What to do next

[FenBuff]

Hi all we had lovely weather here yesterday so decided To go to the allotment .
And dig some plots up I have 3 plots which i dug up with a friend who helped there is some few weeds which I still need to dig up .. It is really nice soil.. What do you guys think about putting veg and fruit in now.But do need to get some raised beds in there. I have a few good ideas for it can't wait for the nice weather to come Luke (fen buff) .....

[rustylady]

Why do you need raised beds Luke?

Too early yet for seeds outside, but you could plant fruit bushes now.

[FenBuff]

As I like the look of them.. And they look neat

[WendyC]

Do you mean raised beds or you just want to edge your beds. Personally I wouldn't fix my layout of beds in my first year as you don't know enough about your plot yet. E.g. where is the sunniest spot, where is the soil the wettest, stoniest. How will I use the plot? On my first plot I changed the layout as few times, thought I was happy with my plans then when I moved plot laid it out, used it for a year then changed it all round! You will be unable to change easily if you put in raised beds. I have one Link-a-Bord raised bed which I move around depending on where my carrots and parsnips are going to go, then I fill this with used compost from last year. Just a thought.
Definitely too cold for seeds outside but excellent time for planting fruit bushes as suggested.

[rustylady]

As I like the look of them.. And they look neat

Fair enough. But it means more work and more expense, at least to start with. It's perfectly possible to grow good crops without raised beds.

[FenBuff]

Well you can show me if you like haha.... As I'm a novice the only plans I wanted with a allotment was to grow basic fruit and veg... And also have chickens on there for the eggs .

[WendyC]

Sorry, show you what? I'm not sure what you mean.

[FenBuff]

How the expert does it? The allotment ... As I'm a novice and I can only digest a small amount of info .

[Bill HH]

My advice to you is to go onto u tube and watch all you can about gardening, there are hundreds of instructional vids on there, then come back to us with specific questions if you have any.

[FenBuff]

Cheers bill HH

[The Nichols']

Even the longest allotment holder guesses wrong when they work out what to grow, either leaving gaps in beds or having to force things too close together resulting in lower yields.

My advice would be to plan now, plant later. It's all very well buying a bag of 100 sets of onions but if the beds you've created will only hold 30, that's all 3 beds used up instantly.