New Allotmenteer eager to get started!

[Taterhead]

Hi Everyone, I'm new to the site and allotments, and a first time poster and I'm looking for a little advice...

I'm currently on the waiting list at two different allotment sites and have been told by one that one may be available in a month or so. Obviously, I can't do anything plot wise yet but I was wondering if there was anything I could do in preparation.

Other than growing the odd spud and carrot in my teens I am a total novice when it comes to growing things.

We do have a small garden, but cannot do too much to it as we live in rented accommodation. We do have a fair size conservatory which I was thinking we could use as a greenhouse to start things off in. I know it would depend on what we grow but does anyone have any tips on using a conservatory as a posh green house?

[Bigmallly]

Hi TH & welcome to the jungle, there's not a great deal you can do planning wise until you get your plot, then you can measure it & draw it out marking out any permanent fixtures i.e shed, mark the NSEW aspect so as to plant the tallest crops at the North end of the plot to avoid shadow, you can then mark out the paths & beds & decide what you want to grow.........anyway, I'm waffling. In the meantime have a browse round the vine & pick up some seed catalogues to get you in the mood. Good luck

[veggiechicken]

Hello Taterhead and welcome.
If you don't mind me saying so, you're going to struggle growing anything - there's not much light on the Dark Side of the Moon.
Until you see your allotment you won't know how much clearance you'll have to do on it. Obvious, I know!!
You could:-
Collect all the big pieces of cardboard you can, to cover weeds with.
Collect green waste for a compost heap
Collect fallen leaves for leaf mold
Start onion sets and garlic at home in modules
Start Aquadulce broad beans, Douce Provence and Meteor peas in modules,
Make a list of what you'd like to grow (and eat) next year

Finally, pull up a chair and have a good browse through this Forum. That should keep you going until spring

[Guest]

Hi and welcome to the vine.
I wouldn't worry too much about getting things started, more often than not plants are better started later as they soon catch up. As for not having a greenhouse - really not a problem. For years I done well with only the kitchen windowsills, some cheap little propagaters (tray,cell tray and clear top) and one of those silly little 3 tier greenhouse cheapy things about £10 from QD or similar.
At this stage I suggest you read up on as much as pos., plan and collect seeds,cuttings, materials for the allotment etc.

[BertieFox]

I'd very much agree with the comments above. Don't be tempted into rotovating all over your new plot either now or in the spring, as all you will do is chop up perennial weeds. Everything will look brilliant with your newly turned plot and you will go ahead and sow, only to find everything overwhelmed by weeds, both annual but particularly perennial ones which will be hard to remove.

The cardboard and mulch method is the best way to start and continue, with plants raised in modules or pots and planted out. To sow things like carrots and other small roots you will need to expose the soil and make narrow drills for sowing.

I would also make deep beds in your plot, as dividing the work into manageable spaces is psychologically reassuring. Ours are one metre by four metres, which is never more than half an hour or an hour's work to weed, sow or cultivate. You can also get easily around the bed to reach the veggies or weeds. The ground 'lost' in paths, is more than compensated for by the narrower spacings you can use, and never walking on the beds, you keep the soil from getting compacted. Depending on the soil, you can probably get away with the no dig methods which avoid constantly bringing new weed seeds to the surface.

I agree that garlic and onion sets got going in modules will be a good idea, but get them planted out before they get pot bound; and broad beans is a good early rewarding crop too. Don't start other seeds (cabbages, beetroot, leeks etc) until much later though, around February or March, as the conditions need to be right before you plant them out.

[Martin H]

Hi and welcome to the vine!

Interesting place to garden from, somewhat lonely and lacking in atmosphere I should imagine. Got any pictures of the plot?

You've had lots of good advice here already. BertieFox makes a valid point about the problem of rotavating, but I wouldn't rule it out completely if you are prepared to go over it by hand with a garden fork in the spring to take out every last fragment of weed root before you plant anything.

So that's an alternative: Machinery to dig it over now, scrape the loose stuff off the paths onto where you want your beds, cover the beds with all the organic matter you can get your hands on ... then hand weed each bed before planting in the spring, covering up beds you haven't done yet as soon as you see signs of weeds growing to slow them down a bit.

[cariann88]

Hello and welcome

[alldigging]

Hello!

Sit and watch this fantastic series https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...gkAGv8W3xm_oRQ

It's very good!

[Scarlet]

Hello and welcome to the vine Taterhead! You've been given good advice already so I'll just cross my gingers for you and hope they come up trumps with a good plot! Good luck and please keep us updated - we especially love photos!

[Zelenina]

Hello and welcome to the vine Taterhead! You've been given good advice already so I'll just cross my gingers for you and hope they come up trumps with a good plot! Good luck and please keep us updated - we especially love photos!

Oooooh! I like the sound of those crossed gingers Scarlet Breeding your own hybrid Will you send me some of the seeds?

[Greenleaves]

Welcome to the vine, enjoy the benefits of the advice and humour you will find on here. I can't add anything to whats already been said apart from my normal line:

Enjoy your Allotment

[Taterhead]

Thanks everyone for the welcome and all the advice and ideas, Its given me plenty to think about over the winter, I can see a few books and tools getting put onto the xmas list!...

I had a chat with our Landlord about the garden, and explained we were looking for an allotment and he has agreed to let us use a part of the garden as a mini veg patch. It is roughly 4.5m by 2.5 m facing NNW. It has a shed to the north end, our garage backs on to it from the south with a neighbours fence on the east side.

Here is a photo

Obviously it will need a tidy first, but I think we should be able to at least grow something in it!

[Taterhead]

Photo didn't seem to want to work, hopefullt this time it will...

[Taterhead]

Got cracking with the veg patch this weekend, I managed to get some pallets through work and got a couple of tonnes of soil delivered so that I could build some raised beds. I cleared the area we are going to use as a veg patch, including a couple of wheelbarrows full of full size bricks and rubble which I will probably save for a later date. I then raked and levelled the are before setting to building the bed.

The area is prone to retaining a lot of water, so I laid a good base of rubble before covering with the rotted down bark chippings that seem to be about 3 inches deep - possibly not helping with the water problem! I then filled the bed with topsoil, it took a full tonne bag.

I have some autumn onions and garlic to go in so haven't manured it as I was told that they don't particularly like manure. We shall see...

Here are a few photos..

[Alicante]

Hi, that raised bed looks very nice. You have obviously put a lot of effort in.
I noticed two cats in one of your photos, so have you considered that it might need some twiggy or prickly sticks on top of it to start with? When I grew in a raised bed at home my cats were constantly using it as a litter tray.