[matron]

I saw the 'builders bags allotment' too. I think it was an inner city area of flats and each flat had a bag to grow things in.
Don't give up with all the hard work you have already put in.
We rent a piece of land 100yds from our cottage to use to grow our veg and we are the only ones there but I love being there on my own - it is so peaceful and I can spend a few hours in my own world with our chickens, dogs and the veg.  

[Swee'pea]

ok I am gonna google too but what is a lazy bed or is that similar to my filled bag of soil idea?   :shock:

matron that must be the one that my friend was explaining to me..seems like a great idea. I'd order a load of the huge bags filled with soil if I could afford it as a starter so that at least I could grow something whilst I worked on the rest of the lottie.

I think your right about the peace and quiet...I do enjoy my time on the allotment. I think it's the opportunity to chat to other more knowledgeable folk to pick their brains that I was missing earlier tonight but then I have realised I have eveyone here

[peterjf]

i think mother nature hasd been cruel to you this year , it will be someone eles turn next year , pick yourself upo , dust yourself down and start all over again ,

[Swee'pea]

oo...I feel a song coming on....

[compostqueen]

I use those builders rubble sacks for growing my veggies in and they were really useful when I first got my plot. I started em off with all the kitchen scraps, ripped up carboard etc, home made compost and loads of manure. I grew mainly courgettes and squashes in them. Got some pics somewhere.  I've done some this year in some big white sacks that I got something delivered in  

[hectic]

Unfortunately I dont have an allotment so am growing all my fruit and veg in pots, boxes and growbags. I was in Ikea on sunday and at the check outs they no longer provide the paper sack that ripped as soon as you get out the shop but blue nylon bags (like the yellow ones you wander round with). The cost 30p and would be ideal to fill with soil and plant things in! Just hope they are strong enough  :?

Just a thought like!

[Sadgit]

I felt the same last year after the slugs and pigeons had their fun. But you learn over time what to do. NETTING NETTING NETTING or Fleece in my case (don't forget as well to use it )

For the slugs on your spuds get nemaslug!!! it isn't cheap but works a treat. My plot is a slug farm and after the slugs started on my seed spuds I got some nemaslug and hey presto my plants started to grow. They aren't very big but at least I have a spud harvest and haven't had one spud with slug damage this year.

got to agree on the lazy beds, I personally don't use them but a woman near me does and her plot looks great, so forget about raised beds

[mrs bouquet]

swee pea, my troubles have palled to insignificant after reading your's especially as the flowers etc, in my garden are absolutely fab this year.
I feel really guilty now about going on.  hope it gets better soon.
Mrs Bouquet

[yummy]

I have just had a read about lazy beds - thanks I'd not heard of them before.

The other reason that we chose raised beds (not just flooding) is that we both have back injuries and really struggled with the digging. Making lazy beds doesn't look very lazy in the digging department so I think we will continue to convert to raised ones.

[woodburner]

Lazy beds are just raised beds without the wood, really. Whereas most people start raised beds at ground level, and just raise the beds, with lazy beds you dig out the paths and use that soil to raise the height of the bed.
Sort of like this, but the sides cant be banked that steeply (ignore the dots)
.______. . . _____. . . ._____
/. . . . . .\__/. . . . . .\__/. . . . . \

For width and length, the same principles as for no-dig beds apply. Bob Flowerdew is the acknowledged expert of lazy beds.

[yummy]

Lazy beds are just raised beds without the wood, really. Whereas most people start raised beds at ground level, and just raise the beds, with lazy beds you dig out the paths and use that soil to raise the height of the bed.
Sort of like this, but the sides cant be banked that steeply (ignore the dots)
.______. . . _____. . . ._____
/. . . . . .\__/. . . . . .\__/. . . . . \

For width and length, the same principles as for no-dig beds apply. Bob Flowerdew is the acknowledged expert of lazy beds.

So you mean once they are set up they are no dig?

 I read some blogs written by people that have set theirs up and they seemed to say that the initial digging to make them was quite hard. They didn't mention anything about maintenance.

[Swee'pea]

Don't think I'd want to dig my paths any lower than they already are now or I'd be wading upto my knees around my beds * tongue in cheek as my plot is so darn wet I would get a better crop of koi this year than veggies ) but I see what you mean about not having to shaw up with wood and it makes sense not to if the plot is as damp as mine is so I'm liking these lazy beds a lot at the moment.

.....on a lighter note:  today I managed to actually spend a lovely morning and best part of this afternoon at the allotment and did some weeding after I'd planted up 3 x £1 bags containing contents of a growbag each with last of my potatoes and also shallots n onions.....I feel up and totally on a high compared to yesterday...thanks for giving me the boost I needed to see that I'm lucky to have my plot and if I keep at it I'll win eventually I have another 7 bags waiting for compost and I'll have peas n beans planted too plus salad stuff etc....then I can actually get on with sorting out the water problems whilst my veg grow around me