[rsdavis]

Hi all! My husband and I have an allotment. We got it last year and we did a bit but this is our big year and we are really keen to do as well as we can! I have a few questions and I wonder if anyone can advise.

Firstly we are going to go up and start weeding and preparing the land shortly, its been a bit hard till now. Are we too late for manure/compost or organic fertiliser? If not, is there a place we shouldn't put it i.e. onion beds/garlic etc.

Secondly we planted lots of strawberries last year and got a lovely crop. However we didn't prune the plants, cut the leaves etc or anything at the end of the season. Should we have done? Are we too late to use them again? How should we prepare them ready for this summer?

Thanks in advance :-)

[Ma Lowe]

Hi rsdavis. Welcome to the forum.
I am no expert and have only just had our allotment a few weeks (been growing in the garden for 5 years) but i know not to manure where carrots and parsnips are going and I don't think you manure where onions are going.
I will be manuring where the potatoes are going for sure when I find out where to get it from 

I have strawberries on our plot so will be looking at the advise you get.

Good luck with it all

Ma x

[sunshineband]

Hi there and welcome to the forum.

It is a great time in the year to be preparing your plot for the new season(assuming it is not under water of course  )

You could concentrate your manure where you are going to grow potatoes, cabbages, squashes and beans/peas this year, and when you move these round next year different areas will then get it.

I would avoid putting it where you are going to plant onions and garlic, or root veg, but these would benefit from something like blood, fish & bone a week or so before sowing.

And if you tidy up your strawberries now by taking off all the dead leaves - don't worry if they look really small when you have done it - and given them a feed of rose fertiliser, or sulphate of potash, they will romp away.

Please will you add your locality into your profile so we know whereabouts in the country you are? It does help with answering posts etc.

Hope that all helps a bit 

[Goosegirl]

I know there is so much conflicting advice about what to do, when and how, and it can get very confusing at times. I have layered manure on my root veg bed but not dug it in. When I want to sow or plant veg like onions, parsnips, carrots etc, I have just scraped the manure off the spot or row and done it. It keeps adding to the soil structure and helps as a mulch too. Just be careful that the manure isn't fresh.

[rsdavis]

Great! Thanks for the quick responses. I really want to grow organically and avoid any non-organic fertilisers. Can you suggest any we could use? I read somewhere that comfrey is a herb that you can use if you put a leaf in a watering can, that you can then use on the veg as a fertiliser. Is that right? Can you use it on everything? Rach x

[rsdavis]

Oh and one more thing....how is the best way to clean seed trays. I read somewhere to use bleach? Is this right?

Rach x

[Fairy Plotmother]

Welcome rsdavis. It's so good to hear the enthusiasm coming through your posts. I hope some of it will rub off on me as I'm feeling a bit down in the dumps. Yes, comfrey can be soaked in water and given to your veggies... it stinks though. As for washing pots etc I use hot soapy water with a splash of disinfectant. 

[Ma Lowe]

I will be getting comfrey to fertilize my veg.

As for cleaning the trays I use Jayes fluid diluted with water.

[Yorkie]

Just a quick point about starting work / weeding etc.  If the soil sticks to your boots, then stop work.  You'll damage the soil structure and it's no fun trying to remove weeds where the mud just sticks to the roots!

[sunshineband]

Just a quick point about starting work / weeding etc.  If the soil sticks to your boots, then stop work.  You'll damage the soil structure and it's no fun trying to remove weeds where the mud just sticks to the roots!

Very true 

Whereabouts in Hampshire are you? My daughter lives in the same county and my brother too.

[rsdavis]

We are in Alverstoke, near Fareham. Southampton/Portsmouth area. Its quite a posh allotment (the other plot holders hold champagne parties in the summer) so we really have to get on it! ;-) We do have lots of enthusiasm but my husband will be doing most of the hard work...im the planner! ;-) We also have two kids, 4 and 1 so I'm running around after them! With comfrey, is it all you need to use? Or is that an additional extra. How often would you use it? Once things are sown? Rach x

[gremlin]

Great! Thanks for the quick responses. I really want to grow organically and avoid any non-organic fertilisers. Can you suggest any we could use?

I use woodash for potassium, and bonemeal for phosphorous.  Manure & compost for soil structure.  I don't add any nitrogen on purpose, although the manure will have some in.   

But get a proper soil test first.  There is no point in adding  extra fertilizer if you have too much already.   I found out I had 3 times the required level of phosphorus - so no more bonemeal and I am looking for plants that will remove P.   Sunflowers and corn I believe.

To clean pots and trays I use washing up liquid with baby's bottle sterilizing tablets.  Mrs G objects to the smell of Jeyes Fluid.   

[Christine]

You can get organic chicken pellets and calcified seaweed to use as fertilisers. The seaweed adds all sorts of trace elements.

[3759allen]

i'm no expert either, last year was my first year and a steep learning curve that doesn't seem to get much easier.

personally i'm trying to rule out non organic feeds pesticides, not as i'm a compulsive no chemical person but just because i want to grow cheaper and better veg than the supermarkets. so any additives that i can make for free or from acquired materials are good with me.

i'm starting to grow comprey (be careful where you plant as the roots are reported to run everywhere and hard to get rid of. i will be adding this to the compost heaps and making tea. i've also now got a massive supply of rabbit muck that i'm using as a mulch, also using the droppings to make a liquid fertiliser (read some interesting and positive info about rabbit and sheep droppings). and got a supply of manure to rot down, some of the rabbit muck will be mixed with this to rot down.

[Snoop]

Advice I've heard is not to put down manure where your peas and beans are going to grow. They make their own nitrogen and if you give them extra, you get lots of leaves but proportionally fewer beans. My experience suggests this is good advice.

Ash is fantastic for fruiting plants (toms, aubergines, squash, courgettes and the like) and legumes. Don't use if where your potatoes are going to go, as it is quite alkaline.