[ThatsNice]

A can i pick your brains please thread .. 

Which items would you say you use and get most value out of on your allotment? I have the basic gardening type tools at home. I've inherited a shed to keep them in, a wheelbarrow, water butts, a dalek compost bin and a brazier.

Having been browsing the array of equipment, cloches, polytunnels, cold frames, wooden compost heaps, special trowels etc on line, it's overwhelming! I can see there is lots i could be spending my money on! I am happy to spend a little to get me off to a good start, but really, what couldn't you do without, what gets most use and your top tips of must have equipment to have? And more importantly...what should i not bother wasting my money on? What has been a white elephant sat unloved at your allotment?

[Trillium]

If you need anything, it would likely be a good length of vegetable netting and some lengths of poly waterpipe to make hoops. This way you can protect your brassicas from the dreaded cabbbage loopers and other pests. A bit of shade cloth will also help your later lettuces keep cool and not bolt so quickly.

[Paul Plots]

Tool wise = a swoe as has been said long ago (a fabulous everyday tool)

Equipment = a few 6' lengths of heavy gauge galvanised 1" square mesh bent to make tunnels around 12" high

I find these so very useful - easy to move - strong and long lasting - great for covering seed beds as well as giving newly planted out crops, including things such as lettuce, a fighting chance. I move them once plants are established and re-cover with green-netting so they are nearly always in use around the plot - quick and handy.

My dad left them for me and he was given them years and years ago when someone discarded a length of old but sturdy metal fencing......Hard to shape to start with but they were free!

Sorry - not sure I have a photo of them but I'll look when I have time. 

[ThatsNice]

I confess I had to look up what a swoe is! Autocorrect on my phone clearly doesn't know what one is either as I've had to manually correct it several times.. Ggrr! Looking good to go on my wish list!

Hoops for tunnels looking a likely too, especially after my polytunnel greenhouse thoughts are a no go.

[VegGirl7]

in addition to the mentioned netting & something to attach it to it's also handy to have some tent pegs for holding the netting to the ground and also to mark out your plot with string.

Equipment wise, other than the basics, I find the one I use most is a hand weeding thingy - not sure the name but it's essentially a handle with three metal prongs about 7 inches long and bent at right angles at the end that you use to loosen the soil between rows/plants so the weeds pull out easier


Oh and a decent pocket knife and pair of secateurs - if you look after them they should last years!  :blink: 

[Annen]

Equipment wise, other than the basics, I find the one I use most is a hand weeding thingy - not sure the name but it's essentially a handle with three metal prongs about 7 inches long and bent at right angles at the end that you use to loosen the soil between rows/plants so the weeds pull out easier

Do you know I've had one of those thingys for years and never used it!  Just shows you find something that suit and stick with it!
 I use the green plastic fencing mesh a lot. You can bend it into a tunnel to protect a row of lettuce or upright with canes through to support peas.  Also hoops and mesh as has been said above are essential for cabbages and strawberries.

[Daamoot]

The most used pieces of equipment for me this year would be - Spade, Fork, Pick axe, Hoe, Wheel Barrow, Knife and Twine.  And ofc lots and lots of pots    My gf thought I had an obsession while I grabbed every bargain/free pot I could find.

I've collected empty soda/pop bottles as they're very handy as mini cloches or bird deterents.

Didn't buy netting last year and suffered from a lack of peas because of it.  This year I have heaps so just need to gather enough wood for frame/support, possibly from pallets since I've found a source nearby.

Least used: foam kneeling pad (surely more useful to someone with knee problems), Water Butt (don't have greenhouse/shed/poly near patch yet), rotovator (poor model), hosepipe (so much rain this year).  Conditions will hopefully improve this year and I'll need to use most of it regularly.

[bobr1960]

Hi

A few things I would recommend are:

1 Buy and use a Dutch Hoe as often as you go to the allotment.
2 Scounge as many as Seven wooden pallets and make your own home made Compost bin!

Happy sowing

Bob

[Paul Plots]

Oh and a decent pocket knife and pair of secateurs - if you look after them they should last years!  :blink: 

A decent pocket knife is good but mine is often not in my pocket when I need it so I keep my grandfather's very old and beautifully worn bone-handled carving knife in the shed tucked into the woodwork near the door.

Over years of use 2/3rds of it has narrowed to a long sharp blade ideal for reaching in amongst crops and slicing through. You could pick one up cheaply from a market stall - old steel is often far superior to modern material.

[8doubles]

This type of tool is great if you want to loosen up a bit of ground without getting off the path !

http://www.chillingtontoolsonline.co.uk/heavy-duty-canterbury-fork-p126

[LilacSandy]

Get to know your local re-cycling centre and charity shops.  Net curtain makes a good enviromesh substitute, as mentioned use pallets for compost heaps.  You can find some good tools in re-cycle centres and these are perfect for leaving at the plot (never leave good tools as they are liable to be stolen). 

My bench and all my tools except for the spade came from either the tip shop or car boots and have been great.  I also ask for what I want for birthdays and Christmas.  As you can tell I will not spend any money if I can get it for free.

[ThatsNice]

Thank you so much everyone! Some great tips and suggestions to get me started.
My shed i was told had tools in. In fact it only has a fork, a pile of netting and tub of slug pellets, lol! I have basic tools at home, so will take them down with me tomorrow and add to it what i need as i go along. I have a list of bits from all your suggestions that i want to add to it, so thank you again  :blink:

[savbo]

an old kitchen knife, the type with a round tip, is great for precision weeding around crops.

Buy yourself a sharpening stone from an old-fashioned hardware store, and keep it handy for putting an edge on your hoe

a mattock is great for reclaiming a plot from shrubby weeds but you'll rarely use it afterwards

sav

[ThatsNice]

Savbo, have been looking up the mattock and ended up on a website selling azadas. I am so impressed with all the feedback and multiple links, forums & articles about them, that I've decided to take the plunge and have ordered an azada and a right angled fork. The fork is meant to make light work of couch, so I am expecting to make light work of my plot once they arrive Im especially keen to see how I get on in view of my dodgy back. I'm interested to see if they are as easy on the back as all the testimonials claim! I will update with how I've found them once they've arrived and I've used them.

[grendel]

just remember to use the weight of the tool to dig it in and the leverage of the long handle to do the work, they do save a lot of the leg work and bending, I found it more effective to work away from yourself but then you end up walking over the bit you have dug.
if you keep the azada edge nice and sharp its great for skimming off the weeds too.
Grendel