Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Welcome => Welcome to the Forums => Topic started by: DHM on May 30, 2018, 09:39
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Hi all, I live in Eastbourne on the Sussex Coast and the weekend before last took on our 1st family allotment, an exposed 6 rod plot in poor condition.
My wife and I grew up with green-fingered dads, many happy memories messing about on my dads various allotments. Now we have children of our own (boys aged 2 & 4) so wanted to give them a place to grow, play and discover wildlife as well as understand where food comes from and that homegrown is always best.
Unfortunately we got our plot a bit late to really go to town this year so we're just going to plant stuff as and where we can, all conforming to the 4 course rotation plan I've designed!
Half of the allotment was worked up until last winter so not much work required there, however the other half is all going to have be double dug, couch grass the lot.
Still, we plough on (guffaw titter). Our allotment will use no chemicals and where possible cost us nothing other than rent and seeds. Thankfully it came with a shed and a few tools so we have enough to go with for now.
Hope to chat soon, all the best!
DHM
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Hi there and welcome to the forum :D Sounds like you are very organised already, and there is nothing like eating something you have grown for your family. There's no looking back now!
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Hi and welcome :D
The 'bung in what you can' theory is as good as any when you take on plot late in the season. We have a couple in the same boat on our site and that is what they are doing.
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Hi and welcome :D
The 'bung in what you can' theory is as good as any when you take on plot late in the season. We have a couple in the same boat on our site and that is what they are doing.
Hello (",)
Yeah seeing as they wouldn't give us reduced rent being past the main season for planting and sowing, we thought we'd try and get our moneys worth by buyimg established plants and sowing late crops where there's still time. We've picked up 5 nice moneymaker tomato plants today for 2.50 so they're going in tonight!
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We've picked up 5 nice moneymaker tomato plants today for 2.50 so they're going in tonight!
Moneymaker are easy to grow and prolific, so you'll get way more than £2.50 of tomatoes back. Its not too late to sow courgette or cucumber seeds, or beans for that matter. I often sow french beans (climbing or dwarf) in June for a late crop. I have also sown beetroot and turnip in modules (12 cells to a standard sized seed tray) for planting out in clumps. I filled a pop-up net tunnel one year with module grown clumps and got a couple of carrier bags of roots out of it.
Then you can get ready for chard, perpetual spinach, oriental greens, spring greens, overwintering onions and the like over late summer into autumn :)
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Plenty of time for carrots - even in buckets too!
Welcome by the way!
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Hi there, as others have said still plenty of time to get planting. The most important thing for me is the pure pleasure I get from growing lots of lovely fruits & vegetables for our family, there’s just something about being at the allotment that repairs my soul. Enjoy every minute
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HI,
What site have you taken on your plot? I'm on Churchdale road I can save you some strawberry runner's if you would like some?
Dan
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HI,
What site have you taken on your plot? I'm on Churchdale road I can save you some strawberry runner's if you would like some?
Dan
Hi Dan, Gorringe Rd main site, they offered us a plot at churchdale but was that much further away so went with the nearest!
Thanks for the offer but we've got some stawberries in hanging baskets out in the garden which are starting to send out runners so we might be ok this year, if they die off I'll give you a shout! Interested in seed/plant swapping in the future?
What's the site like up there at churchdale? Is there anything in particular that does/doesn't grow well in our climate?
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Welcome to the site and congrats on your new lotty :)
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Hello and welcome
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I've just taken on a large plot and I'm bunging in lots of old seeds, peas and beans in a quarter of the plot. Nothing to lose. The rest is in need of tender loving care. Good luck with your plot.