Trixy's lotty project

[trixy]

.......and omg what a project it will be.

The allotment organiser, Jane, has asked me to meet her at gate 15 of the allotment on Saturday, so I have been googling (as you do) to find out about the site.

i have found an old plot map on google, and all I can say is " oh goddess help me"!!!!!


Here you go....you wanted pics.....as it stands this is my plot!!!!



As you can see it hasn't been used in a while

[Thelma Sanders]

A nice big one, well worth the effort of taming it

[Florence Fennel]

Level playing field there then Trixy, you've got your work cut out, but it will be well worth it. Perhaps your youngest will learn to walk while you're digging?

[trixy]

Level playing field there then Trixy, you've got your work cut out, but it will be well worth it. Perhaps your youngest will learn to walk while you're digging?

Florence, she may well do. It won't be long I don't think. She's 13 months now, so it could be any day or it could be 6 months. Sooner rather than later I think though!

I'm planning on spending about an hour there every morning with her to try and clear as much of the debris/weeds as possible. All of the bad stuff can be deposited at the tip on the way home, or put into my own brown bin I guess.

So first questions that I have come up with are

- Dig the plot or rotivate it to clear all the rubbish?
- How does one clear rubbish from an allotment site? are you allowed a fire pit/ bonfire etc?
- How long will that take me?
- Should I give up any notions I may have of planting anything before Easter, or should I just clear a small patch, chuck some beans/garlic in and move on to the next bit?
- Is there a thread on here for starting from scratch?

[Alison]

Looks good

PersonallyI always think that digging / covering etc is better than rotivating as you don't end up with a million broken up weed roots to grow as separate plants. I took all my rubbish off site to either the tip of my green bin. It depends on your site if you can have fires, we can but I hate them so don't. It'll take longer than you think but don't cut yourself up about it, get bits done and planted and move onto the next bit. I covered half my plot the first year to concentrate on getting the other half sorted and it worked well for me. Remember weeds are atracted to bare earth so plant up as soon as you've cleared an area - also makes you feel like you're winning.

Oh and yes there is a thread somewhere but I can't find it, sorry

[HeyWayne]

Should keep you out of trouble for a couple of hours...

[trixy]

Looks good



Oh and yes there is a thread somewhere but I can't find it, sorry

ooh thanks I'll go look now.

[trixy]

Should keep you out of trouble for a couple of hours...

Do I have your word on that?

[HeyWayne]

Sorry, no idea why the "...at least" bit didn't appear.

Do I have your word on that?

[trixy]

ooh thanks I'll go look now.

just for my own future reference here's the linky

[northepaul]

Nice to meet you Trixie.
How many rods is it?
Ours was a horse field for 30 years before we got it. It partially covered in brambles (which it still is abit) and VERY compacted down. But atleast you can put your own stamp on it!

We never rotavated ours because of spreading weeds (of which there are millions any way)It'll be hard work digging it, no mistake.
The best thing is to make a plan, & dig one bed at a time (or half a bed).

And the best part is that you'll look at your plot in a years time and feel very proud of what you've achieved!!

[Currysniffa]

What I did when I got my first half plot on was to spray the lot with round-up, 3 weeks later it was ready to rough dig then I used rotovater, I've just took the other half on now and have sprayed the area with round-up ready for the rotovater....

[oldie]

Bit late for round up isn't it? That's if you want to use that route. Personally I'm a cover and dig(slowly) type.

[Currysniffa]

I sprayed mine 3 weeks a go, most people on our allotment spray, I know it doesn't go down well on here but I don't have a problem with it, I have my own rotovater now as well so I'll be turning all the FYM in with it next march

[Jelliebabe]

I would dig a bit and cover, dig a bit and cover (or plant up!) I dug myself to a standstill earlier in the year only to leave uncovered and unplanted.... Only had to dig the bloomin lot again cos of the weeds that then sprung up! I managed to get lots of large cardboard boxes from work and have used those to cover where ive dug. Ive planted through some too!

good luck - Actually from that picture it looks like they're growing lots of broccoli plants....