[Luis Medinas]

I have an allotment now. About 5.30m wide and 25/30m long.

To start with I have to clean it of all the rubbish the last person left there.

I plan to have all the land nice and clean and only cultivate a small part of it. I'll Remove the weeds by hand, dug the soil and apply some horse or cow manure in that section. Prepare some lettuce at home to start with and take them there when they are ready. Gradually as I learn I will cultivate the rest of the land.

What about fruits? I would like to leave the back of the land reserved for fruit trees:

A walnut tree, an apple or pear tree and something else, if possible to have them close togethor.

The plan I have in mind is:

1 - A small green house, poly tunnel and shed for storage on the front.
2 - Vegetables right in front of them.
3 - A few trees on the back, further away from the vegetables

What do you think? Wanna share some thoughts on my plan?

Luis Medinas

[Craig69]

Potatos i have been told will grow on almost any soil, so planting them will help brake the soil up for you.

I took a 2nd plot on last year which hadn't been work for about 4 years.
After clearing it, i manured it & have planted potatos on about 1/2 of it to help brake the soil up.
Having 2 half plots has made it possible to obvioulsy grow more & now have 3 nice sized growing beds, a strawberry cage & enough room to build a nice size area for my hens which are at home at the moment.

Once you have cleared your plot just hoe it every now & then, which will reduce the weeds & make life alot easier!

[mrsparkle]

Potatos i have been told will grow on almost any soil, so planting them will help brake the soil up for you.

I took a 2nd plot on last year which hadn't been work for about 4 years.
After clearing it, i manured it & have planted potatos on about 1/2 of it to help brake the soil up.
Having 2 half plots has made it possible to obvioulsy grow more & now have 3 nice sized growing beds, a strawberry cage & enough room to build a nice size area for my hens which are at home at the moment.

Once you have cleared your plot just hoe it every now & then, which will reduce the weeds & make life alot easier!

Potatoes don't really break up the soil - it's a myth.  By preparing the soil beforehand and then earthing them up you are actually doing all the work, not the spuds

If you are planning to manure your plot this year for sowing in April you really need to make sure you get well rotted manure, really well rotted manure.

[Craig69]

See what you are saying, but after digging the bed that had spuds in last year it was really easy, so it's a myth i believe in 

[mrsparkle]

See what you are saying, but after digging the bed that had spuds in last year it was really easy, so it's a myth i believe in 

  Anything to make the digging easier is good by me too

[Luis Medinas]

This is the kind of advice I am looking for - How to prepare the soil for sowing in April (that should have been the name of the topic).

I can go to local farms an get cow and horse manure. But how is the manure prepared to put on the soil ?


Thanks people, I'll absorb the information.

[compostqueen]

You are lucky to have a plot and you will spend many happy hours there. Remember to make it a happy time when you're there and take time out to stop and stare, preferably with a cuppa    The planning is as much fun as the doing and I like to read my garden mag before I turn in and keep a notebook at the side of the bed to record my triumphs and disasters 

As regards manure, you can spread it out where you want your spuds to be planted or you can leave it to rot down.  You can rot it down while it's in a heap (cover it) or fork it into the black dalek compost bins to rot down faster. 

[Ma and Pa Snip]

hi, well done on getting your plot


I'm not noticing any other trees that are obviously on plots in your pics, some sites don't allow trees so have you checked you'll be ok to plant some.

[millimole]

I'm guessing it might be some years before you see any worthwhile fruit on the walnut?

[mumofstig]

and they make very big trees, so may not be allowed

[Tigerhair]

Potatoes don't really break up the soil - it's a myth.  By preparing the soil beforehand and then earthing them up you are actually doing all the work, not the spuds

I agree (as does Bob Flowerdew on Gardeners Question Time recently).  Also, if you have wire worms they'll go mad on any root crops planted in the first year or so, so perhaps leave those.

My advice would be go on growveg.com (first month's planning free) - it's really useful. 

My other advice would be - take your time, and get some help.  The more time spend now clearing the plot (even if you don't use it all early in the year) and getting "clean" soil without any weed roots, etc, the less work later on and in subsequent years.

Well done, enjoy and grow what you love to eat and a few extra new things to try 

[TerryB]

Take your time, clear a bit at a time but get something in even if its only lettuce.
Nothing encourages you more than seeing and eating your first grops.

[stompy]

It looks like you've already got some clearish land,
Concentrate on these bits and you could have onions and shallots in there within a week or two.
And to keep your interests up don't forget to start sowing at home.
In a couple of weeks you will be able to sow Sprouts in module trays, the end of the month and you can get your squashes sown, you can sow out door cucumbers in April, the list goes on, and as your clearing your plot your plants at home will be getting ready to go in when it's cleared.

Aldi and Morrisons have got cheap Rapberry canes and fruit trees (apple, pear plum, cherry) for sale, i think the trees are £5 each and the Raspberrys are £1.50 each, and they will all go straight in, you just need to dig a hole and in they go with a bit of Blood Fish and Bone.

You'll love it

[Luis Medinas]

I have already started cleaning all the rubbish. Next will be removing all the weeds and digging the soil in a small section of the land and mix some manure.

My neibour has some donkey manure a couple of months old that I shall mix in this small section.

Lettuce sown at home will be the first plants to go there when they are ready.

In regards of the fruit trees, I am really gonna plant some there. I just have to decide on which trees are best for this climate, which trees give fruits reasonably quick (within 1 or 2 years at most) which ones keep small, and which ones allow a good crop.

Fruits are very important in my diet. If I can get a good crop of apples for example, I can learn how to store some, make chutneys, jams etc. and store them for the winter. This would be great.

There is definetly some space at the back to put some small trees.
But the walnut doesn't seem a good choice.

I have heard that some type of fig trees go well in Britain. Some are small and provide large crops in a couple of years. Is this correct?

(Figs are very nice because they can be dried and made into many recepies that can be kept for a long time. (rich in protein I think))

[stompy]

Hi Luis,
The fruit trees that are for sale in the supermarkets are all good for our climate and are on dwarfing rootstocks, so they won't get any bigger than about 10ft un-pruned.
You will get fruit on the trees next year if you plant this spring, but you should really remove all but a few to allow it to establish good roots and branch structure, they will be giving a good crop after 4/5 years.
Fig trees are also good, Brown Turkey in perticular, it can be grown in a good sized pot as restricting it's roots makes the tree give a better crop of fruit and alows you to control it's size  through it's roots.

Just see whats on offer at the supermarket, or where ever you decide to buy from write down it's name and then ask or google the variety and see what it says about it and decide if thats the one for you.

good luck