Preparing allotment over the winter

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simbamara

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Preparing allotment over the winter
« on: December 02, 2015, 22:57 »
Hello ,

I have just dug up my allotment , scattered some horse manure all over &  was thinking of covering it all up with a mix of council compost & leaf mould ;Then cover with black plastic over winter !  Good idea ?
Also I wish to make raised beds ; I have many furniture planks , can i use them or get special wooden planks to make the beds ?
Thank you

Simba

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Christine

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Re: Preparing allotment over the winter
« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2015, 07:56 »
I always leave my plot open to the weather - that's because it's clay and needs cold to break down the clods. But it depends on your soil whether you feel the need to cover it. At least if it's a wet winter my soil will not be too dry to plant come spring.

As to planks for raised beds, a lot of people worry about the chemicals that come from much of the wood available. You might be better using your black plastic to line the sides of the beds to protect them from whatever has been used to preserve the furniture plants.

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mjg000

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Re: Preparing allotment over the winter
« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2015, 10:55 »
I like to spread the compost and then cover at least some of the beds with a porous, black, weed cover membraine.  I find the soil lovely and crumbly in the spring and also WEED-FREE when you take up the cover.   .

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simbamara

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Re: Preparing allotment over the winter
« Reply #3 on: December 04, 2015, 15:10 »
Thank you for the replies ! Any advice on where to buy wood for raised beds & the porous, black, weed cover membraine @ reasonable prices please ?
Thanks

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AnneB

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Re: Preparing allotment over the winter
« Reply #4 on: December 04, 2015, 21:30 »
Thank you for the replies ! Any advice on where to buy wood for raised beds & the porous, black, weed cover membraine @ reasonable prices please ?
Thanks
Scaffolding companies are a good source of wood for raised beds.  They sell them off at a reasonable price, well they do round here.  We had scaffolding up at our house when gutters were replaced and the firm gave us a load of planks free of charge. They can only use them so many times.  We also get debris netting free of charge from them for the same reason. 
I don't worry about chemicals on these boards - most boards from scaffolding firms are untreated.
I wouldn't line untreated raised beds with plastic, it means your crops will be sitting in water, which is what the raised beds are designed to protect against in the first place.
I find a covering of manure over winter is good for the soil, worms will incorporate it into the soil structure.  I don't bother covering with plastic, but our plot is weed free more or less.  If there are lots of weeds then weed suppressant fabric or plastic would be a good idea.

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oldgrunge

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Re: Preparing allotment over the winter
« Reply #5 on: December 04, 2015, 22:05 »
I cover any bare soil with cardboard, which allows moisture to but helps prevent leaching of nutrients. By the spring it is degraded, and I just dig it in.
We come from the earth, we return to the earth, and in between we garden.

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spuriousmonkey

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Re: Preparing allotment over the winter
« Reply #6 on: December 05, 2015, 07:37 »
Hello ,

I have just dug up my allotment , scattered some horse manure all over &  was thinking of covering it all up with a mix of council compost & leaf mould ;Then cover with black plastic over winter !  Good idea ?
Also I wish to make raised beds ; I have many furniture planks , can i use them or get special wooden planks to make the beds ?
Thank you

Simba

Sounds good, except I wouldn't do the black plastic.

I covered mine with whatever I could find in the neighbourhood. Grass clippings, leafs, and straw. Depending on how much it all degrades I am work it in the soil or use it as a mulch in spring. Or it goes on the compost heap.

I have a clay soil but the typical freezing/breaking up the clay doesn't work here up north for some reason. Maybe because there aren't thaw/freeze cycles here up north in Finland. It just freezes. So I don't dig up my soil in autumn. I remove most of the stuff on top but leave the soil pretty much intact. If I do digging I do it in spring. But I also have various non-dig systems, such as "hugel kultur" and a lasagna bed. No digging there.

On the hugel kultur beds I only top up the mulch. Grass clippings and straw found in local park. (they don't spray). The lasagna bed I only started this year, because the hugel kultur I started the previous year literally saved my season. Everything grown there was a success, even though everything was planted later than in my regular beds. The bad weather last year made all normal bed harvests way below average. But not on my hugel. That gave amazing results.

For some reason it is impossible to get cow or horse manure here on the cheap in Finland. At least in my area. So most of my compost I scavenge from the surrounding neighbourhood. One house near my allotment site always dumps his grassclippings outside his garden in the public park. A bit rude maybe to the general public, but very considerate towards me. Thank you for the free mulch/compost.

I guess because I cannot use animal manure on the cheap my situation is slightly different and I had to shift in how I do my allotment. It's not because I think animal manure is bad; i would use it if I could lay my hands on it, it is just logistically not feasible.

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mjg000

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Re: Preparing allotment over the winter
« Reply #7 on: December 05, 2015, 17:47 »
If you want a weed suppressant that will last get the type with a stripe in the fabric. Search on e-bay where they have different widths and lengths.
Don't bother with the flimsy soft fabric sold in garden centres as it just breaks up over the winter.



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