Hi!
Okay, so my mister and I have recently taken over an allotment (from April 1st). It's approximately 16.5' wide (north to south) by 33' long (running east to west). We have never done any kind of gardening/vegetable growing, unless you count cutting the grass gardening lol. I have, however, read a ton of information on this website. I still feel somewhat lost though and I would like some advice. I'll start by telling you about where we are, what kind of soil I think we have (we're going to get one of those soil test gauges to get an idea of the pH) and the things we are interested in growing.
We're in SE Wales and I think the soil on the plot is peaty. It feels spongy when we walk on it, looks dry on the surface but is wet upon brushing the surface. It also looks quite dark in colour. There is a downwards slope to the plot so the water will drain from east to west (down the length of the plot). There is a tallish building about 10-15' to the south of our plot and I've had mister pay attention to how much sun the plot gets. It seems that from 12pm-4pm it's partially to fully shaded during this time of year (may be shaded for longer once the days grow longer).
I had a look at the other plots and from what I can tell they're growing onion, garlic, sprouts, rhubarb and beans among other things (which haven't sprouted yet).
There is no greenhouse on the plot as of yet, but we are looking to get one that is 6x6. We do have a conservatory on our house so we were going to start seeds in there at the moment.
We would like to grow french beans (cobra), runner beans, tomatoes (cordon and bush), cucumber, corn, radishes, carrots, parsnip, spring onion (white lisbon), strawberries (in a container), asparagus, sweet peppers, spinach, butternut squash, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, calabrese, garlic and a comfrey patch. We were thinking of doing the asparagus and calabrese next year, and we'll make a deep raised bed for the asparagus.
We're planning on using the munty frame for the beans and butternut squash, growing something underneath the frame. The tomatoes, cucumber and sweet pepper in the greenhouse and a growhouse. We've got a family of six veggie lovers so none of it will go to waste.
Is this too ambitious, or too much for our plot size? Are any of these plants unsuited to the kind of plot we have (e.g. soil and the amount of shade). Should we add any compost/ fertilisers (such as fish, blood & bone) to the soil as we work it ready for planting? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.