[lincspoacher]

Ive been offered TWO allotments not far from here,  both about  30 foot by 75 foot, £49 a year each  all in .

Is it worth taking them at this point in the year?  what woudl you do for 6 months in the way of prep work ? IS it too early for next year to dig a load of farm manure in ?

[weeeed]

If I was starting off anew I would dig up what I could poisoin the rest. Put membrane down on the parts you are not using or if you have really well rotted manure go with that. Put green manure in the ones you want to plant your winter brassicas in and enjoy designing.

[woodburner]

That's about the same as my double plot. I only got it a few weeks ago and haven't done much to it yet, apart from pulling up a load of nettles. The plan is to put down cardboard and mulching fabric and plant brassicas through the cardboard.
If the area under the mulching fabric is cleared enough before winter, I'll sow some overwintering green manure there.

[andyandyjohnson]

Ive been offered TWO allotments not far from here,  both about  30 foot by 75 foot, £49 a year each  all in .

Is it worth taking them at this point in the year?  what woudl you do for 6 months in the way of prep work ? IS it too early for next year to dig a load of farm manure in ?

I'd take them and spend the summer preparing the ground. Manure the soil, mulch difficult areas and generally enjoy having a year to plan and layout your plots.

If they are in a reasonable state, it's not too late to plant lettuce, beans, peas, beetroot. You could also buy plants from your local garden centre to plant out in the next few weeks. Enjoy.

[lincspoacher]

ah, ok i went to have a look, there was three allotments on different plots:

1. I bumped into an old boy at the gate of the first one, and milked him for what her knew. Basically in this big field was about 4 actual recognisable allotments, the rest of it looked like it had been wild for at least 20 years, and he said most of it had. there were several plots that were owned but never used - one or two of the plots had TREES growing in them, they were so unused, and it takes a while for an Oak to grow to 6 inches diameter at the base.. The local yobbery occasionally burnt down the odd shed for amusement, there was piles of fly tipping, and the far end flooded every winter. You'd need a bulldozer to take the top foot off then a tractor to run across it then again at right angles to stand a sporting chance of getting anywhere with it.

2. was a triangle of land next to a play park. The fence was broken down, and a worn pathway to a gap at the far side indicated the local youth used it as a short cut. There was ONE plot in the 12 that showed some signs of activity, dug, some bags of farmyard manure, but nothing was fenced or marked, it looked like a spare building plot. I suspect anything you planted in there wouldn't last 5 minutes.

3. the last one was the best. surrounded by houses and massive hedges and a river, big high steel gates, as far as can be seen all the plots were in active use. The bit in question was a part that was going to be 5 plots, and had been used for a horse to graze. You'd still need it  turning over with something industrial to get going but it was secure, out the way and active.

[woodburner]

Sounds like there are security issues at all three sites. (Otherwise why bother with gates? ) I had some tools and, of all the daft things, a pallet, nicked off a similarly gated site. First time in living memory apparently.   Just my luck  

Don't be deceived by appearances, unused ground can be very fertile whereas ground that has been cultivated but not 'fed' can become very poor indeed. Nettles are a good sign.  :!:

Being in such poor states you should get the first year, or however much is left of it, free. You will probably be offered the opportunity of having it rotavated, too. Nine times out of ten this is not a good idea, because of perennial weed roots like couch grass.

As for nothing being marked out . . . welcome to the world of allotmenteering   Half the fun is figuring out just where your little piece of land starts and ends  :roll:  

[lincspoacher]

Now, most farmers  i know woudl use mustard as a green manure, but what  would you use on an allotment?

AT what point would you sow winter brassicas ? Would you sow straight into the ground or do them in seed trays in the greenhouse to start then plant out the plugs ?

[woodburner]

I think it's probably going to be phacelia, it'll be too late to sow alfalfa which is what I really want to try, and I don't think mustard can be overwintered as it flowers only weeks after sowing.

Not sure about the brassicas, as it's my first year growing them, but I think it's a bit late to be starting from seed. You should be able to get plants still though.

Just remembered a possible downside to a busy site: If your methods don't 'fit in' you could be in for a lot of peering down noses and negative comments. Take a look at the other plots to see if anything you're planning might be considered radical

I started mine off in the conservatory (mistake: heat made them leggy) in seed trays, as I wasn't sure about the gerimnation rate. They are now in pots in the garden. Ideally you transplant once, but I didn't know that. Hopefully the second transplant won't upset them too much as they are in individual pots now.