Beginners Help

[Droppey]

I've just started to help an elderly chap with his allotment, due to personal reasons he has been unable to do anything with the ground.

K I've made a start on the ground, and my there's a lot of loose blades of grass in there *sighs* but what I really want to know is am I too late in planting anything for this year?

Cheers for any help

[Capsid]

Not at all! I haven't planted my potatoes yet, next weekend though.

There's also:

carrots, parsnips, beans, sweetcorn, kohlrabi, radish, lettuce, courgette, pumpkin, squash, peas.

I'm sure I've missed some.

[Droppey]

What I'm worried about is that from what I've read I should've prepared the ground with some type of feed and I have not done this therefore will I need to still do this?

[Capsid]

All except carrots and parsnips will benefit from addition of compost now and an application of a general fertiliser, although it's not essential. Not preparing with a feed shouldn't stop you from planting, the veg will still grow.

[Droppey]

Thanks for the advice next question is if I put compost or something on the ground do I leave it on for a period of time before sowing seeds? And also do I mix the compost in with the soil or just leave it on top? Sorry for the utterly daft questions

[Demeter]

Droppey - ask your chap what he has grown there previously. Did he cultivate it last year or was it out of action then too? Look at the condition of the soil too - is it light or dark? Sandy, silty, clayey or loamy? Is it lumpy, sticky, powdery or somewhere in between?

It may be that you can get away with not adding anything, or only adding to certain areas (especially if they were thoroughly manured last year or if they have been lying fallow for a season).

As for what to add - if you need to fertilise the ground then this can be done with manure, home-made compost or a scattering of chicken pellets or some proprietary fertiliser. This will be a necessity if the soil has poor fertility (if there are plenty of weeds - it probably doesn't!) or if you are growing hungry crops like brassicas. It will be unnecessary if you are growing root crops or onions.

If you need to improve the condition of the soil, then this can be done with manure, compost, soil improver, leafmould or any other well-rotted organic matter. Compost is quite an expensive way to do it if you are buying it in, especially if you have a large area. However, I suspect that if your old chap has been working the allotment for a while the soil will already be in good enough condition to grow most crops.

If you do end up adding compost (or anything else) it does not really need to be dug in or left for any particular length of time (although you might prefer to do this if it is manure) but it MUST be well rotted. Poorly rotted organic matter will either "burn" the plants or deprive them of the nitrogen they need to grow.

As for what you can plant - how about "anything". It is only April and the growing season has just begun! If you are going to devote some time to clearing the plot etc then you might do well to cheat on the seed-sowing and buy ready-grown plants for at least some of your crops. Lots of seed-grown plants benefit from being started off in modules or pots rather than sown straight into the ground but this is a bit more time-consuming so if you only have a limited amount of time to give plug plants might be the answer! Some plants are much better sown straight into the ground though, particularly carrots and parsnips.

[stephenwithap]

dont panic i havent got anything in yet either only just got new allotment so need to get ready im using raised bed system this year just to get strted so at least i may get summat in
steve