It's hello from me

[dexterdoglancashire]

"If you keep an eye on the "what I did today" thread in the vegging out section, you will get a rough idea of what people are doing and when, just to give you some more ideas"...PigletWillie[/QUOTE]

Guess whos only just twigged that I could use the info as advice as to what to be doing!

Bernie aka Dexterdog

[Plotlady]

Hi Bobbygirl,
Just picked up that you. like me are a new member and learning the game.
Hope we can be of help to each other.
I am 54 (soon to be 55) Married with a grown up family. I still work full time as a teacher, so I can't spend as much time as I would like on the plot. I aquired mine last October. I only wish it had been as good as yours! It was a complete bomb site and hadn't been worked for over 10 years. The soil is acidy heavy clay, on a slight slope. There are just three other plots besides mine, but I rarely see anyone. (one is a real mess) I've now managed to clear the site and have got a 6x8 green house and the same size potting shed (complete with very neccessary kettle etc) and a cold frame
So far I have planted direct, salad early potatoes, onions, peas, broad beans,
and a variety of carrots, of which there is no sign yet. I've also put in Rasberrry canes, two varieties of Gooseberry, a red current and a black current bush.
The green house is bursting with trays of all kinds of stuff, as is the cold frame.
Hope to talk soon, must get ready for work now.Parents evening tonight!
Bye for now
Julia

[goddess]

Dear BG,welcome to forum.i also have 3 kids and believe me my plot (a share in a plot) is already full and i am back on waiting list for a bigger plot.raspberrys are very easy to grow and kids love to pick them (treat it like pick your own farm and they will love it)any area you dont want to cultivate u can sow annual flowers or something like poached egg plant which can be treated as green manure like bob flowerdew advice.good luck

[Sue Poston]

Hi to all

Hello everyone i'm Sue who is sharing the allotment with Bobbygrrl. Our first time every doing anything like this. Went over yesterday, started about 10.30am didn't leave until 6pm last night. I could just about move today but fill great that I managed to plant our Potato's and beans. Bobby and I will be going back tonight we'll put some more photos on as we want to divide the ground into 12 small plots. do you think that might be too many.

[JennieAtkinson]

Hello Sue - and welcome to the Vine! Looking forward to seeing your pics. Can't answer your questions about the number of plots, but I'm sure someone will be along very soon!

[nick the grief]

Hi Sue & Bobby Girl
Welcome to the Vine and well done on the new Lottie. When you talk about sections do you mean raised beds or just an area?

I’ll await your answer & just blether on anyway. I would go for a 4 year rotation system so you want 4 area’s roughly about the same size ( it makes it easier then) an in these you grow

1) Spuds
2) Roots ( Carrots, Parsnips, Onions, shallots & leeks - plant in alternate rows then the onions confuse the carrot fly …. Well that’s the theory.
3) Brassica’s – Cabbage Cauli’s, Brussels
4) Legumes – Peas & Beans

Added to this I would have a separate area if you like squashes, marrows & courgettes if you only want a couple of courgettes like me, I stick them in with the peas & beans usually

I think no allotment should be without a bit of colour so have space for a row or two of Chrysanth’s and/or Dahlia’s, a wigwam of sweet peas ( look good with the runner beans and help pollination) and maybe sow a row or two of cut flowers too so that make 5 sections.

What you do then is move them on one section every year so spuds move to section 2 etc etc. The Herbs will love a raised bed as the more sun they get the stronger the flavour ( most are Mediterranean somewhere along the line, but if you want mint grow this in a tub or it will run all over your Lottie.

If you have space on this one for some soft fruit that’s another area, Your Rhubarb will need lifting & splitting every so often but that’s easy to do, Raspberries are good for 15 years so make a job of it at the start but strawberries need to be moves after about 3 – 4 years but you can root your own runners and plant them up then destroy the old plants just un case they have any virus’s.

Any questions …. No Good, time for tea

[Pottypotter]

Hi sue and bobbygirl welcome to the grapevine.

[has-bean]

Dont forget to leave room for all the peripheral stuff you will need in time and may not yet have - like a shed/greenhouse, water butts and a well positioned manure or compost heap. Last but not least you need a south or west facing seat so you can reast your weary body at the end of the day and survey all of your land. Dont forget that evry good toolshed has a bottle opener in the toolbox.

HAPPY ALLOTMENTEERING

[dexterdoglancashire]

Hi Sue and welcome to the Vine! Looking forward to seeing your photos!
Good idea has-bean about the cork screw, but I've got a pub next door to our site.......will bring welcome refreshment in the summer months I'm sure! They also have a bowling green as well - I've always wanted to learn how to play and Im sure OH will teach me!.......might as well just live in my little shed on my lottie methinks!!
Bernie aka Dexterdog
(For those of you who dont already know - just check out the photos of my shed on "Ive got one" in the allotment section - then you'll realise how funny this is!!)

[Bobbygrrl]

Hi again

I tried to buy that Lets Grow Veg. Two tescos had not received it and then the last one phoned head office and they said that they won’t be getting it. I then went on to WHSmiths who phoned their supplier who said that they won’t be getting it either!!!

Has anyone had a go at this 30 day trial diary? If so was it any good? http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/main/g...p_calendar.asp

Julia w, I work in education too, co-ordinating out of school WRL provision.

The plot has a kitchen with fridge and microwave, and a toilet, with heating!!! – the water butt is right behind the building you can see in the first set of photos and the concrete path only covers two plots on either side (one of them is ours), I just can’t believe our good fortune at scoring such a great plot and everyone is so friendly, I just can’t remember all the names, Vic; Charlie; Jo; Cliff; Cathy and her husband and organic man (didn’t catch his name but that’s what me and Sue call him); Sue is better than I am at remembering all the names!

Ps I also have a mini ‘flask’ in my gardening pack for any emergencies

I think I would like to start on the Lettuce soon, I tried to do lettuce, spring onions and rocket in my mini heated propagator but they just didn’t take, I was surprised because everything else took in the other 5 I had on the go with the flower seeds child number 3 planted up and hanging basket freebie seeds from gardeners world. (some are currently in pots on the allotment)

Ebay and Amazon are great ideas for book searches, thank you, I will get on there at the weekend.

I’ve never heard of a poached egg plant, must look that one up!

Made a list so far but haven’t got as far as working out the timing… I just know we will have a bountiful crop of everything for 1 month then nothing!!!! Practice makes perfect – but then forward planning always helps!

When we say section it off, its more mentally than physically – ie have 2ft walkways, not planted up, between areas dedicated to crops happy to be in the same area, that can be rotated in following years

so in the square we have mentally broken it down into sections

1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16

I have an old plastic mini greenhouse– the plastic cover is worn (mostly at the top so won’t keep the rain or sun out but it will keep the heat in enough to please these crops that can climb up supports I can pop in there… quite tempted to grow them in compost bags but then I could do that in the back garden, hmmm:

AREAS 1, 2, 5 and 6

Sweetcorn
Broccoli
Cabbage
Sprouts
Cauliflower

AREA 16
Courgettes
Aubergine
Sweet Pepper
Cucumber
Sweet Potato

AREA 9 into 10
Salad

AREA 10
Peas (in wigwam) must remember to get some sweet peas to go with them

AREA 4
Dwarf Beans
Beetroot
Carrot

AREA 3
Potatoes
Onions
Parsnips

AREA 15
Herbs in 2 raised beds

AREA 13
Fruit corner:
Rhubarb
Strawberry

Would like to add raspberry; gooseberry; red and black current; blueberrys, olive tree, have one 4 years old in a pot, thinking whether to transplant it into the fruit corner. I also have a 2 year old orange tree that I would have liked to put out… except that they don’t fair well for all year outside.

Here are some updated photos


potatoes with the ground dug over ready for the onions


a row of dwarf beans
a row of beetroot


starting to dig over for the caulies etc.

[Bobbygrrl]

two types of strawberrys - the frame was half of the double bed divan I was getting rid of but decided to do a bit of recycling. The other half will be cut in half, with planks of wood at all sides, perfect for the herb raised beds.


hubby and child no. 3 Amelia next to the Rhubarb.

Not sure
1 how long its been there, when if how when to take it out and separate
2 when it is to be picked out to be eaten,
3 how to be sure I leave the bit that will grow again next year


Another angle of the rhubarb

[dexterdoglancashire]

Lovely to hear how you are getting on - super photos as well!
Bernie aka Dexterdog

[has-bean]

Very impressive. Cute little lady too

[JennieAtkinson]

Well done - keep us posted!

[Alice]

Thanks for sharing all that Bobbygirl. Lettuce, spring onion and rocket don't need to go in a propagator. They will come fine straight into the ground.