What order should I tackle jobs in on my new plot?

[AllotmentMummy]

I've took on my plot about six weeks ago and it is overgrown with grass (couch grass I think), some thistles (with a long tap root, not creeping thistle) and other random weeds.

I'm hoping to use a 'no dig' approach to tackling the weeds as a) its been an organic plot for many years; b) I have a baby and toddler in tow so limited time; and c) I like the idea of a natural approach where possible and letting the soil do its own thing (with some help from manure, mulches etc obviously). [As an aside I have done a bit of digging to set up my bulb patch and some small veg gardens for the children - its very satisfying but not something I can do for the whole plot as it is 400sqm!]. Five of the fourteen beds I will be making are covered with cardboard and woven weed control fabric. This has been down for about a month now.

I'd really appreciate some advice on what the best order is to tackle the remaining jobs in and how to work this in with the 'no dig' approach. The stuff I have left to do (in the short run!) is:
- nine more beds to cover
- start an onion patch (onions already bought)
- set up a raspberry patch approx 1.5m by 4m
- set up a soft fruit patch (blueberries, currants etc) approx 1.5m by 4m
- plant seven fruit trees
- set up areas for growing strawberries, asparagus, artichokes so I can plant out promptly next year when conditions allow.

I am a bit unsure about what to prioritise first and have so many thoughts/questions. Any advice on questions/concerns below would be appreciated!

I'd love to crack on with the raspberry patch but I'm conscious it should be as free of perennial weeds as possible. With 'no dig' that wont be for a while. Could I cut holes in my weed control fabric to get the raspberries going, with a view to removing the fabric once all the perennial weeds are killed off? (using normal mulch thereonin).

Similar questions on the soft fruit patch - want to get it going but worried about perennial weeds.

Although I cantheoretically plant fruit trees for a while yet, would it make sense to try and get them in before the weather turns much colder (obviously wouldn't be digging when the ground is frozen either way)?

Should I prioritise the onions first as they are meant to be in by now?

I think its too late to start as asparagus patch but could set it up now for spring planting?

If I do the fruit patches and fruit trees first, am I risking the other nine beds (which still need to be covered) not being ready for annual veg next year? I'm open to growing wider spaced plants through the weed control fabric so could keep the fabric down for longer. Alternatively, although I haven't found a good compost supplier I am getting some well rotted manure delivered soon - so could mulching with that under the weed control fabric would be one way to ensure some of the beds are ready more quickly?

Thanks for reading this far and sorry for a long post. I could post some of these as separate posts for specific advice but at the moment its the question of what order to do things in that is bothering me. Would love to hear any advice you have. Thanks

[nickdub]

I'd say at least get the fruit bushes and trees in the ground for now - you never know what the weather will do and digging around planting trees in frosty ground is a recipe for disaster.

You don't need to plant them in their final positions, just somewhere reasonable for the time being. Obviously you don't want to replant trees and bushes all the time - they wont grow properly if treated that way - but a temporary planting now and a move some time later next year, if done sensibly will do them no harm.


BTW try to plant them at the same level they were when in their pots or nursery beds ie the soil level should come up roughly to the same place after planting as it did when they were growing previously.

[veggiechicken]

Hi and welcome.
I'm not going to attempt to answer all your questions but I will say that, no dig or not, you need to remove/dig out the perennial weeds, especially where you want to plant perennial plants - fruit bushes & trees, asparagus.
Do what you can - when you can. If you cover the beds with cardboard you can put the mulch on top of it and plant through the mulch and cardboard.

[Baldy]

Don't panic! Don't panic!

If the fruit trees are ok frost free and in decent sized pots you could leave that for now.
raspberry bed - doesn't sound like you are too inundated with perennial deep rooted weeds but dig out very worst then plant through suppresant
- you can leave the suppresant down
I grow my onions overwintter through suppresant too.. works fine so get em in

Don't panic

[AllotmentMummy]

I'd say at least get the fruit bushes and trees in the ground for now - you never know what the weather will do and digging around planting trees in frosty ground is a recipe for disaster.

You don't need to plant them in their final positions, just somewhere reasonable for the time being. Obviously you don't want to replant trees and bushes all the time - they wont grow properly if treated that way - but a temporary planting now and a move some time later next year, if done sensibly will do them no harm.


BTW try to plant them at the same level they were when in their pots or nursery beds ie the soil level should come up roughly to the same place after planting as it did when they were growing previously.

Thanks Nick, hadn't thought of that and useful to know about planting at the same soil level!

[AllotmentMummy]

Hi and welcome.
I'm not going to attempt to answer all your questions but I will say that, no dig or not, you need to remove/dig out the perennial weeds, especially where you want to plant perennial plants - fruit bushes & trees, asparagus.
Do what you can - when you can. If you cover the beds with cardboard you can put the mulch on top of it and plant through the mulch and cardboard.

Great idea thanks. Will do multiple layers and plant through.

[AllotmentMummy]

Don't panic! Don't panic!

If the fruit trees are ok frost free and in decent sized pots you could leave that for now.
raspberry bed - doesn't sound like you are too inundated with perennial deep rooted weeds but dig out very worst then plant through suppresant
- you can leave the suppresant down
I grow my onions overwintter through suppresant too.. works fine so get em in

Don't panic

You made me laugh Baldy - I do feel a bit panicky! Is it too late if the onions only go in end of December? Have bought a pointy firelighter thing to try burning holes on the suppressant fabric - hoping not to set it alight. What do you use to make holes?

[Baldy]

Pointy firelighter -thingy

[Baldy]

Onions will have two choices... Unless you don't plant em... in which case they'll only go one way...

[Chestnut]

Hi and welcome
You’ll notice on this forum that there are as many ways of doing things as there are gardeners!

Like you, I have limited time available to spend on the plot.
First, I would put my onion sets in a cool but frost free place (my garage) until late march, as I find the squirrels tend to eat onion sets and broad bean seeds which I try to plant in the autumn.

Then i’d cover as much of the plot as I can source cardboard for, and repeat A week or so later (our local morrisons lets us have a whole trolleyful if we ask nicely/at the right time!). That way, the weeds will slowly die off without further effort, whilst I’m busy doing other stuff.
If /when I can get hold of manure (old rotted stuff if possible), it’ll get dumped on top of cardboard covering bed areas, hold the card down -and the worms will then break down card and mix manure into soil.

In between carloads of cardboard, I would continue to dig one bed at a time, whenever I could get to the plot for an hour or two, ready for annual veg next year (I eat more veg than fruit). Some things would be started in pots in the spring, to give me more time to prepare the ground for them. Onion sets would go in ground late march.

I wouldn’t necessarily get around to getting both/either the soft fruit area dug or tree planting holes prepared until autumn next year! However, having been deprived of light all summer there would be few if any weeds surviving, so hardly any digging required.

Like I say, every gardener and every plot is different. That’s one of the things I love about my plot is that there are many different ‘right’ ways of doing it.

[SarrissUK]

Hi and welcome!
I'm doing no dig too, and my plot is much in the same state as yours - in good condition underneath all the weeds lol

I'm not digging any weeds out, but I am pulling out all the roots that I can see, as I uncover all the bloody layers of carpet that my plot's previous tenant laid down.

Get yourself looking around for:
- supermarket/farm shop that can save you cardboard
- coffee shop/pub that can save you coffee grounds
- horse owners/farmers that won't mind sharing their manure
- offices where paper is shredded that you can collect.
- ask if the plot gets council-collected leaves and wood chippings delivered, and if not...
- ring around arborists in the area to see if you can get hold of their chippings
- gather leaves in any local park that you can find with lots of leaves

I'm absolutely not worried, but excited about what is ahead this year

[mcdood]

Hi, I feel a bit bad replying to this as the allotment i took on in April this year was in relatively good nick. My approach this year was to mainly plant annual veg while i took stock of the ground. When May arrived what looked like relatively weed free beds suddenly started sprouting all sorts including the joyous mares tail.This next year I aim to plant some perennials (asparagus etc) so will look to plant in the cleanest beds although I'm sure the marestail will find a way in.
I'm trying nodig too and finding enough material to rot down (see Sarriss post above) and generating enough heat in bins to kill weed seeds is not as easy as Mr Dowding makes it look, but have fun trying

[Guest]

Hi and welcome to the vine

Silly question time:-
Do you actually need 400sqm?
Is there a waiting list for your allotments?
Could you split the plot?
Job share the plot and split the crops?
Any friends and family you can rope in?

Having an allotment and lil'uns is do-able but it is ruddy hard work. The best tip I can give you is don't get disheartened when you don't achieve everything you want, just be happy with what you have achieved

[Snadger]

Are the onion sets an Autumn planted variety? If so try and get them in the ground ASAP. The remaining beds could be covered with cardboard/newspaper then manure and planted directly through mulch in the spring.

[Chestnut]

Hey, don’t do yourself down!
Raising small children is a full time job on its own, and you have a big allotment (most round us are 125m2), so it’s a lot for one person to do. My dad has spent many a summer weeding his kids allotments as his grandchildren were toddling...

Other ideas include an outdoor playpen (to keep kids out of harms way while you strim between fruit trees), and make sure you plant stuff in every available space, as weeds love bare ground. I like nasturtiums for this as they sprawl over quite an area, look lovely, and are edible (so can be argued as edible crops if need be ).