startin new allotment

[Phil S]

Hello everyone,

I am about to take over an allotment and do nt know where to start, it is well weed coverd, I am going to use raised beds but would like some input as to which beds to start first i.e. roots, potatoes, beans, onions or greens?

[arwinfm]

Hi Phil - good luck with the plot. I took over a plot a few years ago which was in a similar state. My warning would be, not to try to do too much and find your source of pleasure becomes a dread. You could clear the weeds off a couple of beds, double dig with manure and grow potatoes. Maybe clear some more space for easy crops like courgettes, pumpkins, sprouts and brocolli for next spring. Courgettes are great as they take up a lot of space (less to sow) and need little maintenance - I use courgettes from Seeds of Italy - great selection.
Best wishes Arwin

[Guest]

You need a fine tilth for roots. Potatoes would help clear the ground and you could even do them the lazy bed way if you run out of time or even if you don't.There was an article in the Kitchen garden on that last year or the year before.Time is on your side for greens and beans because neither need to be in the ground until June, by which time you could be ready. For beans you could, if you have to, dig a trench, fill with manure and plant your beans into the trench.I'm just thinking of ways you could get crops this year without major hassle. I'd cover the ground that you don't think you'll manage to clear this year. Then start weed clearance on the rest. If you manage to do raised beds this year, put the roots into those. Squashes, Pumpkins and Courgettes can be raised on piles of manure almost anywhere - even in tyres holding down plastic covering part of the allotment.Accept that without major time allocation ( which you may have) you will probably not get it clear and shipshape this season. Therefore your priority will probably be to get crops out of it while you are starting to clear it and get it as you want it. Maybe some of my ideas may help towards that. Jane E

[LakeView]

I took over my allotment which had been unoccupied for 7 years.

To the dismay of some, we hired a huge (and I mean huge rear-tined) rotovator for a weekend, and dug into the ground that way, pulling out with a fork what we could find of couch grass and bindweed for days/weeks afterward. Needless to say -- we also produced a lot of additional plantlets as we inevitably left bind bits of bindweed happily reproducing with every piece left behind.

I was determined to plant the whole thing in one go (but back then I didn't also sell plants for a sideline hobby). I haven't used a drop of weedkiller, ever. I am still pulling bindweed and couch, but those are the only two significant perennials. It's the annual weeds that I have trouble with.

But our soil is absolutely wonderful. Six feet below our allotments are Roman ruins of some kind, so it's all topsoil, and what I call the 1000-year flood plain of the Thames. We do find the odd bit of pottery and must leave it on-site.

So despite the weeds, we have lovely soil and it produces excellent results despite my (sometimes) neglect.

I do recommend a big rotovator (if the soil type is favourable) but then lots of hand digging with fork to remove the bits. Good luck.

[darren c]

Hi Phil,there are three excellent books to help with you starting a new plot , Practical Allotment Gardening and The Allotment Handbook both by Caroline Foley and the RHS Fruit and Vegetable gardening by michael pollock. all three books are packed with everything you will need to get you going. One word of advice i can give you is that dont try to do everything at once get the ground cleared and measured up for your beds first you have just about got time on your hands. Try what i did and aim to clear,weed and dig a bed a week . Where abouts in Yorkshire are you ,i am in South Yorkshire myself.

[Phil S]

Thanks for the tips


The allotment runs east west and i was thinking of running the beds from north to south, this will let me put runner beans the length of the bed as well as potatoes, is this right?

[Allan]

Allotments Regeneration Initiative
www.farmgarden.org.uk/ari
Free factsheets etc. Look out for "Restore The Plot"

[Colin Miles]

In Dacorum the Council would very kindly rotovate a plot for you before you took it over. This meant that within 6 weeks of the new allotmenteer taking it over it became even more weedy. Very, very discouraging and often the person gave up. And the additional weeds caused more problems for those remaining. Eventually I persuaded the person on the Council to make sure that they spoke to me first before they rotovated to explain the likely problems if they did.

So DON'T rotovate unless you really are fond of weeding and, with the weather being what it is at this time of year weedkiller isn't likely to be effective. So as previously mentioned, digging and clearing the weeds a bit at a time is your best option. If you can't look on it as a long-term project it won't be worth doing.

[John]

Hello Colin
I agree with you that rotovating uncultivated soil to get it back into condition can often create a serious weed problem. If you go about it sensibly though the problems are not too bad compared with many many hours of laborious digging and forking. I think the secret is to run the rotovator on the absolutely slowest speed you can get, then it simply turns the soil over in much the same way as digging does. Then use a fork to go over everything to remove the weeds by hand. I've found my Chillington fork, the three pronged 'Canterbury', really good for this. Repeat the process several times at intervals of a few weeks and you should get the soil pretty clean and worked into a good tilth.
All too often you see these machines being used a full throttle to create a good tilth in one or two passes on neglected soil which leads to years of serious weed problems.

John

[Ian F]

I agree about the danger that a rotavator poses in over-eager hands. I have seen people try the "chop the weeds up and rake them out" method, and the weeds always seem to win in the end. Although it is definately much easier to remove stubborn weeds from cultivated soil, I am afraid that nothing beats old fashioned digging.

As has already been said, pick a small area, cultivate it , then move on to another area. That way you will see progress. Beds are good for that, as they are well defined.

Cover the areas you cannot cultivate with a thick mulch, or carpet etc. Don't be afraid to use glyphosate weed killer such as Roundup, as this is neutralised when it touches the soil

Potatoes are a good crop, as the foliage supresses weeds.

[pigletwillie]

I will only put forward three pieces of advice.

Firstly, try to imagine that the allotment is a whole roast elephant that you are about to eat for dinner. Dont try to eat it all in one meal, break it down into bite sized chunks and eat one chunk at a time.

Most people give up allotments within a few backbreaking months because they try to do too much at once, and get tired and disallusioned.

Secondly, dont be afraid to use roundup when you first start clearing the plot. I try to be as green and organic as I can be, but used roundup to give me a fighting chance when starting my plot. You are on the verge of spring and believe me, the weeds will grow quicker now than you can clear them.

Thirdly, dont use a rotovator until you have got the plot somewhat clear of perenial weeds, especially now, because you will just turn one piece of twitch into a score and massively increase your workload.

[Phil S]

But where to start? at the trunk or at the tail?

Thanks for the tips on not using a rotovator, I intended to dig it first (I used to have a allotment about 15 yrs ago time and kids put a stop to it then, this time I hope to share the allotment and digging)
but using the deep bed method and covering spare ground with cardboard.

But which way should i run the beds?

I do not think the council will rotovate the plot as it is in a small village on the border of east and north yorks and there is only 4 plots.

I intend to have a 5 bed rotation i.e. pots, beans,greens,roots and possibly onions?(i have garlic in pots) which to start first, roots for parsnips or onions for my sets and garlic.

[Allan]

A quote
"Couch grass is a plague especially dreaded by the gardener because it can sread so fast. More than that, it spreads in a particularly insidious way, underground, so that just as you think you have it beaten another blade pops up somewhere else. The reason for its success is that couch produces new plants by the growth of buds on its underground stems or rhizomes. Below the earth is a mass of these rhizomes. One square foot og couch can grow as much as 130 feet of rhizome, bearing up to 1,500 buds. That is 1,500 potential new plants, no wonder the weed spreads at the speed it does! Each new plant remains attached to the parent by the rhizome, until it is established.It gets plenty of nourishment through this 'umbilical cord' until its own root and shoots are big enough to support it, so new plants grow quickly and easily."
from "Plants in action (BBC)"

So the rotavator can make things much worse. My response is, let it all grow then spray the lot with glyphosate. Watch out for regrowth and use a Roundup RTU fast-acting spray on the stragglers. You will also clear dock, creeping thistle, nettle, bindweed, cinquefoil dandelion etc. by doing this. When it's all gone the glyphosate will be harmless and you can carry on without spraying if you so wish.

[Colin Miles]

Just to add to my previous comments. Re Digging - DON'T try to do too much at any one go. Another reason for new allotmenteers giving up is that in a rush of enthusiasm they spend all of the first day digging and weeding. Result, unable to move for a week or at worst a really bad back which puts them permanently out of action.

The weather over the next week or so doesn't look like digging weather, so it looks as though you will have to be patient. If you have time then certainly dig and clear for some early crops, otherwise wait until the weather is good enough and clear with Roundup.

[vivie veg]

I orginally posted the advise below on other topic of creating lazy beds, as I said before it worked for me!

Having taken over 11 acres of pasture which I intend to create a market garden I tried several methods last year. A local contract farmer failed to turn up to plough it. Anyway I prefer having smaller plots for planning and rotation purposes. The following method we fould very easy with the assistance of a rotavator.

A)Cut the grass to as low as your mower can go, or make the beds as soon as the sheep have been moved off!

B)Do 2 or 3 passes with the rotavator so that you get down to just below root level.

C)Mark out rows for ridges about 2 metres (6 feet) apart.

D) Shovel all of the loose soil & grass debrie on to the ridges mark out at C)

E) Plant ridges with your crop.

F) Rotavate the spare ground again for 2 or 3 inches and again shovel this onto the crop row.

G) Either rotavate the spare ground to a seed bed and grow a green manure or other crops. Or Mulch with a material of your choice and wait.

My partner and I managed to make a 20 metre square bed in about 2 hours....although the shovelling was hard work (My job) and my partner was catching me up with stage F while I was still on stage D! So maybe 2 shovellers to 1 rotavator is needed.

I grew potatoes on the ridges and a selection of salad veg, peas and turnips on the 'spare' ground. The potatoes were very easy to lift although some grass did grow. I have now covered the ridges with black polythene for the winter to suppress the weeds and warm the soil in spring. I hope next summer to have the hay from the surplus land made into small bales so that I can move this around easily and use as a mulch.

Our ground is very heavy clay so I will be making more of these beds and putting LOADS of organic mulch on the spare bits this year.