[spade or shovel?]

Hi all , just 2 quick questions today I promise! ( and I hope this is in the right section on the forum if it isn't please tell me )
1. We have an open fire, can you use the ash for anything? ( composting or dig straight in to the ground? )
2. My better half has put doubt in my mind on my first plot which I was going to dig of 3mx6m, she has suggested that I should only go 1m wide and say 10 m long , her theory being that I could work from the sides of the plot without treading on it? Any help as usual would be much appreciatted.

Kind regards

Dave

[GrannieAnnie]

Hi Dave, opinions on ash are a bit divided I think, but my Dad always put his ash either direct on teh ground then dug it in or onto the compost heap, but not in great quantities.

We burn our chicken poop shavings then that goes into the ground or compost heaps.

And your OH is right, they say if keep your beds to about 4ft by 10ft, (not metres, which is a long way to walk round!) they are easier to manage.  if you have it 3ms wide, you will end up walking on the ground, whereas the idea of these beds particularly raised ones is you can manage them without walking on them, which means less digging!!  That's my opinion anyway!!   

[fatbelly]

No 1 . Wood Ash only and even then not great amounts. (i've never done it)
No 2. I have walked on my soil many times  and i have got some great crops this year.

It sounds like you are doing exactly what I did when I first started , tried to get everything perfect. But the good thing with nature is it can cope with things.

Two plots down from me an old timer  'Bungs his seeds in' and lets nature get on with it. He does water and feed but on the whole lets nature do its business.
He gets fantastic crops. Because he concentrates on getting his soil right with manuring, compsting and digging when needed.

[JayG]

1) Wood ash is a good source of salts, mainly potassium, but tends to be a bit alkaline so don't use it on your blueberries or spuds. The salts are very soluble so leach away quickly so it is probably better stored dry or added in small quantities to your compost heap rather than adding it to the soil in winter.

Coal ash is more likely to contain unwanted heavy metals and organic residues so is a bit more problematic, although opinion does seem divided as GrannieAnnie has said.

2) My plot isn't big enough for the luxury of having walking-only areas; I suppose it partly depends on how tall you are and how long your arms are! 

[DD.]

I too never worry about walking on the ground, (good job as I don't do beds), but keep off if it's particularly wet.

Some crops such as brassicas prefer a more compacted soil, as some of my neighbours with well forked beds have found out.

[mumofstig]

I'm with the others on the ash.......wood ash good, coal ash bad IMO

Narrow beds or old-style allotment area, where you just walk on earth between the crops, it's up too you.
However in a small plot any grass paths do take up a lot of what could be growing area.

[bigben]

In response to the idea about paths/raised beds etc - last year I looked after a friends allotment who had clearly defined beds about a meter wide separated by paths. This year I got my own and have not put in permanent paths but have been surprised at how much more ground there seems to be to grow in!
The plot is on a slope and has been split into large (3x5 or even 4x5m) terraces. This works well for my squash plot where they have a decent area to spread over and also my onions where I have been able to pack in a lot into one big terrace.
I have had to be careful watering and weeding but tend to use weed fabric anyway which cuts down weeding a lot. I would not go back to permanent paths other than the main on running the length of the plot.

[rainbow1]

Just to add confusion to the mix - as there are lots of us with different ideas we seem to do that brilliantly!  - I am in the "with paths" camp. I have a feeling this stems from my need for neat & tidiness – I can stay cleaner by keeping to the paths! Swings & roundabouts really but if you have tons of space and don’t plan to have raised beds you can start with narrow strips and add to them as the growing bug bites. But note GrannieAnnie’s advice about bed length. Mine are 3 metres & I wouldn’t want them longer or short-cuts would be too tempting!