[lfcevans]

Hello all.

I have taken over a patch of land which isn't an allotment but a small piece of a field rented from a farmer on a 364 days a year agreement. Not ideal but beggars can't be choosers.

The question I have is about adding compost to the soil to improve it. I have used a cultivater to turn over the soil and have got a good tilth to it....and plenty of now dead weeds. After the weather we've had the soil is now very dry so would need to add plenty of organic matter to get anything to grow. The amount I would need for the whole plot though would be huge (35ft X 35ft area). So what is the best course of action.

(a) Stick to small area of the plot and get as much organic matter in as possible and increase the area every year

(b) Cover the whole plot with a thin layer (very thin) of compost every year.

I want to grow as much as possible every year and have lots of plants ready to go in before its to late

We are not allowed any trees or bushes, no sheds, no compost bins..but there is a water butt and ample parking 

Any advice is greatly appreciated

[BumbleJo]

Hi there, I would work a manageable area at this stage with what compost you can lay your hands on and maybe think of adding something like 6X which is highly concentrated treated manure so you don't need so much of the stuff.  If you can get your hands on a load of manure slap that on the rest of the plot in Autumn which is what we did when we started with our land which sounds very similar to yours.  I'm curious about the water butt if there aren't any sheds with gutters to feed into it, how is it filled? Sounds like you've a challenge ahead but it'll be worthwhile!

[Swing Swang]

Bumblejo,

What's the land been used for? As this will dictate how you prepare it for cultivation.

No compost bins not a problem. Just dig a trench across the width of the plot and fill it up with your composting material, cover at the end of the season, use it for beans or courgettes the following year and 'move' the down the plot each year. It's what I do on my allotment, note that as all your compost is buried you won't be able to use it elsewhere on the plot which means bringing stuff in, or using green manures (which is what I do).

In fact if you are all rotovated you might want to sow a green manure on the bit of the plot that you won't get round to cultivating, or perhaps put buckwheat over the whole lot which will grow quickly and suppress weed growth from a freshly rotovated plot. The disadvantage is that buckwheat will suppress anything that you want to grow unless you start them off in modules and transplant as seedlings.

Enjoy

[mumofstig]

You could sow any bare patches with Phacelia in August/September and leave it for the frosts to kill. By Spring the tops growth will have been been taken into the soil by worms and the roots leave a mass of organic matter to improve the soil - wonderful stuff.

[Salmo]

Put lots of manure on areas where you will be growing hungry crops next year i.e. potatoes and brassicas. As the crops rotate through the years the whole plot will be improved.

Although crops like plenty of organic matter that does not mean to say that they will not grow. The yields may be less and they will need more water.

You do not need a compost bin to make compost. Just put the material in a heap.

[sunshineband]

Lots of sound advice there lfcevans.

I would just add that some crops can cope with such conditions better than others (Salmo lists some "hungry" crops, and squashes and courgettes are another group)

Our new plot is ground breaking from being part of a field and is unimproved clay, but it is surprising how well most things are doing with a bit of water ... brassicas, beans and peas are thriving and could still be planted now. Sweetcorn might do well tool. Onions are fine but it is a bit late for planting or sowing them this season, unitl the Autumn of course

Imho it would be better to focus the use of your compost on areas where needy crops will be, on a rotation, rather than spread a very thin layer over the whole plot. We only gave some to our potatoes, for example , in the trenches on planting.

[lfcevans]

Sorry for the late response...its been a busy time.

Thank you for all the helpful advice

What I did was cover 3/4 of the plot with 2nd hand weed preventing membrane. The other 1/4 I have hoe`d and raked it and planted 3 different types of Kale and some cabbages so far with a handful of compost mixed in planting hole. I have some perpetual spinach and some more cabbages to go in this weekend. There hasn't been any need to water with the weather the way it is since planting. The plot next to me was rotavated and the bloke is only using about 1/4 of his...after all the warm weather and rain the part he isn't using is like a jungle already.
The site is next to a busy lay-by without any security apart from a small gate which can be easily jumped over so I am not going to be planting strawberries or such like as I don't think I will see any of them 

Mumofstig..I will definitely look in to that Phacelia, sounds really good.

Swing swang..I will be digging a trench and filling it...great idea 

BumbleJo...The water butt is fed from a nearby stream by a hose pipe...dont ask me how...its what the landowner told me   

I will try and source some good compost to enrich the uncovered area, but at the moment I`m a bit reluctant to do a lot of work to the site because even though we have a rolling annual agreement with the land owner, only 3 of the 8 plots have been taken and he did say he may have to move us to the field next door if the other plots don't get made use of. He did say he will prepare the ground for us though...whatever that means.