Been offered my first allotment, pics plus where do I start!

[JaniceH]

It's looking good Janice.

Although, regarding the permanent bed for strawberries - I wouldn't recommend it.

If you are going to have a bed for flowers, I'd try and squeeze in another - that way you can rotate your strawbs over a 3 year cycle.

Hi would you mind explaining that one a bit more please as I don't know all that much about strawberries. I didn't think they needed crop rotation?

[JaniceH]

What a good idea getting someone else to do the first dig - especially as it sounded a bit treacherous.

Thank you, it was. If you can imagine someone digging 10foot square holes to a foot deep and piling the soil up around the edges. Then twisting weed membrane and plastic together to make a rope. Half burying that rope around the edge. Plus bent coat hangers rotten apples and loads of plastic bags full of weeds so piled up that they were covered in couch grass themselves!

[WendyC]

Strawberry plants earn their keep for about three years. After which you need to start again with new plants, hopefully new ones made from runner from the parent plant. These new plants need planting in a fresh piece of ground, preferably where you haven't just grown potatoes. Ideally you'll build up your strawberry collection over three years otherwise you'll have gluts one year and nothing another.

[Greenleaves]

Hi would you mind explaining that one a bit more please as I don't know all that much about strawberries. I didn't think they needed crop rotation?

My strawberries are on a 3 year replacement plan not rotation, never have and probably never will. The plot is looking really good Janie

[Muddy_Boots]

Well done on getting your plot, looks good already I'm really impressed by all the hard work done on it.

Only advice I'd give is to talk to your neighbors, no not the people living next door to you but those with plots next to you. When I got my first plot 2 years ago I made a point of making friends with anyone that turned up, especially the old guys who had been plotting for years as they are a mine of information. They will tell you what grows best and like in my case one old boy told me "You must net your brassicas, else the fat pigeons will ave 'em before you're out the gate". A newbie across from me ignored it thinking he would net his cabbages next morning only to find stumps where they had been.

[KevinM67]

My strawberries are on a 3 year replacement plan not rotation, never have and probably never will. The plot is looking really good Janie

Hi Janice,

As GL and Wendy have mentioned - it's more about sustaining/replacing your strawbs rather than having a rotation plan (I think my earlier post was probably misleading).

If you can fit in another bed (an extra one would be a bonus) - then grow on the runners from this year and plant in there - and repeat.