allotment help!!!

[spacedhopper]

Hi all new here and looking for advice! Im 37 live in kent and about to be a Dad for the first time in 6 weeks!!! I got the allotment for the future but am wondering if ive done the right thing its massive!!

I took over a allotment in July its big and was knee high with grass I cut the grass and planted some beetroot and pickling onions and potatoes.

Life got a bit busy (as it does) and i only managed a couple of weeding visits during august/sept!

Ive just visited and was totally gutted to find all my late potatoes dead and weeds knee high all over!!

Now i was under no impression that this was going to be easy but im a bit lost what to do now!! Ive ordered onions and garlic to plant. Should I dig up the dead potatoes???

Im totally new to allotments and thought it would be a friendly atmosphere with people helping each other but turns out im next to 2 people who are very critical and have a perfect plot, This is denting my confidence even more and im wondering if I should give up before I started!!! any tips would be gratefully recieved.

[spacedhopper]

This is my plot

[teakdesk]

Well first off, you ain't gonna dig that over before new baby arrives!

Have a read around this site and you will find lots of advice to cover ground you cannot tend so that weeds are denied light and die off. The ground will be easier to handle next year.

Choose a small area to start with and get that growing. Then start off another small area.

Plant crops that cover the ground to keep weeds out (eg onions will need weeding but, for instance, leaf beet will keep weeds out). It is a bit late now to plant much so don't let enthusiasm run away with you.

You don't say what time of year your lease runs to; mine is end March so I have until then each year to decide if I want to continue. This year, with a half plot I spent an hour a day there every day for a month over late spring/early summer to get it planted up. After that a few minutes weeding once a week to stop the weeds seeding.

I visit once a day during heavy cropping times (once or twice a week at the moment).


Oh and Welcome to the site... and best wishes for your upcoming family!

[spacedhopper]

Hi Teakdesk!

Thanks for the tips , Im going to start again and geta small area ready first then move on to each of the others like you suggest.

any ideas if I should dig out the failed late crop potatos?? they sprouted fine then the plants got to about 1ft tall and died completely!

[Kristen]

any ideas if I should dig out the failed late crop potatos?? they sprouted fine then the plants got to about 1ft tall and died completely!

There are some answers to that in your other thread:

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ml#post1284883

[Guest]

Well first off, you ain't gonna dig that over before new baby arrives!

Thats a bit mean. I hand dug my lottie in a week, about 1 of 3 people who did out of 60 and I found out I was 6 weeks pregnant. I don't actually advise it to anyone and I never have been quite right in the head - I try to justify it by saying I am stubborn

[teakdesk]

Thats a bit mean. I hand dug my lottie in a week, about 1 of 3 people who did out of 60 and I found out I was 6 weeks pregnant. I don't actually advise it to anyone and I never have been quite right in the head - I try to justify it by saying I am stubborn

Ok, Ok!!! I'll amend to "Well first off, I couldn't dig that out before your new baby arrives!!!

Hi Teakdesk!

any ideas if I should dig out the failed late crop potatos?? they sprouted fine then the plants got to about 1ft tall and died completely!

Yes, you will more than likely have some potatoes to show for your efforts. There are many reasons for top growth dying off and most will leave you with a harvest of some sort. Dig and enjoy!

[alldigging]

Allotments take a lot of work.

Why did you only manage a few visits during august and september? How often can you visit now? Even half an hour a day will mean you can make a start and keep on top of things. (Especially if you cover your plot and work it in bits)

Sadly lots of people take on allotment plots because they have time and energy - or think they have time and energy for one.
Lots of people don't, and the plots get negelected.

Options:
Ask for a smaller plot.
Ask for help from family/friends/other plotters
Be realistic about how much time you actually have/want to impose on friends/family.

Final option is give it up for now until your life has more free time.


It is incredibly frustrating for people who can find the time to have their plot threatened by giant weeds seeding on untended plots.
It is frustrating for committees who have to deal with it.
It is frustrating for people on waiting lists who see untended plots.

[VolesAteMyPeas]

Hello. Sorry it's been tough. I'd highly recommend asking to reduce to a half or third plot. Full plots are enormous.
I got to the top of the waiting list for my current plot when I had a ten week old baby! I'd waited so long I was reluctant to turn it down so I got a third of a plot. I'd have to be honest and say that even a third of a plot with a baby is very very hard work, the main issue being weeds (as you've found out). Really, this is the first season I've been able to give it a proper go as my son is now three and responds to bribes of raspberries!
With a smaller plot you can at the very least get some basics in and keep on top of the weeding so you don't become unpopular with the neighbours. (My plot would be much better off if it was't surrounded by three vacant plots with shoulder high weeds dispersing everywhere and a rabbit/vole haven).
As others have said it IS possible to maintain a plot with a family but I'd have a really good think about where you want to be spending you free time. Everyone will have said it but babies grow fast and that time can't be got back.
Whatever you decide to do, all the very best. Many congratulations on the near arrival and good luck as a first time parent. I'm still getting over the shock. X

[Martin H]

I feel for you, July is a dreadful time to get a plot because you can't grow much other than weeds for that season.

Now is a great time to get a plot because you've got at least 5 months to get ready for the onslaught of weeds and pests and diseases!

But, given your other commitments I strongly suggest downsizing. It's much more fun to put the effort in and succeed with a small plot than it is to put even more effort in and fail with a big one.

Whatever you decide, you'll find lots of good advice on this forum. Good luck and please let us know how you get on!

[alldigging]

I feel for you, July is a dreadful time to get a plot because you can't grow much other than weeds for that season.

You can still plant things in July. There's tons of stuff you can sow and harvest that season.
And even if you've missed the boat with things the garden centres will have veg you can plant out.

There's almost always something you can actually plant on an allotment - during the depths of winter it'll only be starting stuff in pots.

[Kristen]

Allotments take a lot of work.

Mine doesn't ... although it is true to say that I have been doing it a long time, know what's what and what will be needed when, so [hopefully!] I am way more efficient than a newbie might be expected to be.

I don't tend mine like I think of normal allotments as looking, all nice and smart, tidy rows and the like, mine is planned for low maintenance (and some money is spent in achieving that - such as woven mulching fabric, and irrigation hoses etc.). I grow just the plants I expect to need, so its a patchwork of plants, rather than lots of neat rows, which might not suit everyone.

[alldigging]

Mine doesn't ...

Did it get to the state you have it now by no work?

Work and time. OK the work doesn't have to be physically hard if you use different techniques, but the time is essential and that can be the bit thats hard work.

You can't turn a weed covered monster into an cultivated allotment without effort. even no dig requires the addition of cardboard, and planting, and usually the addition of more organic material.

[Kristen]

Did it get to the state you have it now by no work?

Sorry, mis-read your comment as ongoing work, rather than initial work.

I went for a minimum-effort start-up and sprayed with Roundup, had the local farmer plough it, rotavated with a large [hired for the day] rotavator. It was previously a patch of rough grass, so I didn't have pernicious weeds - which if not killed outright by the weedkiller would have multiplied with the rotavating.

I then had the manual effort of making beds (excavated the paths onto the beds), but haven't dug it since (although it does get some-what dug when I lift crops like Potatoes and Roots)


Clearly not everyone will be able to get a full sized tractor into their plot! ... but other "heavy duty" machinery should be possible.

The area is 675 sq.M (26 sq. Rods, so about 2.5 full size allotments, it also includes soft fruit, greenhouses and some cut flowers)


The rotavator I hired (this is the ornamental garden, which was also ploughed at the same time)


"Lazy raised beds" formed by excavating paths onto the beds


How it looked two years later

[alldigging]

Sorry, mis-read your comment as ongoing work, rather than initial work.

That is amazing.
How much time do you spend on it a week now?