinerator full, plus a HUGE mound of them on the floor (I'll have to move them all to dig tomorrow, groan) and a large composting bag too as there was nowhere else to put them. I have tried numerous times to get the fire going but its just still too wet. It's going to take ages for the bleeders to dry enough to burn isn't it? I think I'm going to have to cart them to the back and forget about it until summer

I am also going to try and drive in some fence posts tomorrow while the soil is soft enough...I am going to be putting wire between them and training my raspberries along this 40m length to make one, long raspberry bed that doubles as a fence yum yum!

So busy busy busy, I hope I have done enough to appease the council.

[~kirsty~]

It sounds ok to me!! Are your council mega strict on the 50% rule? I think mine are just grateful I've taken a overgrown monster on... another 3 unused plots next to mine (with no fence!) so expecting brambles to come creeping each season across into mine... but hey ho... that's life! I've also being told the council never visits our site.

I've decided to suffocate all the weeds and bramble roots i'm digging, and aim to dry and burn once the weather improves (if ever!!) I've about 12 bags full at the bottom of my plot so far after just 3 days!

I'm cheating a little... not properly digging yet, just clearing the tops and then weed membrane to suppress the beds till I can start digging properly... wanting to try and get 10-12 little bed areas cleared before starting to double dig... already puling up lots of bramble root monsters... although digging out the blighters is very fun!

Good luck!! I've a holiday in april for nearly 3 weeks and already dreading coming back to a jungle! At least a holiday this early shouldn't be too detrimental.

[buzzingtalk]

Well I had a letter to say I'd not passed my inspection late last year and that I needed to have 50% ready for planting by next inspection in March some time...I am hoping a good dig over and tidy up has shown that this will happen. Its a shame its in March though, as a little later and I could have actually started planting stuff...I have sent them an email to explain how I'm getting on, and also to say that I have a week booked off when I return from India to finish work on getting it properly ready for planting, as I'd had to move a week off from earlier in the year due to snow. Hopefully they will see how far its come on

I have single dug it pretty much, putting aside weeds/brambles etc to burn (no composting facilities as of yet - need to get on that when I get back from India) and digging the rest in upside down. The front quarter is ready for planting; tomorrow I will rake it and hoe again before laying down membrane and measuring up for paths and raised beds. The back 2/3rds is going to be ground growing, although it will be split into 6 beds (2 for fruit), 4 of which will be rotated. Plus the raspberry fence going down one side. It should be good - I'm now painting my plot signs as per council instructions to display on site.

I was away a lot of last summer and came back to find hell...all of my crops had been killed by bindweed blinding the light. So I decided to leave it until winter when it would stop growing and tackle it then as I am organic and not long had the plot and there was broken glass/bricks/rubble etc on site and it was quite difficult getting around. When it all died down I began work halfheartedly at my own pace but since getting the letter from the council I've ploughed on and dug half of it (about 100sqM) plus done a load of other work towards getting it ready. The first half was the worst; brambles that had been left for 6-7 years (HUGE!) bindweed, double layers of carpet 1ft underground, couch grass, mounds and dips...now its all dug, cleaned and tomorrow it is getting levelled out ready for laying out my masterplan

Good luck on yours - 3 weeks is a long time! Cover in membrane/cardboard and it will be fine though. Sounds like there is at least 2 of us having a large bonfire in spring

[out in the cold]

@ Kirsty: Will you be able to put up a fence eventually?

@ buzzingtalk: Sounds like you are putting in a power of work and your plot is coming along nicely. Have you got any photos from before / now? This would give you a record of your work and help with the sense of achievement when you compare them