[tonia]

hi all new to this site, i took on an allotment last year  and it was in a terrible state! rubbish all dug in broken glass and pottery everywhere, big mounds of grass and every weed u can imagine!, we did manage to get a few basic things out of our poor ground, but it is empty of all bar weeds at the moment, i was wondering what you would reccomend i do to prepare the ground for healthier crops next year? At the mo my plan is to weed killer the whole plot and rotavate the ground and re position the beds ready for spring and mulch it all over until march....does that sound like a reasonable plan? i would prefer to use natural methods but as far as i can see i really need to 'clean' the soil first??? any advice taken as were (my family and i ) are beginners.

[Goosegirl]

As weeds are growing more slowly at this time of year, stuff such as Roundup would be more effective in the spring when they begin to grow away again. By rotovating, you could be spreading rhizomatous weeds such as couch grass, ground elder, mare's tail and convolvulus. If you mulch, some grasses etc would grow through it too. You could cover the area in plastic or old carpets over winter. Make a plan of where you want things and the sizes of your beds and crop rotations and mark them out. Do a soil test for pH and see what type of soil it is (sandy, clay etc) and dig a deep hole to see how much top soil you have and what the sub soil is like in case you need to break that up for drainage. You could then take a bit at a time and dig it over adding manure, lime (not both at the same time - lime in spring), grit, compost etc and leave the soil in clods so the frost can break it down. Decide what seeds you need and where from (Kings seeds don't charge for delivery and Wilko's are cheap). Get John's book from this web site for loads of advice and use this friendly forum for help and advice - best of luck! 

[tonia]

thanks for the advice i was a little bit disappointed in this year to be honest but then i got it in sept 2008 started clearing the rubbish to one end and did my back in (was nearly 8 months pregnant) and spent the remainder of the pregnancy in a girdle (!) my son was born in december so not able to do anything then and finally managed to get the first beds dug around march time, had loads of seedlings in the greenhouse waiting for ground space (wont do that again either) and since william cried everytime we went there we found it really hard to 'get stuck in' our daughter elise loves it there but then she's 3 now so were really hoping for a good fresh start early next year!

[The Norfolk Turkey]

Say hello to the old country for me!! Where abouts in Norfolk? Good luck with the plot!

[pipfit]

Hi and welcome what part of Norfolk are you

[tonybloke]

another one from norfolk here, just south of great yarmouth

[Yorkie]

Sound advice above but please don't use carpet.  It releases toxins into the soil, breaks down or grass grows through it and it's a nightmare to dispose of.

Also see this link http://www.allotment-garden.org/articles/Clearing_a_New_Allotment.php

[bexy]

Hi.
I would dig over what you can and leave the large lumps for the frost to break the soil down.
Take out as many weeds and roots as you can.
Towards the end of winter cover the ground,well the best part of it with black plastic or a heavy duty landscape fabric.This will stop the weed seeds etc growing and help warm up the soil for an early start next year.
Well that's what i do anyway 

Oh,and i'm from Norfolk too 

[tonybloke]

Sound advice above but please don't use carpet.  It releases toxins into the soil, breaks down or grass grows through it and it's a nightmare to dispose of.

Also see this link http://www.allotment-garden.org/articles/Clearing_a_New_Allotment.php

these toxins you are on about, do you mean folk actually put things with toxins in on the floor of their homes? and then allow babies to crawl / play on them? Babies on carpets are usually part of any carpet sales campaign.  (and don't say they get released when wet, after all how long does a baby stay dry for?)

[Salmo]

The problem with carpet is the dyes and glues that contain nasties that are released as they break down.

The worst are foam backed that also leave bits of rubber when you try to seperate them from the couch and bindweed.

[Paul Plots]

Hi to you Norfolk folk! 

Skip the carpet on the plot  More bother than it's worth.

[tonybloke]

I agree about the problems with foam-backed carpets, bur these were a pain in the home, let alone on the allotment. I have a mate who does commercial flooring, and sometimes has off-cuts of glue-down cord-type stuff, it lets air and water thru', plants can't grow thru' it, and it never rots or leaches colour. it's as good aS 'MYPEX'   

[Paul Plots]

No wonder people are reverting to having hard-wood / laminate flooring again. 

I thought I'd seen that last of that - it was great for sliding along on as a kid if you could avoid the 'runner' down the middle of the hall!!