[simbamara]

Hello everyone,
I have just 'won' my allotment plot.Could any one guide me in steps how to get started
ie how best to prepare the soil (with direct manuring(I have good access to 1 year old horse manure),Green manuring(if yes,what is best to use),any other tips??Can anything be planted in October?
Thanks

[allotmentann]

Hello and welcome. Well done on your new plot. There are lots of recent threads asking the same questions - it must be a  good time of year for getting a new plot! A quick search should provide all the info you need. Nice time of year to get a plot as you have all winter to get it ready to go

[simbamara]

Thank you.
You are right,a post by mumofstig
in reply to another post is very useful on how to get started.Only I am not keen on using chemicals to clear the weeds at all.So I guess its going to be hard labour in digging them out.Are weeds desirable compost material or best just collect them in a black plastic bag and dispose of them?

[adal]

a big hello and wecome to the site good luck with the new plot

[allotmentann]

Personally I don't put perennial weeds in my compost (don't have enough room even to use all the none weedy stuff as I would like to). However, you can, and lots of people do - but you must kill them off first. If the weather is good you can leave them to dry out on the surface of the ground, (not 100% sure I like the idea of this as I would have thought that there is always the possibility that they will root where they are drying and seeds will often carry on forming on flower heads as they dry out and spread everywhere.  Not sure I want masses of weeds lying around on my plot either, but it is a method recommended in many gardening books. Or you can drown them in a barrel of water for several weeks. Dessicated or drowned they can then be added to your compost.  Annuals can be added as long as they are not at the seed producing stage.

[Yorkie]

Welcome to the site and congrats on your new lotty.

There's loads of questions in those posts so I'm going to move you across to the Grow Your Own forum where people can have a proper look at them.

If you click the Grow Your Own link at the top of the page underneath the main banner, you'll find a lot of information including clearing the plot and monthly guides. 

[simbamara]

Thank you for all the replies and the welcome.

[angelavdavis]

Hi and congratulations on your new plot.  It is definitely the right time to be taking on a new plot!  

You have had some good advice on preparing your plot.  Getting hold of some cardboard or tarpaulin/weed suppressing fabric to lay flat on the beds can help stifle the weeds on the patches you haven't got around to clearing. 

If you get a bed or two clear, you can plant overwintering onions, garlic and shallots now and broad beans November or in the early spring.

If you get hold of or can make a cloche, you can plant salads if you get them in before the earth gets too cold.

If you haven't yet got a compost bin, you can also dig a bean trench now and throw your compostable waste in there during the winter months, covering with the soil you dug up and planting runner beans on top late spring.  This saves effort in transferring the compost in and out of the bin - you will want to be preserving your energy for clearing the plot!

I keep a diary on here and have taken on two new plots in the last three years.  My progress is covered on there including some of the processes I have used to convert my weed infested plots into productive ones.  My processes aren't for everyone, but I have had good crops so must be doing something right!

I wish you luck!

[simbamara]

Hi AngelavDavies.
Thank you so much for your detailed and informative reply.I have comletely cleared the plot,fully dug it,removed as much as possible of the weeds,and before digging put horse manure on the whole allotment.
I had been thinking about putting in green manure over the winter but the seed company told me it might not be necessary now that I have put the horse manure.
So my choices could be:
1.Sow winter crops.
2.Cover and leave the plot with Tarpaulin as you suggested.
3.Analyse the soil and put in green manure that can futher take care of any soil deficiencies.
What would you recommend please ?
My allotment is inNeasden.Where is yours please?
Thanks

[noshed]

If you've manured it, I'd leave it for the winter. Concentrate on tidying your paths, building compost bins, cold frames, sheds etc - depending what you need.
Well done for digging the whole lot over though. You must have gone Sid and Doris

[Yorkie]

I agree. Leave it uncovered for the winter - it's too late now to start sowing most seeds and they won't appreciate being sown into manure.

[angelavdavis]

Hi Simbamara,

Now you have done the work and cleared it, there is no need to cover it over winter - you would only have had to do this if you wanted to cover the weeds to weaken them. 

How rotted is the manure that you used?  If you could still make out the straw/hay in the manure, it will probably need to continue rotting over winter and you can spend winter planning your planting plans (and any jobs on noshed's list!) while the worms take the manure down into the soil to improve it. 

There is no need to test the soil until you are ready for planting (and the manure has had time to work).  You may then have to add extra nutrients depending on what you are planning to plant, but I wouldn't bother with green manures at this stage.

Onions aren't keen on newly manured soil, but if the manure is well rotted, you can go ahead and plant plug plants of cabbages or broccolli or salads.  If you have a Lidl near you, they sell living salads which are good for splitting up and planting to grow on, now the weather is due to get colder, it would be worth you covering with a cloche or fleece (and providing a little protection against slugs - with slug pellets or something like porridge oats to distract slugs away from the lettuce).  If planting brassicas, you might need to cover against pigeons who can strip cabbages overnight.

My allotment is based on the South Coast.  I lived in Barnet for 16 years so know Neasden very well.