[charliesmum]

Hi,

I'm new here and wondered if anyone could give me some advice please.   I have just got an allotment, but it hasn't been used for 2 years, so needs clearing before I can start.  

I have bought loads of packets of seeds today from Netto (only 19p per packet), and wondered when I can start planting them in my mini greenhouse so that they will be ready to plant once my jungle is cleared.

Any help would be really appreciated, and please bear with me if I ask really stupid questions, I m a real beginner  :oops:

[muntjac]

there are no such things as stupid questions in gardening ,, unles you count " can i put a saddle on my big worms " ? we all started out as you do .. i suggest you start to read previos posts on grow your own section and i am sure  what  " newbie questions can be answered there,, then the other  questions you find you need to ask wil be sorted as well ,,,,,, welcome to the gang  your in good company

[Annie]

Welcome to the forum.As Muntjac says  there is no such thing as a silly question so ask away.I can`t think of anythins I will be sewing right now except onion seeds but when I started I used sets and this is the first time with seeds.I am checking out my trays and pots now because once march april comes along seed planting takes over.

[shaun]

hi there charlies mum you ask what ever you want

[mercury]

hi charliesmum, i'm sure your going to enjoy the site, they're a good bunch on here.  

[charliesmum]

Thanks everyone,  hope I am soon 1/100th as good as you are  

[muntjac]

im only % 10 good ,,, 90% baddddddd :twisted:

[charliesmum]

I've been and looked at my allotment this morning, and it looks quite small (about 50 x 20 feet), I know, just wait until I have to start digging it, and wonder how many things I can grow in there. I don't want to grow flowers, but have bought lots of packets of veg.

Can anyone advise how many different types I am likely to be able to grow in that space ?

[Eristic]

It sounds like you have a 5 pole plot and this is sufficient space to grow practically everything. The problem really is how much of each to grow? Personally, I would leave out potatoes exept for a few earlies, take it very easy with the courgettes, and focus on value crops like runner beans etc.

An undug plot never looks very big but there will be a lot of work to do, and that space can produce a lot of food. Take the spacing guidelines on the seed packets seriously. When they tell you the cabbage should be 600mm apart they mean it.

I find computer spreadsheets make very good maps for planning your likely space requirements. Set the cell spacing to be suare and think of each as a foot or metre etc.

Finally, remember that not all seeds get sown at the same time and there can be some recycling of the available space throughout the summer when crops are harvested.

[charliesmum]

Thanks Eristic,

Are there any crops that are compatible - I know carrots and parsnips can be planted in the same bed, but are there ones that thrive off each other, and ones that can't grow together ?

[Eristic]

I don't know of any crops that cannot be grown together if each has sufficient space, however some crops prefer different growing conditions and this is one reason for groupings and rotation. Roots generally do not like soil with fresh manure as this makes the roots divide.

I think crop rotation has been well covered elsewhere in the forum but essentially a plot in good condition will have several sections, one section receiving manure, another lime, others left untreated. Each year the process is moved round one station.

The problem with a new allotment is that you do not always know the history of treatments, or like mine it may have been abused and neglected for decades. In this situation,the entire plot will require copious amounts of feed and it may be neccesary to trade off forked carrots against no carrots.

[shaun]

rotation is hard to do on an allotment though dont you think ?
well you have a lot more root crops than beans n peas and more onions/leeks than brassicas or the other way round.then you have corn,salads ,pumkins, ohh it makes my head hurts when i think about it

[Eristic]

Yes. For rotation, read "Move things round a bit."

Crop rotation is primarily for farmers but the underlying principles still apply.  Once I have finished the soil upgrade of my 2 plots by double-digging all of it over the next couple of years, much will become permanent beds for specific crops and just a few crops rotated around the site. Other crops will tend to be slotted in as required.

I do think that anyone new to lottie life should at least gen up on crop rotation and learn the basic reasons for doing it such as preventing build-up of pest and disease, differing soil requirements etc.