Newbie alert - New plot - Now what?

[The_Monk]

Hi there,

After hunting around some sites on the net for some help this forum looks by far the most friendly, so I think I'll set my roots down here

Apart from mould in a cup when I was a student I have never grown a single thing before. I spend my week stuck behind a PC in an office. So in search of some fresh air and exercise I've got myself an allotment plot.

I am lucky enough (I think) that it has been rotivated in the last week but, for some reason I'm hesitant at where to start. It sounds like I should choose a section (not too large) to dig over (as it's been rotivated is this simply to get as many weeds /roots out of the ground as possible?) dig in some manure and then sow/plant. Does this sound about right?

What to do next? From the couple of books I've managed to get my hands on from the Library I can't work out what I can plant / sow at this time of year. It looks like I've missed the boat and am left with preparing the soil ready for next year and I think this is what's making me hesitant.

I could really do with some advice - thank you

[yoanbob]

welcome to the vine The Monk!
were a bit nuts but we are friendly.
I would divide the plot in to manageable chunks, cover with weed fabric and work on one bed at a time, otherwise before you know whats hit you you will be back to square one.
you can still plant lettuce radish some onions leeks cabage sprouts broccoli, letuce and radish for this year everything else for begining of next.
so I would put those in and then get the other beds ready for next year, start with a list of things you like and decide on a rotation system then down to the garden centre to buy seeds, read the back of the packets to see what you can plant and get started,
I'm sure you can put more in now but somone who knows more will be along to tell you
soon no doubt.
try reading the what i did today thread for what people are doing when.
good luck

[Flummery]

Welcome to thre grapevine, yes it really is a friendly site. You are not too late to get a few things in for next year. Firstly decide if you are growing in beds or right across the allotment. Even so, you might want to grow in blocks of about 4" wide so you can reach without treading on the growing area.
Certainly, dig again and remove any weeds you can see. You can put in broad beans (aquadulce Claudia is the variety recommended for overwintering) and japanese onions at this time of year. You might get plants of kale or spring cannage in garden centres too and these can go in now. I've got 'all the year round' lettuce and 'autumn king' carrot seeds to go in this week. Might be a bit late but it's worth a go - if we get a reasonable back end you never know.

Good luck with the venture and keep us posted! Dont' forget some 'before' photos so you can see how well you've done 'after' .

[Birdie Wife]

Hi there,
Apart from mould in a cup when I was a student I have never grown a single thing before.

LOL love your honesty! I'm a relative newbie compared with most of the people on here too. You may have missed the boat for a lot of things this year (but see advice above) but it's a good chance to prep the space for next year. Find some seed catalogues, work out what you'd like to try and what you have space for and just go for it! By the time next spring comes around, you'll be ready to launch in ahead of the game. You can learn as you go along too. The seed packets tell you everything you need to know. Have fun, enjoy the successes and don't get too downhearted about the failures! That's all I have to say really.

[mandyballantyne]

Hi The Monk,

Welcome to the vine, it is great here and you will soon become addicted like the rest of us.

Have you thought about buying some plug plants to get you started? I ordered some through dobies.co.uk and they are due to arrive next month. I went for calabrase selection but they had a few options I think it was about £10 for 50 plants.

Where abouts are you in the country? You could try Christmas potatoes, I have just planted mine and I am in Scotland or garlic needs some frost.

Good luck and let us know how you get on, Mandy

[Nicos]

Hello Monk - and welcome to the Vine
Fruit trees and bushes are a must!!!!! also stick in a few flowering perennials just to make it feel like home.
Have you got a shed or greenhouse?
I'd take a chair and some butties and a flask and sit down there and gather your ideas. ( don't forget your brollie)
Have a look at what other plotholders have done and how they have set things out.
Chat to your new neighbours about what they find does well and doesn't ( your site might have bad clubroot or raspberry virus- each site is different)
Do a few sketches...
Make a list of the fruit and veg you fancy growing...
Pop into the Library and take out a few gardening books.

How lovely to start afresh!!!!

[Hazel at the Hill]

Hi Monk - welcome to the Vine! I can see you are already being given great advice by the grapes (although you may have spotted Flummery's deliberate mistake on bed width...... try 4' wide not 4 INCHES! (sorry Flum!))

Flum's right with the photos, tho' - hugely interesting in months/years to come (well, to you if not everyone else!!). I take a snap 'up plot' and 'down plot' each time I go to the Hill, and if I was a REAL sadd-o I could make one of those flicker books that looks like things are moving....tho' I haven't quite reached that stage yet.....!!

I'd recommend Dr Hessyans Vegetable Expert and John Seymour's Self Sufficiency as books to get you up and running......

Happy growing!

[Headfry]

Welcome to the mad house Monk!

[rustylady]

Welcome to the Vine, Monk.

Would be good to know whereabouts you live (not precise location if you don't want to give that, just a county maybe). This can be added to your personal profile and really helps when giving advice as to which crops can be grown. I know UK is a small place relatively speaking but we have such a wide range of weather conditions. Something which can be grown easily in the South will really struggle in the North.

I would go with most of the advice given already. You cannot hope to plant the whole plot straight away, no matter what the time of year. Choose a bit, remove perennial weed roots, plant that with some or all of what has already been suggested, and cover the rest of it with old carpet or weed suppressant material. Pace yourself and enjoy!!

[The_Monk]

Warm and Nutty Responses

Thank you for such a warm response - I see I was correct in saying this looked like a friendly forum but I now see a little nutty too! Looks like I'm in with like minded individuals.

I've updated my location as suggested and been down to my plot after work to scout around the other plots to see what they're growing and to say hi to anyone I could find. Made 2 new friends and discovered a few things. Been told by the local farmer who comes down to rotivate any plots that request it to start at the top end of my plot (furthest away from the path) so that any areas I don't do (my plots the full 100 sq yards) he can easily access to rotivate in the future to help me out. Which was nice. I discovered the soil is more sandy than clay, which I was told is great to work with but doesn't hold moisture well. Access to water is right at the end of my plot which is great and I have a whopping wasps nest next to the path which isn't so great!!

I mentioned I have a friend who can supply me with manure and discovered if I have surplus I will certainly make many new Friends on the site LOL.

Yo an' Bob and Flummery thank you so much for your suggestions on what I can plant right now - you've replaced that sinking feeling I had looking at the when to sow calenders which made it feel like the only joy I would get this year was preparing the soil.

I'm going to take my camera so I can have some 'Here's what I started with' photo's. I'm still exploring this site - is there a section you can make for your own pictures and blog type things or do I just create one somewhere else and link it in my signature?

For those sections I don't get too, some of you mention weed suppressing material - now (as I would guess with most people) I don't want this to be an expensive part of my life, where do I start - I don't have any carpet or similar to hand - so what's the inexpensive solution if I have to buy?

Thank you all for your responses - It's just the tonic I was hoping for!!

[terrier]

Hi Monk and welcome to the 'vine'. If you're looking for weed suppressant on the cheap then corrugated cardboard is usually free if you have a car to go and collect it. Weigh it down with your manure and the job's a good'un. Enjoy your new plot and take your time, mistakes can be made quickly, remedies take a lot longer.

[new2growing]

You're not alone

Hi Monk,I'm in the same boat as you.Got a bit of land,luv the thought of growing my own food BUT!!!!where do you start. Well, I got some plant plugs (partially grown plants) made a hole in the ground,put 'em in, watered them & Robert's your Dads' brother, I ended up with some gorgeous tasting lettuce.Had a fewcabbage & leeks coming along nicely then went out one morn & there they were gone.Squirrels or rabbits I imagine. Ah well,at least I grew something as I'm sure you will. Start again now I suppose. Still don't know what I'm doing tho.All the info we need is on this forum somewhere. (Ever thought of getting some chickens?Plenty of manure) Good luck.

[HappyMouffe]

Hi The_Monk, and welcome to the Grapevine.

is there a section you can make for your own pictures and blog type things or do I just create one somewhere else and link it in my signature?

There isn't a blog-making thing on this site, but there are a range of free sites on the web which are very easy to use. They're great as a way of marking your progress, especially if you're no good at writing it down in a diary, which I never remember to do.

Best of luck with the new plot - always remember that plants want to grow - you just have ot help them along a little bit. I've had half a plot for nearly a year now, and although this year hasn't been great weather & disease wise, it's been wonderful!

[seasprout]

Hello.

Hi The_Monk, welcome to the vine.

A good place to start is by jotting down a list of a few things you actually like to eat, such as peas, sweet corn etc... Don't feel you have to plant stuff that your neighbours grow.

Also have a think about fruit, in the next few months becomes prime fruit planting time, such as strawberries, etc.

Also how about buying a copy of the Mag associated with this site.

Grow your own
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/magazine.php

[Jaxom]

Hi Monk, and welcome to the Vine
There is nothing worse than seeing a glut at harvest time that you and your family can't eat or give away. However if you have a good compost area set up then nothing goes to waste. This compost will help with your sandy soil. The more vegetable matter that you can work into the soil the better it's water retention will be in future years. Think about light and shadow. A big apple tree is very nice but will it put your smaller plants in the shade or annoy a neighbour. A lot of growers get round the tree problem by growing cordon fruit trees, which are a lot easier to harvest.
Now is a perfect time to start working out how you want your future lottie to be. Draw plans. You can rub out mistakes on paper that will save your back in later years than if you just dig and plant with out thought.
4 small beds are better than one big one. If you have four then you can rotate your crops with out having to plan ahead each year. What ever grew in bed one this year will be planted in bed two next year and so on until in year five you are planting it in bed number one again. Check if you can have a shed or greenhouse on the plot. If you want a greenhouse then look on recycle sites where people offer them free to anyone willing to take them apart and remove them. There are loads of things you can do now that will make life better for you in the future.
You may not be able to put the whole area under your control in the first year but time will change that.