[veggies]

Hi lads & lasses, hear goes don't shout at me lol, I've just been given a allotment plot after waiting about 4 1/2 yrs, ive got about 5 raised beds ( bit weedy ) 3 beds that new renewed, that's in hand, I've got a poly tunnel to makes soon as I get time, thing is what should I try and grow first....

In the weedy beds after cleaning them up and topping the soils up I was thinking off onions, spring onions, spuds for mash & chips for the kids ( as a thank you for helping ) cabbages, beet root poss leaks ( in old beds after been repaired each bed is about 5'x 9' ish..

Poly tunnel I was thinking of two or three raised beds ?

Carrots we love them, is there any tip for best ways to grow them, any help will do ie depth of soil and best thing to grow them in ie beds or large tubs.

Thanks for any info. Looking forward in picking up my keys any day now.ill try and upload so photos as I improve the plot.

Paul.

[Robster]

Wow Veggies, it seems like you have a dream plot.  Many nightmares on these pages of people taking over and having to clear all sorts of rubbish away.  Good for you.  Tomatoes, you can't beat tomatoes.  No commercial tom ever taste as good as a home grown one.  Then there's the sweetcorn of course, you must have that.  And the beans yep fresh runner beans must be on the list.  Nearly forgot of course there's the..........

Have a great growing summer

[cadalot]

Veggies - Well done you! have a family conference and grow what they will eat.

My lot eat one hell of a lot of spring onions and beetroots, you can get them going in plastic vending machine cups and transplant into the beds on site as they become ready. The ones in the picture will not go in the ground for some time yet, the onions will be about 5-6" high when they are ready to go in the ground.

[Goosegirl]

Great news veggies!  As many often say on here, take your time in organising what you want on your plot and where. Decide which veg you want to try first by making a short list of the ones you want to eat that aren't too difficult to grow and, looking again at your post, you seem to have got that right. You could also try sugar snap peas as they aren't too difficult and if you let some mature, you can get "new peas" as well. As for carrots, what is your soil like? If it's not heavy and reasonably clump-free they should do ok. As you get loads of seeds in a packet, just give them a go both in beds and deep-ish pots and see what happens.

[Hampshire Hog]

Hi veggies good luck with the plot. Only comment on the carrots is to ask others on your site about the dreaded carrot fly! As you may see from other posts here the fly can decimate your crop if you don't protect it from them.
Level of risk varies but you don't want to invest a lot of time only to get fly riddled carrots in the autumn.
Putting my technical head on the other thing you might want to check is what is the general Ph of your plot is the soil acid or alkaline that could impact what you want to grow initially

Cheers HH

[Fairy Plotmother]

Hello veggies and welcome to the world of allotmenting.

[veggies]

Thanks all..

I've seen a video clip on growing carrots in with onions the smell off the opinions could help in putting of the carrot fly, also if poss to grow the in high ( 3 ft ) boxes. Looking forward to the challenge . Photos to follow
Ps as I work on building I've just came across 7 x long water ain't pipes about 65mm goes over a scaffold tube for the poly tunnel around 6mts long. And today I've just came across 16 scaffold bards ... If my plot key comes this wk I'll be busy the weekend building raised beds and making a tunnel .

[colin120]

All I can say is just try to have fun while working your plot, get a barbecue going while you dig.

As for carrots I space my seeds out from the beginning so I don't have to touch them again and I don't suffer with carrot fly also grow mine in compost  they grow better in compost

good luck

[BumbleJo]

Veggies - Well done you! have a family conference and grow what they will eat.

My lot eat one hell of a lot of spring onions and beetroots, you can get them going in plastic vending machine cups and transplant into the beds on site as they become ready. The ones in the picture will not go in the ground for some time yet, the onions will be about 5-6" high when they are ready to go in the ground.

Cadalot do you have several spring onion seeds going in each cup and do you plant them out as they are in a bunch if so?  Saw a previous post by someone, may have been you on the subject but can't find it now.  I sowed direct last year and they were very slow so would like to get going with some.  Be grateful for any guidance, Cheers!

[boddy]

Spuds are a must as they are not too tricky and everyone likes them. But with these and everything else you grow, make sure you use them. I threw some away and I'm kicking myself after all the effort.  This year I'm going to bake and freeze any left over spuds.
Strawberries aren't too tricky and are an expensive fruit to buy, so well worth it.  I occasionally have moments when I lack confidence, thinking I haven't done enough on the allotment and I don't have time. I've got quite a lot of fruit bushes and raspberries, they provide a good return with very little effort once in and keep me motivated on days like that.
Good luck. It's worth it, free exercise, much cheaper than a gym membership and you have to eat all these healthy foods so it improves your diet too. Good for the soul....don't forget to do some Pumpkins later on!

[Tenhens]

Good for you!!   You must have the patience of a saint, waiting over 4 years for your plot!  Just in time for the 'onslaught' of growing.

[veggies]

Thanks everybody info taken on board, as for waiting over 4 yrs I could believe it when the chap called me....

[Madame Cholet]

sounds really exciting good luck