New Allotment......HELP please!

[andyturner1978]

Evening all!

Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated. I'm just waiting for the tenancy agreement from the local council before i get my own allotment ! I couldnt believe it when i enquired to find that there are 381 free plots in the site 100 yards from my own front door! So i plumped for a half plot and have not been able to sleep since!

The main question i have is can i start anything now? I have two unheated and one heated propagator. I have potatoes chitting as i was told to start these now before planting out in march. I went for pentland javelin as first earlies and desiree as a maincrop. As i understand i need to plant these at the same time (Beginning of March) and leave the maincrop in the ground as they take longer to grow.

I have various seeds that were bought as christmas presents, most suggest to sow Feb, March, April. Is it possible to start say the chillies and peppers early in a heated prop? Is there anything i need to do prior to sowing? Is it a case of putting the compost into the prop and sowing the seeds? Should i leave the heated prop on at all times?

I hope that the agreement comes soon as im spending all my time planning and re-planning the allotment. In the mean time every time i pop into town a few packs of seeds seem to follow me home?

[grenhouse]

Congratulations andy! (presuming your not the same andy turner who played for rotherham a couple of years ago!).

Congrats on the new plot! You say half, may aswell have a full one if theres plenty! (you'll easily fill it!)

Trial and error I learned are some of the best ways. Everyone will tell you different on when to sow this and that and when to do this and that, experiment and try it yourself, obviously not by sowing sweetcorn in feb and stuff!

I have some chillis in the heated prop at the moment and a couple of toms, as last year I sowed them in april. We'll see what happens. I lined the heated prop with sharp sand and then put my chillis in small pots of compost. Ive left it on all the time at the moment.

I grew desiree last year and it did very well indeed!

Have a look at some of the online seed companies and see what you fancy growing, this will help you plan (moreveg, dt browns, simply seeds are ones I have used in the past). Soak up as much info as you can before the fun really starts!

Also are you planning on having fruit?

Steve

[andyturner1978]

Hi grenhouse....

Thanks for the reply, wasn't aware of an Andy Turner playing at Rotherham, although i remember one at Spurs a few years back! I played for Scarborough in the good old fouth division, that was a few moons ago too !

Ive racked up a good selection of seeds so far. I have onions, spring onions, sweetcorn, cabbage, carrots, pots, broad beans, lettuce, chillis, peppers, toms, leeks, turnip and plenty of herbs.

I'd love to grow fruit too and will have a go im sure, is it the best time to get this planted now? Ive seen plenty of raspberry, blueberry and black berries in the garden centres. I also picked up strawberry seeds from the friendly old chap who showed me around the allotment site a few weeks ago.

Must remember to make a note of what and how i sow, then i hope the trial and ERROR weighs in my favour!

[grenhouse]

Yes, he wasn't a bad player actually, good left foot!

Now is a good time to plant your fruit really, you probably won't get much this year but next year should really reap the benefits (not to mention expand your fruit garden through cuttings etc).

You could also put some broad beans in loo rolls now (get saving them they are great planters!) I'm going to put some in next week and see if I get an earlier crop. Sometimes when you plant stuff early, the crops you grow later on tend to catch up and crop at the same time. Again, just experiment!

Steve

[Two_Sheds]

I have
onions, spring onions
sweetcorn
cabbage
carrots
pots
broad beans
lettuce
chillis
peppers, toms
leeks
turnip
plenty of herbs

Check your packs for sowing times. Tender things like sweetcorn really do have to wait until April.

Chillies & tomatoes can start now if you have the space, light & heat indoors for them

Broad beans can be started, they are a cold weather crop. (I wouldn't use loo rolls in the winter though, they'll go mouldy. They're great in the spring & summer though)

Lettuce is a cool weather crop, I've just sowed some in the cold greenhouse, onions too.
Leeks and more onions will be sown in Feb

Everything depends on your own personal situation: if you put your location into your profile it will help us no end

[Two_Sheds]

Ive seen plenty of raspberry, blueberry and black berries in the garden centres.

Even cheaper in the poundshops, or get cuttings from your lotty neighbours. I give away dozens of strawbs & currant cuttings every year

[Two_Sheds]

I have potatoes chitting as i was told to start these now before planting out in march.

That's right, depending on weather. I plant mine out end of March - it's usually hailing but the ground isn't too cold.

Make sure you chit them in the light, not the dark, and not too warm. You want dark green shoots, not long thin white ones

This thread will help you: What I Did Today

[brad1001]

congrats on the new plot andy.
i got my plot 4 weeks ago and been up there every weekend and in the week when work allows,just clearing beds and making mental plans of what i want.
the first thing im planting is my onions,garlic and shallots about mid feb.
ive started toms,chillies and early leeks of on the window sill and im hoping these will give me an early crop.

[northepaul]

I noticed a vine member is giving away afew strawberry runners, might be worth contacting her
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ers_54603.html

Also you could add garlic to the list, they can be planted out now.

The main thing to think about is what you actually like to eat and take it from there.

[craigrockfield]

Hi Andy, welcome to the vine. I got my plot in July, which at the time I felt was a bit of a bad time in the year, but the I realised there was so much I could be doing over winter, such as making raised beds and so forth.

You should be in the nick of time to plant plenty of alliums, onions, garlic and so forth. If you're looking for a quick growing medium, google sandwich gardening, or use a thick layer of cardboard under a raised bed of top soil to supress weeds below, demonstrations of which are documented on my blog.

Fortunately, I have documented my entire progress since I started as a newbie and you are certainly more than welcome to read it. I hope you will find some inspiration. Check my plot out at Allotment Blog at Dykes Edge Blackpool

All the best, and take plenty of pictures along the way.

[Two_Sheds]

google sandwich gardening

... or lasagne/a gardening

lasagne bed | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[andyturner1978]

Many thanks for the replies, valuable information for a novice! Spending the night in the garden dismantling pallets for raised beds.

Thanks again everyone!

[The Large One]

One thing iv'e found good to do and you elluded to it earlier was to keep a record.
we planted and cropped loads last year but it's difficult to remember how a certain crop/variety did, did it really earn it's place in the plot, should i try this variety blah blah

iv'e now created a spreadsheet with seed type, sow dates, plant out dates where planted, care used and specific conditions, crop dates and yeilds per pick
That should build to a nice libary once i get it going

[Jono]

Haha, I remember Andy Turner's debut at 17 for some reason. I think it was in an FA Cup match.

You should be able to sow some broad bean seeds indoors in the next couple of weeks. Well worth doing, as these will be ready before anything else.

[Mikey]

Clearing the site will probably engulf you over the next month or so, most neglected plots tend to need a good bit of elbow grease to get the up and running. Enjoy Andy, there is nothing more satisfying than being tired from digging your plot.