Newt's Allotment 2018

[Newt]

I've decided to do a little blog here to help me keep track of the allotment as I go.

First, a quick personal recap to help me figure out where I'm going next with it and remind myself I have worked on it even if it still looks a mess!

Early October 2017: First day checking out the allotment


First attempt to cover with newspaper before mulch... did not go well.


Cardboard works much better. The first load of cardboard, and some straw mulch went down.

[Newt]

And now for the allotment as it is now at the start of 2018:


Christmas Hoard of Amazing Gifts:
2 seed propagator trays with lids and reusable inserts.
1 jumbo packet of "bug out bag" survivalist "heirloom" food seeds from America
1 stack of reliable English vegetable seeds
1 shallow covered tray for growing edible sprouting seeds
Spouse's grandpa's old gardening tools

January 2018 Plans:
Move the mini tool shed to a less in-the-way position
Finish covering allotment in cardboard and straw
Mark out new beds using garden twine and salvaged metal rods found in shed
Check seed stash and order missing/needed seeds
Plan out growing schedule for 2018

[Penellype]

Looks great Newt. I will follow you with interest as I am in almost the same position here.

[Welsh76]

I’m new to the allotment world so it’s interesting for me to see everyone’s progress (and pinch some ideas along the way).

My progress to date is in the ‘Allotment Advice ’ forum, although I have done a lot more work since and will post another update hopefully by the end of next weekend.

[Peteyd]

Looks good Newt. I look forward to following and watching it progress.

[Newt]

The mulch project is going well, and I'm starting to think more about how I want/need to tidy up the space I have.

Right now, there's wasted space at the top end of the plot by the shed. The "compost heap" full of heaped clay soil and literal trash needs to go, and is completely in the shade year-round the way it's positioned. Meanwhile the side of the shed that gets full sun has two water butts, a wheelie bin and a mini toolshed there. If I can clear the heap, I could move the water butts and the mini shed to more sensible positions, freeing up space for a mini greenhouse or something else that could use the sun better. The soil is too wet and heavy to shovel right now, but I've at least got the front off the heap and made a start.

I also need to sort out the fencing. One side is someone else's chicken wire, tangled with overgrown grass and leaning over to my side a lot due to the various items they've piled up against it. The other side there's no fence, but any boundary I did put in could be turned into a potential sun-trap. And the edging at the entrance to the plot is in bad condition and gives too narrow an opening for me to get a wheelbarrow through unless I tip it sideways first.

I'm thinking, the sun-trap side I could put up some chest-high trellis. Enough that I can grow some climbing plants up without blocking the neighbour's sunshine (thankfully their path runs up against the edge so nothing immediately behind the trellis would suffer anyway). Possibly put a couple of South-facing pallet wall planters on the same edge. I'm thinking the other side, I can't really do anything about the fence. But I could put in a couple of tall posts and grow something like a grapevine up and along some wire. Maybe put the strawberries up there in reclaimed guttering.

Need to go have a browse once the local shops start stocking more gardening supplies.

[hortus]

I will follow with interest.

May I ask what you intend to do with the bed that has hay mulching? Will you plant through the straw?

Apologies if it's obvious I'm just learning.

[Newt]

I will follow with interest.

May I ask what you intend to do with the bed that has hay mulching? Will you plant through the straw?

Apologies if it's obvious I'm just learning.

Hi hortus!

No need to apologise, I'm just learning myself.

I plan to cover the whole lot with cardboard/straw mulch over the next couple of weeks - just a matter of getting enough cardboard as straw worked out nice and cheap and cardboard has mostly been free from work. So once it's done, plan is to let the cardboard rot down under the mulch, then part the mulch and plant through it for pretty much everything.

The beds the previous allotment owner laid out are far too large for me to work as the soil is so thick and clay-rich and soft you sink in it as you walk over, so I'm going to mark out new ones just 4 ft wide so I can reach across to the centre of them from the paths I'll put in between. I am experimenting with a no-dig style, but if it doesn't work out how I want and I end up going back to digging-over, I can still maintain smaller plots more easily. Besides which, mulching the path with straw has also worked out really well as they are getting a bit treacherously slippy with mud, and that's with me only going up there at the weekends!

I'm hoping by next year I'll have had time to amass a mulch of fallen leaves and other material so I don't end up getting more straw, but we'll see how it goes.

[hortus]

Thanks for replying newt!

I have fresh rabbit litter that I've been putting in the pumpkin patch and compost bin. Never did I think I could add it to the beds like you did. Annoyingly my 4th bed has just had an investment of compost chucked on cardboard just this week. I'll be mulching my fruit shrubs with it next and adding it to the beds. your diary has helped me already.

I'm also going to buy more bedding for the paths as mine are muddy messes too. Cheaper and more accessible than bark I had in mind.

[Newt]

Yes! Bark mulch is so expensive. I looked into that at first as well, but it's wild the prices that stuff goes for.

I've also got a compost bin full of horse poop as we get it delivered to the allotment free! Am very much looking forward to laying that down when it's well rotted.

[Newt]

Today is going well so far.

I've collected a huge stack of cardboard boxes from someone on freecycle, lugged another two sacks of straw from the house to the allotment, took my seeds and seed trays up there and got some spinach planted inside for an early crop. And picked up my portion of the fortnightly horse poop delivery.

Also ordered myself some oca and some rare peas from realseeds.

Plan for this afternoon is to have a cup of tea, go back up the allotment with the cardboard, get that laid out and more straw down, and then re-assess the situation again.

[Newt]

There. That's a huge stack of cardboard boxes and another 4.5 sacks of straw out on the plot. Perspective is a bit iffy but that's a little over halfway up the allotment and I reckon about 2/3 up the space I am hoping to get ready this year.

The paths up closest to the shed are really turning into a bit of a quagmire of mud and dead grass, so I'm really hoping to get this done soon. I'm at the stage now where I reckon I can start marking out the plots, so I'm going to take a tape measure with me tomorrow and get something marked out.

[Penellype]

Looking good Newt.

[Newt]

Today was a good day!

I had a fall at the allotment last week - one leg went out in front, the other buckled under me and I bounced off my knee - It's pretty stiff, weak and doesn't like being worked much so I've been a bit limpy and thus, unable to do quite as much as I'd planned today.

But I was still able to make some progress! Some of it not even planned. On the way up to the allotment I found a set of near-new vegetable stacking crates someone had dumped, so grabbed those. Also another couple of large, abandoned cardboard boxes which allowed me to get another sack of straw down. Started on my January propagator seedlings, gave some TLC to strawberry runners I've been keeping an eye on and got a few things tidied up a bit.

I made an attempt to mark out my plots, but the brown rusty stakes and brown string aren't very visible against the brown straw! So I'm going to get the brightest paint I can and dip both stakes and string in that before marking out again.

[Penellype]

Ouch! I hope your knee gets better soon.