[angelavdavis]

You can put up your bean trellis if you fancy, no probs......one job done.
6ft for runners and climbing french beans, the height of your peas very much depends on the varietie you choose, some grow tall and some only a couple of feet, so decide which ones to grow first

Don't forget that you can also dig a bean trench and fill with kitchen waste over winter ready to cover and plant up with your runner beans.  We did this last year and have had so many runner beans we have had to give them away! 

We spent the winter doing the landscaping bit - marking out and preparing beds, clearing grass/weeds, putting up posts and stretching wires for training espalier trees, laying down weed suppressant and topping with chipped bark.

Are you planning to incorporate a tool store or similar into your plot?  I know it uses valuable space up, but it is great to have somewhere to have a brew! 

My other recommendation is to speak to other plot holders and find out what works on your site.  Our site was originally used as an onion field before being converted to allotments after WW2.  As a result, the ground has white rot resident and so you can only grow onions and garlic in raised beds.  One end of our plot is free draining (aka rock hard after April generally) and the other end gets water logged.  This means we ended up moving rhubarb and globe artichokes when we discovered this as they were planted in the drier area.

gavinjconway, I am dead jealous of your 20m x 10m plot! 

We took over our 5.5 rod plot in June 2010 and have now run out of space!  It is still over 80% planted up at this time of year - the gaps where we cleared the courgettes last week ready for garlic to go in and have got to clear the celery ready for the onions this week.  We have actually reduced the width of the paths this year since plotting out the original design so we can grow more! 

Despite my husband and I being experienced gardeners, the allotment don't give full plot sizes to new plot holders - you are only allowed a half plot.  Never mind, some is better than none!

[gavinjconway]

Hi Angelav... yes it is good to have been given the other half as well.  I can now do other veg like Asparagus, berries, loads of sweetcorn, garlic etc..

So loads of work to be done. I have started clearing, then stopped for 2 weeks waiting for confirmation on another plot, now to get going again..


see pic. The red is 20mt x 10mt.. in the foreground will be my greenhouse, shed and water butts.. also got to redo the pathway down the centre - the plot includes the "damson tree and hedge" in orange - hedge will be dug up - damson will be trimmed to a decent pickable size and my compost and comfrey will be done there as it will be a bit shaded fro veg!!

[Paulj]

I must say thanks to everyone. All the practical advice I haven't found elsewhere! I've decided not to plant anything other than my raspberries as it can all wait until spring, but I did start my beans trellis this weekend.

I'll be getting the book you mention compostqueen, from there reviews on amazon it looks just like the type of book I need.

Angeladavis - if I use my kitchen waste in a trench, I take it you simply mean dig the trench now, and just fill with some kitchen waste through winter? Do I need to cover it up once it's down at all?

Have fun with your new plot gavinjconway!

[compostqueen]

I would get some onion, shallot sets and garlic in over the winter. At least that would be a start to your growing, after all that's what it's all about. Something to watch grow and to tend while you do your planning,  also you will have food to harvest that bit sooner   

I like to rot my kitchen waste down in dalek compost bins at home rather than on the plot.  Folks do make trenches on our site but for putting allotment waste in rather than from the kitchen.

[sunshineband]

Quick reply re trenches with kitchen waste: this is best done where you are going to have runner beans for example, where the reduced nitrogen resulting from the rotting compost will be overcome by the plants them selves.

They benefit from the additional organic matter holding moisture in though


and yes, cover each layer with a sprinkling of soil -- helps the rotting down and stops it smelling too 

[angelavdavis]

sunshineband beat me to it!