[pawsnclaws]

so far for planting this year so for i have just got the basics in mind like potatos carrots swede parsnips onions and leeks salad feeel like growing some different types of toms but have not decided yet what as dont just want to grow pretty ones that taste of nothingwant to grow some chilis too and peppers so what have you lot got in mind? 

[gypsy]

I got some giant pumpkin seeds from lacewing, I do not want to grow a giant but it would be nice to grow something a bit bigger than usual. CC

[cissie]

Hi there,i'm a second time allotment holder with a 20yr gap between.I have big plans but all in my head at the moment.I hope to grow the usual things spuds,carrots,onions,kale and tomato. I have a greenhouse at home so may do some early planting, can you reccomend anything open to all ideas

[pawsnclaws]

this is my second year of an allotment so i am here for ideas too  last year i just checked every thing in it worked and they grew this year i am being more prppaired lol ish

[grenhouse]

This is my third year on the lottie.

Last 2 years I have grown black cherry tomatoes in the greenhouse which both look good and taste good! Got loads off them last year. Also grew moneymaker (don't really recommend for taste), Roma (had an awful harvest with these), and yellow pear, which again were both prolific and tasty! (would defo recommend the black cherry and yellow pear).

Going to try a few others this year, along with aubergines and cape gooseberries in the greenhouse.

Plot is still infested with clubroot so no brassicas for me!

Steve

[Dan78]

Got my allotment just before Christmas.. Decided not to rotivate so now 3/4 is still grass!

Its slow work but im definately making progress..  Have space for potatos, 4 fruit trees and some other stuff already! Got my seed potatos and a few other seeds!

Managed to pick up my first pallet today (need a few more for compost heaps) and have started collecting manure.. Its fresh though so will be used next year!

Will just see what the soil brings this year with a little of my compost from the dalek in my garden! Next year im hoping for great things!

If i can get nearly 1/2 dug over by spring ill be happy

[solway cropper]

I think one of the best things you can do as a newbie is think about compost and how you are going to produce it. My present garden was started from scratch 4 years ago on heavy clay and is now producing good crops. This year I hope to produce enormous crops.....all with the aid of home-made compost. If you get the soil condition right you can grow almost anything. You can also try growing experimental crops in containers. That way you don't take up too much plot space with things you might not like. Another tip...go to Wilkos and pick up as many different varieties of veg as you can in their 3 packets for £1.50 offer. Then you lose nowt if it all goes belly-up.

[pawsnclaws]

i have an unlimoted supply of black millions of year old horse poop so not a problem there i had a horse and the yard where i kept it i can still go and get manure every one from every where does as it is so well rotted they keep the rotted bit clear of any new poop and just keep pilling the new stiff over the other side it is great

[1st time veg grower]

My plans are a small amount of nearly everything! I'm only feeding me (and guests when I have them) so don't need vast amounts of every vegetable (although if I could actually remember that at sowing time, that would be brilliant! ) I don't have an allotment anymore, just a veg patch at my house so learning to adjust to a smaller space has been interesting.

So my list seems huge but isn't really:
Root bed:
Parsnips, carrots, beetroot and main crop potatoes

In tubs - early and second early potatoes

brassica bed:
A few cabbages, broccoli and caulis, swede and turnips

Others:
Sweetcorn, pumpkin, cucumber, french beans, onions, leeks, peas

Up trellis/arch ways:
Runner beans, small squash

Greenhouses (and also ^ in pots/growbags elsewhere too):
Tomatoes^, indoor cucumbers (for the first time), Aubergines^, peppers, chillis^, melon (for the first time), and *possibly* have a go at the sweet potato thing just for fun!

Oh and spinach, lettuce and raddishes I sowed last year all over the place when beds were waiting to be filled or I'd just harvested a crop...

I also have fruit bushes in my flower beds (and no flowers - the dog dug them all up, tho in my opinion they're a bit of a waste of time with the exception of marigolds!).

As I'm reading my list what amuses me the most are the things I am most looking forward to eating are stuff I wouldn't have touched as a child - I love home grown turnip and cabbage, peppers I didn't eat until I was well into my teens (and even then to begin with not green ones!) and I've only been into spicy food for the last few years so only ate chillis for the first time about 6 years ago!!

Really looking forward to it as my last year was a bit messed up as I moved in June and there was a lot of stuff I couldn't grow or had to wait to be planted while I unpacked and then actually created my veg patch!

[pawsnclaws]

it is so addictive and exciting lol i am 33 and all my friends think i am totally boring and odd as i would much prefer to be at home looking on seed web sited lol or at the allotment ha ha god i do sound sad just cant wait for every thing to be here so i can do some cooking with my own stuff 

[Rangerkris]

I will be sad with you then to as me and the wife are only 32-33 we love spending time down the plot we had great sun tans last year people kept asking where we had been on holiday.   My plot is a year old tomorrow to me this year things are going to be so easy compared to last year.

We plan to grow more Pea's SweetCorn, Potato's and hope to get more stock for the freezer to last longer than we had last year.  We still have our newest half plot to sort out as well so some work on that but it wont talk long at all. Some soil that is heaped up one end needs spreading all over and that will be sorted pretty much.

[pawsnclaws]

kris i hope to the same i got my plot about the end of march april time i think i just bunged every thing in and hoped for the best the plot was new and there was only me and one other person on there they were neawly rotivated and it was great!!!! but they rotivated it with all the weeds still in so this year i NEED to keep on top of them or it will just go to pot again and i will stress lol i also want to try and store lots of potatos and other stuff so i have my own veg all year roundwould be lovely not haveing to buy anything from the shops

[savbo]

among all the plans this year one I am really determined about - keep the hoe sharp and use it every time i'm on the plot!

M

[pawsnclaws]

i think that is the best tip by far last year i was so lazy got fed up with the plot and let it grow and grow it was a night mare so yes whenever i see a weed it is coming up right away!!!!

[Christine]

Plans? What's them?

Well there's the normal "roots" - onions, swede, turnip, beetroot, tatties, carrots, parsnips, fennel, kohl rabi

Then there's the more obvious "greens" - cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, calabrese, kale

There's the "climbers and sprawlers" - runner beans, french beans, peas, courgettes, marrows

There's the salad crops of assorted lettuce and rocket

There's the static crops - strawberries, raspberries, loganberry, rhubarb and assorted herbs such as parsley, sage, rosemary, thymes, mints, chives, lavender, fruit trees and blueberry bushes

When space runs out things grow in tubs. It's pretty packed and I'm still eating a fair amount of crops from last year - admitted frozen into ready meals.

In other words, after 3 years it's sort of regular things that get eaten - but there's a few more things I'd like to pack into corners.

It's been progressive improving the soil and adding to the perennial stock that is not beginning to pay off. Someone said when I started that it takes five years to get an allotment up to speed with a little more each year.