[DerekK]

Hi folks! I'm a first time allotment grower getting started in Cardiff. I took on the full size plot (12m by 8.5m) in October and have been bringing the 3 years of untamed weeds back into control and getting a potting shed up ready for the spring seedlings. I've done some small scale backyard growing before and have been prepping a full scale invasion of the plot despite any better judgement.

I have 9 beds that are 4m by 1.2m ready to go, bare ground with a now half decomposed layer of cardboard and about 6 cm of well rotted compost over the top. I have a big box of seeds and some vauge planting times and numbers, but would hugely appreciate any feedback and advice on when to start things indoors (warm house then moving seedlings to the potting shed) vs sowing direct, the number of each plant to sensibly grow for a veggie family of two, and finally any tips on what plants to put together in the same beds. I'll be starting most seeds at home next to a warm radiator.

Allotment Planning Sheet

I hope I have more than enough space so things aren't crowded and I don't need to think about carefully managing the space.

Thanks so much for any advice. I know I'm taking on a lot and frankly expect to learn a lot of lessons about what doesn't work, but anything that does succeed will be really satisfying.

[grinling]

hessayon vegetable expert great book,gives times spacing etc.
remember successional sowing,lettuce once cut stalk cut in a cross to get more plants.
see what plants you can get free, strawberry, rhubarb.
Tilf the soil after a good frost. see what weeds grow local.

[New shoot]

Looks very detailed, but just a few thoughts.

Planting plans are a good start, but the weather can wreak havoc with them, so be ready to amend and adjust to that.  Crops you assume will be ready to harvest could be running late, or gone to seed and out before you expected.

If you have no greenhouse to put things in after they are started indoors, it would be well worth investing in or making a cold frame.  Going from inside to outside is a big transition for plants and no halfway house makes it tricky.

Starting too early is the most common mistake we all make. It is especially important when you have limited space for hardening off.

I would also advise just trying a bit of everything and seeing what works for you.  Cauliflowers for instance take up a lot of space and are not easy.  Stick to your numbers and see first if you can get them to work before planting loads.  Just saying because throwing away seedlings is almost impossible and we all fall foul of that one   

[hasbeans]

You really like chard, perpetual spinach and rhubarb and hate tomatoes, potatoes, sweetcorn, peas and beans? 

keep the brassicas and salad leaves (except basil) away from the radiator along with the aliums and make sure you have plenty of south facing window for anything you start in March or earlier.  In fact, other than chilli, aubergine, cucumber and basil there's not much there that needs heat to start.

Spring (bunching) onions are easy and useful and some even grow into big onions

sow legumes directly along with beetroot and any other roots/tubers/bulbs, at least until you know you can cope with all the extra work starting in trays and pots brings at the scale you are now doing things

buy some netting as those brassicas will be popular with the birds come autumn time

try some different cabbages to spread your crop through the year

Find some shadier patches for the spinach and radish or it will just bolt all the time

Think about crop rotation and space for composting, catch rainwater from the potting shed roof.

[DerekK]

hasbeans:

Ha, I love rhubarb and we're always short sturdy greens. I've yet to have a piece of sweetcorn in the UK that I thought was worth eating, but some neighboring growers have promised to try and change my mind. Peas and beans seem to produce so little for so much work as to be a bit pointless, but I will keep my eye out on neighbors and see how they get on. Not to mention I doubt that adding more plants will add to my success at this point! 

Tomatoes, I'd dearly love to successfully grow tomatos. Last year scarred me as I had four big plants covered in ripening green fruit, and they all turned brown and collapsed over about four days. I will probably try again, but maybe not without access to a greenhouse or polytunnel. Next year?

I'm fortunate to be immediately next to the water trough so have a guaranteed supply, but I do hope to add some rain capture to be a good citizen and have a little set aside just incase. I have a large compost pile going (started with 3 years of meter high weeds) but am keeping an eye out for pallets to build some bins to make it a bit easier to get a hot pile going.

Thanks for the other tips, I'll make some adjustments to this year's plan and keep the rest for next year.

New Shoot:

Yep! No plan survives encounter with reality but I wanted to have some kind of map so I'm not lost at sea before even departing. I have some great plot neighbors who I can take some guidance from as the weather hits us all. I do have the potting shed for hardening off and letting the seedlings mature a little during the tail end of frost risk, but I am looking at a free 6x4 greenhouse frame that another plotholder has offered as another option (but that's just another thing to do!). I'd probably wrap it in poly for the year rather than try and find polycarbonate or glass sheeting.

Also yes, probably being a bit eager with lots of the planting timings. I've a long history of running a little late on things so maybe it'll all work out on it's own.

Thanks all! Any other advice is welcome and I'll be back in a few months with stories of how it works out.