Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Kit on November 03, 2018, 08:06
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Hi there
I have just taken on a plot and am excited to get stared growing my own veg. My family are great believers in no, or very little digging, and I was going to follow their example. However, the plot has recently been cleared by the council and instead of clearing the rubbish they appear to have ploughed most of it back into the soil. I have seen bits of black polythene, cut up bits of gardening gloves, bricks and wood stick out of the earth. I even pulled out a small rake!
Am I right in thinking I am going to have to dig the plot over in order to get all the rubbish out? Should I do it bed by bed and the mulch? Or just as and when I have things to plant?
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I fear that you are going to have to dig bed by bed now so that you start out with the place right then you can go down the no dig route. You do have the next few months which are not exactly planting time to get the place in order.
And yes, that's often typical council workmanship that you have inherited. Unfortunately.
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I really don't know what's best for newbies, plots left 6ft high in weeds and soil so hard you can't get a spade in - or ploughed ones with all the rubbish left in them. I suppose at least you can get a spade/fork in the soil to clean the plot if it has been ploughed ::)
So yes, clear a bed at a time and cover with cardboard and compost/mulch, or weed fabric for now - because in the first year it will be quite weedy, until you get a good deep mulch to stop the weed seeds germinating.
Good luck!
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Thanks for the advice. That was what I feared. ::)
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Kit most of us have been there and done the digging. Pays off long term. ;)
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YeH thats what we got, loads of rubbish, tonnes of weeds etc.seems to be the norm in this game! Our site offers a free strim, thats it. No reduced rent, even though taken in Mid may in that state. We've got it cleared but its been hard work!
This is how it goes most of the time unfortunately.
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It's these telly programmes that make gardening all look so easy that I think is the root of the problem. Along with people who have grown old and no longer fit enough to keep the plot in good condition.
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I think you’re right Christine & particularly with folk getting older, they won’t ask for help or are frightened to approach the council in case they get kicked off. I’ve suggested to ours numerous times about having a ‘buddy’ type scheme to help plot holders who need it & to get newbies started until a plot becomes vacant, each time I mention it it’s lime the first time they’ve heard it 🙄
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On our site, in the last couple of years when plots became vacant, they were split in half.
Even with just half a plot though some people struggle because as others have said, it's hard work.
Some of the older people on the site though seem to be really struggling at the moment and I wonder why they don't reduce to half a plot.
Surely it means they can carry on what they love but keep it managable :)
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It's these telly programmes that make gardening all look so easy that I think is the root of the problem. Along with people who have grown old and no longer fit enough to keep the plot in good condition.
This is it^^^
Our predecessor falls into the 'too much for an old guy' bracket. 33 years he had our plot, he grew frail, his wife sadly died and he cultivated less and less of the plot, using the remainder as a dumping ground for weeds, old soil, batteries, plastic, carpet, broken tools etc, most of the hard rubbish becoming buried over time. I've never heard of the rubbish clearance charge being invoked at our site, perhaps they felt sorry for this dude but he now shares a plot elsewhere on site with his his brother we hear, perhaps something he should have done 10 years ago...
In terms of best intentions, I know a few people who took on allotments to grow some veg, who became quickly disillusioned by the amount of clearance involved and quickly abandoned ship. I grew up on allotments so had low expectations at the start so everything we've achieved so far has been a bonus and a great source of pride. We aint letting ours go anytime soon!
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That's something I worry about too.
The guy who had the plot before me let it go to ruin, and my neighbours keep ribbing about it, nicely of course.
business is slow right now so I have half a day most days to dig, and that's ideal for starting the plot off well, but what happens if I open my shop again?
Then I won't have anywhere as much time, especially in the winter months when there's no daylight.
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Once you’ve got it prepared it will be fine, cover it with either cardboard,plastic or membrane before & after preparation to prevent weed growth. Look at no dig that gets covered with a thick layer of well rotted mulch & really cuts down on weed growth, the difference this year on my plot in weeding has been phenomenal.
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I'M surprised your council has ploughed your allotments probably a quick fix to get people renting I wish our council would adopt this but like most uncultivated plots our spare plots are very overgrown with all sorts of weeds and rubbish
and although there has been some interested parties looking to rent but there put of by the amount of work involved to clear and dig the ground its sad so many plots have just gone back to nature I think its to much to ask a woman to take on such a task because I have to say there's more interest in woman taking on new plots than men
the plot next to me has been recently taken over its full of docks the new plot holder asked me how I would do to get rid of them I told him roundup that's how I got rid of all the weeds on a new plot when I took it over he was most impressed that I had very few weeds on my plot considering its been left for around ten weeks when I was unable to do any gardening I have offered to spray it for him then plough it for winter
a fellow plot holder took my advise last year sprayed the plot then dug it over he had very good results this year and rid the plot of both docks and bindweed still having a full time job manages his plot very well he says he loves his plot he says its a place he come and to chill out on :D
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This is a very relevant topic - particularly at this time of year when rents are due (well they are on our allotments.) Our society doesn't push new members into taking on the old style allotment plot _ 300 roods perches or some other kind of fish - but splits up the old size into roughly thirds. Most newbies want to emulate Monty Don etc, but don't appreciate (or can spare) the necessary time to keep on top of things. An allotment can be a very therapeutic thing, but not if you are constantly fighting weeds, slugs, birds etc, and then finding you have fallen behind with planting out the module raised plants, or sowing in the right time for best results. I would suggest taking the smallest size plot you can, mastering that comfortably, and then moving on to something bigger if you enjoy it and can afford the time. The first year is always the hardest, but stick with it and it gradually improves as you learn more about your soil and environment. Most of all - enjoy it!
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That's something I worry about too.
The guy who had the plot before me let it go to ruin, and my neighbours keep ribbing about it, nicely of course.
business is slow right now so I have half a day most days to dig, and that's ideal for starting the plot off well, but what happens if I open my shop again?
Then I won't have anywhere as much time, especially in the winter months when there's no daylight.
I have a similar problem... I work in London and leave home at 7am and come back 7pm. Fine in the summer when the days are long; plenty time to pop round on my way home but this time of year all I can do is go there on the weekends. I chose to install raised beds; it mentally just made everything seem so much more manageable; because you're keeping lots of smaller spaces tidy which seemed a lot more possible than just one big space (if that makes sense). And by the end of this year I want to have put down ground fabric with a layer of something over to cover the footpaths between the beds to suppress weed growth as much as possible.
We have a fair number of elderly people on our allotment and I gather the couple that own the other half of my plot (they had the full plot then gave up half which I now have) are not renewing the lease as they can no longer cope. Fingers crossed I'll be able to take on that one as well :D
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hope your lucky Meriad and get the other half of the plot I know its only weekends you can get down the allotments this time of the year but hats of to you because its time consuming down the allotments when your still working a full time job working the day job seems to get in the way
but i agree raised beds do help i wish i had made rased beds when i was at work but then we worked 4 0n 4 off that did help having retired for several years now i love my raised beds I just wondered what the old gardeners would say with all that ground not cultivated with many paths because every bit of allotments where used for growing veg to feed hungry families as now we possibly grow more for pleasure and therapy garden therapy :D
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In answer to Rowlands, the paths may seem a waste of growing space but with either raised beds or beds & permanent paths you can plant closer together particularly if you never walk on the soil, which I’m sure you know😉. I’m sure peo0le on our site think of me as the batty path lady but it really works for me. I don’t have raised beds but beds the length of the plot but narrow with slabbed paths in between, saves lots of weeding etc. The old gardeners & there are plenty on our site spend an awful long time digging their whole plot every year & then weeding it when the let light to the weed seeds. Now I’ve gone no dig I’ve found there are so few weeds & what there have been just pull up so easily
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I sure some have heard this before but for those that haven't " You can walk on no dig"
Yes you are correct but old habits die hard lol
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Like meriad, I commute to London daily to work, and have 2 small children so weekends are all we've had. My wife then started night shifts so with the Sat morning lie in that now leaves us short Sat afternoons (with short winter days and poor weather) and Sundays if there arent other plans.
We bust a gut over summer and got a LOT of work done and during the hot spell I cycled up in the evenings to do the watering etc, but now we're taking it a bit easier as there simply arent enough hours in a week! This weekend we're forecast heavy rain so not much happening allotmentwise...
I'd suggest to anyone taking on a plot with busy lives to not rush things like we did, as long as you do 'something' regularly you won't lose your plot. There's always something you can grow so just work a bit at a time, clear and plant, clear and plant. If it takes 2 or 3 years to get fully up to speed so be it, just make sure you do at least half a day a week and keep those weeds down!
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your so rite old habits die hard although the no dig method is growing momentum :D maybe the old gardeners never had money to buy timber for build raised beds and remember they gardened how they where learnt by the there father possibly had to help out on the allotments after school or weekends
so its no surprise that todays would be gardeners have all the info and tools to hand and if they fail well there's always the supermarkets to fall back on and yes I think your rite snowdrops you can plant closer and raised beds are more manageable for us oldens :D
and just to mention I made 20 raised beds about two years ago and some thought I was going over the hill but where more than surprised when my raised beds proved a better way of growing with less effort maybe the no dig is the way forward for the next generation :D :D :D
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Thanks for all the replies. Haven't been able to get to the allotment at all this first week due to a bad cold, work and rain. Hopefully, if the weather holds, we can get down on Saturday and mark out the beds and start digging, mulching and covering one by one. I do want to do raised beds as it does seem more managable that way and it well help my kids understand where they can and can't walk.
I trying to find second hand wood though to keep costs down.
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And I'm writing an essay too. But the allotment is my reward after a few hours studying.
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I don’t have raised beds, no dig in this country doesn’t recommend raised beds/ wooden sides due to it providing a haven for slugs to hide in
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Kit, I get all my wood/pallets/slabs from Facebook marketplace, a bit like gumtree but more convenient in my opinion. I've yet to pay a single penny for any of the above but sometumes you have to wait for the good stuff to come up and be quick when it does!
I don't do raised beds personally but the ones I've just taken out were made of scaffolding boards and seemed strong and straight despite seeing many years of use.
I think it's fascinating how everyone has their own techniques and practices, it makes for a lively debate on here that's for sure!
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Like meriad, I commute to London daily to work, and have 2 small children so weekends are all we've had. My wife then started night shifts so with the Sat morning lie in that now leaves us short Sat afternoons (with short winter days and poor weather) and Sundays if there arent other plans.
We bust a gut over summer and got a LOT of work done and during the hot spell I cycled up in the evenings to do the watering etc, but now we're taking it a bit easier as there simply arent enough hours in a week! This weekend we're forecast heavy rain so not much happening allotmentwise...
I'd suggest to anyone taking on a plot with busy lives to not rush things like we did, as long as you do 'something' regularly you won't lose your plot. There's always something you can grow so just work a bit at a time, clear and plant, clear and plant. If it takes 2 or 3 years to get fully up to speed so be it, just make sure you do at least half a day a week and keep those weeds down!
I agree a change in my job meant less available time - the allotment I loved so much became another job on the list at weekends & I started to resent going - after 8 years I took a break this year my OH (who only ever got involved when there was picking to do) did what he could and kept it up. The break has worked and I’ve got my old enthusiasm back - slow but steady
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