Complete Virgin....Leicester

[syanide]

As of yesterday, i hadn't even thought about but, but since the start of the day, I have made an appointment to see someone at the allotments down the road from where I live (only a few hundred yards!!) and even bought 2 books at lunchtime. Somehow, in the last few hours, I have got the vege-growing bug and I am serious about it!

All I want to know is basics that I should look out for. The only thing I have grown in the past is some basil on my kitchen window!!!

I'm not sure what state teh plot is in, but the lady did mention something about it being already cultivated..I'm only just begining to understand what these terms mean!!!

Any general suggestions please? Hints/Tips? Easy things to grow for starters etc? What tools are indispensible?

Many thanks in advance

syanide

[zazen999]

Welcome.

Best tip - read through this forum as much as you can. Most queries come up as the season progresses - I got tons of advice from here last year.

Best things to grow are things you like eating; and don't sow a whole packet of seeds in one go [who needs 400 parsnips all in one week?].

[pigletwillie]

What allotment site are you going to look at?

[syanide]

Thanks zazen999 and pigletwillie.

I'm looking at the ones on Braunstone and Rosamund Avenue. Where are you settled?

syanide

[lottie dolly]

hi and welcome syanide, basic tools i would suggest are
garden fork,spade,rake,hoe,trowel,and some gloves,other things like pruners,can be got later on ,as and when you need them,
if you plan on staying at the lottie for a few hours then it's advisable to take some kind of refreshment,most important ,as once you get engrosed in what your doing time flies,oh, and something to sit on for a rest,good luck with your plot,you already got a good start with your enthusiasm,

[kethry]

best tip i can think of: don't panic and think that everything has to be bought or done all at once. in terms of tools, all you really need (especially if its already cultivated, if its not then you may need other tools) is a digging fork, spade, a hand fork and a trowel, especially to begin with. Later you can add a hoe and a rake, but none of these are expensive, you can buy perfectly serviceable ones from places like Wilkinsons for less than a tenner (although later, if you are serious about this, you can invest in some more expensive tools that will last you far longer). I know when i started there was this OMG HEEEEEEEELP feeling of "i can't afford this/do this all in one go!", and so i sat myself down and gave myself a good talking to and i've been doing it slowly for the last couple years. Started with one bed, and tomatoes, then two-three beds, with more, and lots of pots, and a greenhouse.. and this year, the whole garden! With allotments its easier: you can put weed suppressing fabric down and leave part of your lottie for the following year.

and yes. Raid the library!

HTH

keth
xx

[syanide]

Thanks guys. Just been to see my new baby and it's very impressive. It's already been cultivated, but about 6 weeks ago, so some weeds are showing. It's a nice long plot, but i forgot the size - sorry.

The plan is to separate it into about 5 or 6 smaller plots. Spuds in one of them and then possibly some onions on another. I don't want to get too technical and want to keep it simple at the moment. I'm very impatient, so If try too much and don't see results, I'll be disappointed. As I make new friends, there, I'll look at peas and maybe even aubergines!

cheers

syanide

[Herbie]

Hi Syanide

Yes, another tip. In the first year grow what you like to eat, once you have had a few sucesses there will be no stopping you

[smallblueplanet]

As I make new friends, there, I'll look at peas and maybe even aubergines!

Aubergines are no more difficult than toms and chillis, but they need heat and sunshine, they're normally grown in a greenhouse. But smaller varieties might do okay in a pot in a warm, sunny spot.

[seasprout]

Howdy.

Thanks guys. Just been to see my new baby and it's very impressive. It's already been cultivated, but about 6 weeks ago, so some weeds are showing.

syanide

Hey Syanide, which site did you end up on..?

I went to the open day's on both those plots you mentioned last August during allotment week for a prospective look round.

They where both too overgrown for me to afford the time on them so i dug up more of my back garden instead, but there is never enough space.

These are some pics i took during the visit.

Let us know how you get on.

[syanide]

When you say in a pot, you mean put them in a pot now and then in a few weeks put them into the ground? Sorry for the stupid questions, but I really am a virgin!!! (veggie one that is).

Whilst I don't have a green house, I have a decent sized conservatory with sun from the morning til gone 5 in the evening which i can make good use of....

Ta

[syanide]

On the Rosamund avenue one. They were overgrown then apparently, but not so now. Mine has even been cultivated ready to get started. Some of the other plots are waiting for a local farmer to give it a once over with his rotavator (or whatever it's called).

I'm going over on sunday to pick up the keys so the guy will be there if you want to come over and have a look. Some more plots are due to be ready sometime between a few weeks-a month or so.

syanide

[Kayt]

Wow, you're lucky syanide. My plot was worse than some of those pictures seasprout posted but the local authority aren't interested. I am pushing them on getting rid of the dumped paint cans, carpets and bikes that I've found under the brambles though. There is only so much I can get in my car to take to the tip!
But it's good fun. My bed plan has gone out of the window as I can't dig fast enough to cope with planting the excess stuff from my dad and uncle so it's going in where there is space. I hope it'll be ok for this year.

[Eyren]

How exciting! The same happened to me, more or less, two summers ago. I hadn't grown anything more ambitious than a few tomatoes and some garlic in my back garden, but I took a week off work and within that time I found myself the proud owner of a small allotment and a secondhand eglu

My tips?

* If the plot is in good condition, you may not need a spade immediately - why dig if you don't need to? A trowel is a must, though.

* If you do decide to buy a spade, get a good one. If you're not very big/fit (like me), a border spade is more efficient - smaller, but easier to handle.

* A good weeding tool is very useful all year round, but especially in summer. I use a Wilkinson Sword swoe (two-edged hoe with a neat blade for getting between plants) for major work and a kirpi weeder (a sickle-like tool made in India and available from the Organic Gardening Catalogue) for the fiddly bits - but everyone has their own preferences. GYO regularly reviews tools, which is very helpful

* Chicken wire isn't terribly expensive, and it's useful for all sorts of jobs, from supporting peas to keeping the *@%$^* pigeons off your brassicas

* Any ground you can't get to straight away, cover with permealay, cardboard, a thick layer of manure, or whatever is convenient (but not carpet, since it is often full of nasty chemicals), to keep down weeds - you want to be having fun growing stuff, not fighting weeds all the time!

* Don't forget gardening twine - something else with many uses!

[smallblueplanet]

When you say in a pot, you mean put them in a pot now and then in a few weeks put them into the ground? Sorry for the stupid questions, but I really am a virgin!!! (veggie one that is).

Whilst I don't have a green house, I have a decent sized conservatory with sun from the morning til gone 5 in the evening which i can make good use of....

Ta

Was this question aimed at my reply? I'll assume so. Aubs need hotter more humid conditions than tomatoes and are mostly grown in the greenhouse. Some might grow them in the open, but without some form of protection I'm not sure what success you'd get?

To give them the best chance I'd grow them in pots - 12"/flower bucket/builders bucket size, they can get to be big plants - in your conservatory. You might like to try growing varieties of aub that are recommended for container growing, they normally grow smaller fruit (so you get more of them in a shorter time - or thats the theory!).

If you are growing from seed, pot plants on to bigger pots gradually, so don't take small aub seedlings from a small cell/module and stick them in a big bucket. They won't be able to 'use' all the compost and it will probably go a bit 'off'. Aubs grow better and more quickly if you pot on (when the roots are starting to appear out of the bottom of the container they're in) to say 10cm size then to bucket size. (Many other plants are similar depending on their size - but say, courgettes/squash are 'humungous to begin with and just romp away normally! )