Allotment.

Polytunnels, cold frames, greenhouses, propagators & more. How to get the best out of yours...

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snooky
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Having survived a bout of this Coronavirus,I have been able go to my newly acquired allotment.It was very clean and I was able tp plant it up straight away.Had a mad two weeks of sowing and planting and cleaning out the well overgrown fruit patch which is the only part needing a good sort out.
Been informed by others on site that I will struggle to grow carrots and peas and brassicas(club root) and that it is full of marestail.It is also laid out in raised beds about 12 inches high,which I see absolutely no need of as the ground is a sandy/loam,so as I dislike raised beds I shall put I will put the alloment back to open ground.And, whoever put the beds in put paths in only 9 inches wide and that is awkward .My size twelves do not fit the path and no chance of pushing a wheelbarrow down them.Water on site and allowed to use a hosepipe to water the plot!!No shed on site so I will buy one an set it up.Allowed a shed 6x4 plenty big enough.
So,happy with it hopeful for some decent crops from this site access to manure too!Let's hope that the sun keeps shining and that it rains between 10 o'clock in the night 'til 6 o'clock in the morning!
Last edited by snooky on Thu Apr 23, 2020 8:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Regards snooky

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oldherbaceous
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Well done for beating the Coronavirus, Snooky. I thought I was the only one, who is not a fan of raised beds and prefers open beds...so saying that, I can see why people have them in certain situations. You could try a heavy dressing of lime, to help with the clubroot and a heavy dressing of manure in the bottom of a trench, really helps for growing peas, as it not only feeds them, it also importantly, holds on to moisture.
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

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Westi
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Look at the club root resistant brassica's Snooky. I can highly recommend them, but only 'resistant,' however I have great success & no failures and my plots have no areas that don't have club root. They do cauliflower, several cabbages including savoy, brussel sprouts & calabrese to date but range is growing all the time. Unfortunately all F1 and still a bit pricey while we pay for the science to develop them! I can still grow Kale OK'ish but can't wait for them to extend the range further! Attached is one of the Calabrese in the range, just caught it in time & got one even bigger & this one was nearing a foot!
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Westi
Stephen
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Snooky, it's good to have you back. I'm glad you are ok.

An allotment passed on in good condition is a treat, usually they are only given up when people fail to keep them in good order.

As for raised beds, I dread to think how much effort goes into their construction. I may have beds on part of my space but they are ground level. I do have narrow paths, ok for size 6 feet but I did make a slight error in that they are about an inch or two narrower than the feet of the wheelbarrow.
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
vivienz
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My new raised beds are great, but that's because you'd break your wrist trying to get a spade into our soil when it's dry, and you'd drown trying in the wet winter. If you've got sandy loam, I can't see the point either. We've got fairly wide paths between ours - at least the width of a wheelbarrow.
Westi - what magnificent calabrese! Something to aspire to!
Stephen
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Re:- paths on the plot.
When I got my first half-plot, I measured it up and created some beds. I thought about reach for the width of the beds and put 2ft wide paths between them.
I then realised that more than 20% of the plot was just path. As there were (and still are) quite a lot of permanent planting (rhubarb, currants, gooseberries and raspberries) that left very little space or flexibility, so I squeezed the paths to 18" (I think).
If I had started with a whole plot, I would probably have accepted the wider paths. I run the other half-plot as open field, so there is plenty of flexibility.
I expect your predecessor thought likewise, that paths are "lost space"
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tigerburnie
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Two reasons why I went for raised beds, no dig and ease of access and by growing in blocks broad casting the seed rather than in rows, I am using the space more efficiently. I bet if you worked out the percentage of lost space between your traditional rows, it's probably around 20 percent too.
Been gardening for over 65 years and still learning.
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