[Nicki85]

I have been doing some long, hard thinking about my plot and what to do with it 

Unfortunatly I am one of those people that needs a plan  .  I need a plan for everything allotment included!  So, here it is!

Bottom half (most overgrown and scary  )
Cut vegetation (strimmer or scythe  ), dig over fairly well, pile on manure (this will be the manure holding area), cover majority with weed fabric, plant through courgettes, pumpkins and squashes.

Middle area
Dig over properly removing all couch grass, manure, split into four blocks of- cabbages, brussels and kale, swede and turnips and celeraic.  Build some sort of netted structure to keep birds and butterflies out (three seperate cages).
Also put some leeks in a row.

Top area
Dig over, remove wigwam, manure.  Plant in beans- broadbeans, runners, french and mangetout probably in rows. 

Any thoughts? 

You can find my original "I have an allotment I need wine" post here- http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=72303.msg823531#msg823531 .

[Kleftiwallah]

 (Stand in for Chad) !  ! ! Wot no spuds ?    Cheers   Tony.

[compostqueen]

Yes, I would break the jobs down into smaller, manageable chunks rather than write down an exhaustive list of jobs to be done to get to Nirvana  

You have the rest of your life so pace yourself. The plot will still be there tomorrow.  So start at the beginning and remember to enjoy it

Also, most important is TO GROW SOME VEGETABLES.  I would get something in right away and watch it grow while you work

[fredhogg]

Don't plant brassicas in freshly manured ground.

[Nicki85]

Hmmm OK, well the plan still stands but there are now some uncertainties!  :blink:

1. Potatoes- How much would I need to do with the soil?  Would I need to remove all the couch grass?  They would go in-between the brassicas and the squashes.

2. Brassicas do not manure- can I put some top soil in or something to improve the soil structure?  It is alot of clay and stones at the moment.

Yes manageable chunks are the plan, I also have two parents which both have spades/ forks 

[crh75]

You don't need to do too much for the potatoes to get a half decent crop.  Manure would be great though.  If you don't get rid of most of the couch grass you will need to keep hoeing it off very regularly or you will end up with a very weedy area which will attract slugs etc.

For the brassicas you can lime the soil. This will release some of the nutrients from the clay as well as helping with the soil structure.  They will not mind a few stones. 

[Kristen]

Don't plant brassicas in freshly manured ground.

Did you mean "Roots" rather than "brassicas"?

[Kristen]

Bottom half (most overgrown and scary  )
Cut vegetation (strimmer or scythe  ), dig over fairly well, pile on manure (this will be the manure holding area), cover majority with weed fabric, plant through courgettes, pumpkins and squashes.

Nothing wrong with spreading manure, but it would be faster (and possibly more beneficial to the initial Squash crop) to prepare planting holes - decent sized holes, loads of manure etc in each, pop a stick in so you know where they are cover with weed fabric and plant through (where the sticks are, natch!)

If you are going to grow Spuds consider growing only First / Second early, or giving them more priority in your mind at least! compared to Main Crop. Spuds are pretty good at helping clear the ground, but they may not store well, and Main crop will be in the ground longer and more susceptible to Blight, so as a newbie you might want to defer them until next year.  I love Pink Fire Apple though (which are same growing-period as main crop)

You COULD (not quite sure if this is a good idea!) prepare trench, manure in the bottom, replace soil, earth up a little, then cover with weed fabric and plant the spuds deeply through it.  Only problem is that they will have a long way to grow before they find daylight (although that is probably what farmers do in-the-field now I come to think of it).  The weed fabric will help suppress the Couch Grass, but you'll need to deal with any that finds its way through the planting holes.

First year = Only grow what you like - less disappointment then, compared to putting loads of time into a crop that then fails, and you didn't like it anyway!

Secondly, grow what is good value (high yield + high price).  Main Crop spuds are cheap to buy, and hard to store well.  Whereas Runner Beans cost-a-plenty in the shops.

"Build some sort of netted structure to keep birds and butterflies out"

Easiest / cheapest is probably scaffolders debris netting over hoops made from blue-or-black water pipe (some pictures on my blog showing a 9-year-old at work!)

[Nicki85]

No I meant brassicas, someone said previously not to put brassicas into newly manured ground?

Thanks for the tips, I am a bit on the fence about potatoes at the moment... I do not have any to start with but already have seeds of everything else!  I think I might leave them tilll next year.

I'll go check our your blog and netting arrangements 

[fredhogg]

Brassicas.Iam going by what the old boys on our site have told me, the next door neighbour planted sprouts and cabbage last year in freshly manured soil and the whole lot bolted.

[compostqueen]

Making a statement without giving the reason why isn't very helpful is it  

You can plant spuds in just manure and you'll get a crop.  If you want to you can lay cardboard flat on the ground on top of all the weeds, cover that with a thick layer of muck and plant your spuds in it. The cardboard keeps the weeds down long enough for you to grow and harvest the crop and it will rot down harmlessly into the soil.  You have to mulch the spuds as they surface with soil, grass mowings, straw etc to exclude light ("earth up") but as you're not growing them in earth you won't have any to bring up to cover the emerging shoots, hence the mowings or straw etc.  You keep doing this at least til the frosts have stopped, and then you just let them grow away  

Your local elec shop will have big pieces of cardboard which I'm sure they'd be happy to give you.  

[Kristen]

Brassicas.Iam going by what the old boys on our site have told me, the next door neighbour planted sprouts and cabbage last year in freshly manured soil and the whole lot bolted.

Ah, OK, I'm with you now and I think "freshly" is the operative word   Manured in the Autumn would be normal, spreading fresh manure in the Spring at planting time is not normally done.

Whereas for Root crops (Carrots / Parsnips, rather than Potatoes) I would not even manure the patch the previous Autumn (which was what I thought you might be referring to).

[Nicki85]

Tis a shame I have only just been given the plot, I could have done alot with it over the winter so it was ready for planting now    Never mind...

I might just dig in some top soil or blood fish and bone for the brassicas then.  Well avoid manuring that bit and the bit for the parsnips.  How about leeks?  Do they mind freshly manured soil?

[stompy]

This is the best bit Nicki, planning it all and setting it up just how you want it.
Like every one has said, it's not a race and if you can't dig it cover it.
I've just got a new plot (im moving sites) so im in the same boat as you, i made alot of mistakes last time as i rushed into it.
This time im going to sit back and have a long hard think about just what i want and how im going to do it.
And i firmly believe, if in doubt manure it, unless your putting carrots or parsnips in, everything else will be fine.
After all it's your first year and with all the advice on here, you won't go far wrong.

Good luck
Andy

[Nicki85]

Thanks Andy 

I just want to start doing stuff with it now    It is so hard to be patient and sit back and think about it all first.  Hope your move goes well