Plot 61

[Lisasbolt]

Hi and welcome, wonderful place to sit back and enjoy recommendations, help, advice and just a good noisy around the past threads.
As you have got so much space i would get an asparagus bed in, you can make the bed in the winter and plant out crowns in the spring. Then forget about for a while, then 2 years later have some beautiful asparagus.

Surprised it has not already been said but look at sites like freecyle, a peek into skips especially where building work is being done and just ask if you can help your self. Lots of treasures to be found. i go up to our local tip and have brought home far too much rubbish and lots of plant pots

Have a kettle on site especially in the winter, you will need a cuppa and its great to stand back and see the progress.

Enjoy

[Bigmallly]

Hi and welcome, wonderful place to sit back and enjoy recommendations, help, advice and just a good noisy around the past threads.

Don't get the wrong impression, we also have quiet threads...................

[Lisasbolt]

they are normally the boring ones though

Don't get the wrong impression, we also have quiet threads...................

[Bonsai Si]

Don't get the wrong impression, we also have quiet threads...................

The loud ones are more fun though!

[Namder]

Just some pointers things to think about. Don't panic if any of it seems overwhelming or you have questions it is all personal preference and things you will work on over the years.

Fruit bush area - 8 plants indicated. There is a large world of soft fruit, in years to come are you likely to want it all grouped together. Usual culprits white, red and black currant, summer raspberry and autumn raspberry, blackberry, then green, yellow and red goosberries. Then there are your acid loving blueberries, cranberries and lingon berries. Then if you are a fruit-aholic you get jostaberries, lingonberries, tayberries, wineberries and the list goes on. Although not a bush don't forget ya strawbs

Fruit trees - are these ok? some sites don't allow trees or trees in pots only. Do you intend to let them do their own thing and grow full size or training? Which fruit/ suitable pollination partners/ rootstock/ variety etc.

Herb bed - annual or perennial. Herbs like thyme, rosemary, oregano will prefer different conditions to mint, dill, fennel etc.

Bean beds - do you intend to have these in crop rotation in future years to help keep disease and pest down?

Raised beds - do you have an idea how big and high? (It is usually recommended no wider than 1.2m). How wide for paths? min. tends to be 0.45m but for comfort and wheelbarrow use 0.60-0.70m is better. Then raising the beds them selves -what type of soil do you have? is there a need to raise or are they more edged beds. Edging can create beastie homes. Also how to you tend to treat paths? In my first year I spent just as much time weeding paths

Greenhouse - being that close to the site road is there a risk of vandalism?

Compost - are you happy to be greeted by it every time?

I hope some of this helps. Don't be afraid to ask anything, everyone is kind and helpful on here

Thanks for your reply! Some great pointers that will need thinking about.

The site is enclosed by a good 7ft+ fence and the road is only used by 1 or 2 cars, although I will make sure it isn't too close. I wasn't going to install permanent paths just yet as the growing/bed area is still up in the air.
I do have to put paths either side of the plot which will be either cardboard or weed block and then topped with woodchip.

Weeding progress pic attached

[vixylix]

Welcome Namder - looks like you've already made some good progress!

I used to live very close to your allotment so I am very jealous!!

Enjoy the vine and enjoy the allotment!

[Gillykat]

WOW!!!!! Looking good already

I got my first allotment in February and it HAS been so much fun and a huge learning curve - best thing I ever did! I'm starting to plan next year's crops and where to put them. One thing I learnt this year is NEVER underestimate just how fast weeds will grow in good weather!!! I was busy in early June and neglected the plot for around 3 weeks and when I got back it was like a jungle on the paths with sow thistle which has only now been got under control! I'll be putting proper membrane & paths down over the next few months so hopefully weeds won't be such an issue in 2016.

[dilettante]

Congrats on your plot. Very exciting to have a blank canvas to work on. I'm very jealous. I just got my plot and it has loads of different sized beds all over the place. Fantastic progress with the weeding. From what I could see you had a lot of Fat Hen, which is a bugger for coming back if you're digging the soil, but, as you've probably realised, super easy to pull up.