Digging?

[Capability Not]

I've just got an allotment and am keen to prepare it ready for the spring The earth is failry compacted but is not overgrown. I am so fresh to all this I dont know how to dig, what I'm aiming to do, should I add compost or some fertiliser, what should it look like when its finished.

Any help would be gratefully appreciated as Im desperate to get down there with my wellies but dont want to look like a numpty in front of all the allotment veterans!!

Ta

CN

[shirlthegirl43]

Hi and welcome to the vine Capability Not. Congrats on your not overgrown allotment - it seems to me that most people get a lottie which is seriously overgrown!! I only grow in my garden so can't really advise but I am sure the expert grapes will be along shortly to point you in the right direction. In the meantime - it would be worth investing in a book or 3 (plenty of recommendations on here) and I would say go for Dr Hessayon's Vegetable and Herb Expert - cheap and cheerful and says it in plain English. There are reports that this is about to be updated so maybe wait a wee while to find out for sure.

Good luck with it.

[Capability Not]

Many thanks. I'm really looking forward to it. My grandmother is Italian and when I was a little boy we used to spend many a day/evening in the garden collecting vegetables and the like. I genuinely believe I had a privileged upbringing in this respect and hope to pass it on to my kids.

Have bags of enthusiasm but at the mo, lack the ability/ knowledge!!!

[Snadger]

It depends a lot on your soil type!

If you have heavy clay soil, digging is best carried out in the Autumn/Winter to allow the frost to break down the surface so that you can get a fine tilth for sowing in the Spring. If your soil is light and easily workable Spring digging would be better as if dug now it could get a surface cap and become very compacted by Spring.
Digging in well rotted manure is advocated in both instances, but I prefer to put the manure on the top now (I have light silty soil) and let the worms dig it in for me over the Winter period! Come spring you will have a wonderfully fertile topsoil with a weed suppressing mulch on top. Dibble in tatties through the mulch remains and you won't even need to earth them up! All planting can be done through the mulch.

[Capability Not]

Thanks for that Snadger, appreciate the advice. Just a couple of things (and this is because I really am a gardening virgin) whats a "dibble", whats "mulch" and what fertiliser should I use?

Cheers

CN

[Snadger]

Thanks for that Snadger, appreciate the advice. Just a couple of things (and this is because I really am a gardening virgin) whats a "dibble", whats "mulch" and what fertiliser should I use?

Cheers

CN

A dibber is a 'must have' tool! Mine is made from an old broken spade handle! Shave the end down to a point (or you could stick the end in a bonfire first and it will get burned to a rough point!) Used for dibbling holes into the soil for planting purposes. I would press the end into the soil in each position I wanted to plant spuds and leeks (8" deep) and give a little twist. This should give a nice clean sided planting hole. Also useful for marking positions of other plants before using a trowel in the dibbed holes!

A mulch is any substance, organic or non organic that suppresses weeds by excluding light. This could be farm yard manure, straw, home made compost, cardboard,paper,plastic sheet. etc
The beauty of the organic mulches is that as well as suppressing weeds and holding moisture, they are also broken down slowly by the surface fauna and add nutrients to the soil.

What fertiliser to use, if any, is an open ended question that has a lot of variables. If growing organically you could use, Comfrey tea, blood fish and bone meal to name but a few.
Inorganic balanced fertilisers consist of Growmore (7-7-7) and a miriad of specially mixed fertilisers to suit whichever crop you are growing. If you want to get technical a soil analysis can be performed which will let you know what NPK to add and more importantly the Ph value (whether your soil is acid or alkaline)

In reality, most people don't bother with soil anaysis and rely on neighbours experience of what grows well, and what doesn't!

[bubblewrap]

The only thing I have to add is in the first instance is dig over your plot (don't rotovate)This way you can rid your plot of most of the roots of things like cooch grass etc.Cooch grass can grow from a quite small piece of root & rotovating only chops any roots up & makes matters worse.

[Capability Not]

Cheers guys and thanks for the advice. When your a complete novice its always a bit daunting and you can become somewhat self conscious. Dont want to look foolish in front of the veterans!!!

Can anyone recommend a good, comprehensive book that covers everything from starting through to planning what to grow and the like?

Cheers,

CN

[shirlthegirl43]

The Vegetable and Herb Expert by Dr Hessayon is inexpensive and gives info on all veggies and instructions on how to dig and when to manure etc for rotational planting of crops. all is explained in easy to understand ways and though some of the stuff is old-fashioned and some sprays etc are no longer available - that is why it is due for updating next year - it would be useful for you to read and get your head round a lot of stuff before you get started next year.

[Flummery]

Welcome to the Vine Capability Not. (Super name!) Rather than feel like an idiot in front of the old hands, why not get them on your side? Everyone loves giving advice and sounding clever (we all like to do it here!) and you will be taken under their wing big time. As well as advice this often gets you spare plants etc. Of course, then you will have a glut of something and offer it back in return - what goes around comes around.
Get down there when there are a few of the old timers about, say your'e new to this lark, what's the soil like, what grows well here, have they any tips for you etc - you'll be snowed under!
And we're always here for a quick reference too.
Don't worry about sounding daft - we all started out knowing nothing and most of us remember that feeling so no-one will 'put you down'. Look forward to the harvest!

[bubblewrap]

Cheers guys and thanks for the advice. When your a complete novice its always a bit daunting and you can become somewhat self conscious. Dont want to look foolish in front of the veterans!!!

Can anyone recommend a good, comprehensive book that covers everything from starting through to planning what to grow and the like?

Cheers,

CN

If you go to allotment advice there is a thread "book advice" there's quite a few books recommended on that

[jacob marley]

Hi i see the first part of your question is how to dig well this is the way i was taught many years ago if you are right handed you start at the left hand side of your plot and dig from left to right this will become all to clear as you proceed as you lift the spade out of the ground and turn the spit of soil of the spade twist to the right the surface of the soil wich is on the top turns automaticly into the bottom of the trench and so on so forth do not bother filling in the trench when you get to the other end of your plot (about easter) that is where you start next year hopefully but of coarse if you are left handed you start on the right and work to the left i hope this helps all the best Jacob

[Capability Not]

Cheers Jacob et al.

The weather here has been appalling today so have been doing some research on the net. Think (and this may be a bold statement!) I understand the concept of single digging. What this has led me in to now is planning the allotment and crop rotation.

I've divided my plot into 4 beds (see, beginning to get the lingo) and have begun thinking of what I want in there. What I'm concerned with is whether I am trying to cram in too much. Can I subdivide each bed so that say, one bed has garlic, salad, onions, leeks? And then the other bed has potatoes, carrots etc. I'm trying to put myself if a position where we have regular veggies throughout the year.

I have to say this is a wonderful forum and I thank you all for your kind advice.

CN

[Hazel at the Hill]

As long as each bed has the same 'family', you'll be fine, CN.

So when your first bed has runner beans/french beans/broad beans/peas etc, your second bed will have all the short lived stuff like salady things inc tomatoes and also cougette and squash, THEN your third bed will have the root stuff like carrot, parsnip, beetroot, onion, garlic, and the 4th bed potatoes. You squish the brassica stuff in after the peas and beans, in the first bed.

Then everyone does a do-si-do and shuffles round for next year!

Big BUT here - and this is important - nothing is set in stone, so if something ends up in the wrong bed, hey. You're there to enjoy it and it'll all come out in the wash, no doubt.

I'm just starting my second year at the Hill, and for me the system above is working well - except that I had peas and beans still in the first bed when I wanted to plant out cabbage-y things. There's always next year, and who needs sprouts for Christmas dinner anyway...............?!

[bubblewrap]

Talking sprouts harvested my first today