New Allotment
Well, after a year of growing vegetables in pots in my back yard, I have finally got a half plot allotment and it's fantastic. It is 20ft x 33ft so manageable and was full of thistles and grass. I got it on Saturday and I've been down there every day so far for a couple of hours at a time with my children and we are making good progress.
Does anybody know if I will be able to start planting anything in November ready for Spring or is it too late now? Thought I'd ask as I'm new to this so any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks
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Thistles and Grass
algynon Posted at 05:59 on Wed, 11/12/2008Hi Nina
As I advised somebody else don't try to dig grass and thistles out of a rough plot or you will be left with a big heap and nowhere to put it. First job take your spade to the local hardware shop and get the edge ground so that it is very sharp then skim all the weed off to ground level bag it all up and take it to the local tip or put it in your green bin Then you can start to dig Don't try to remove all the weed roots at once leave the ground roughly dug for the frost to break down the lumps. Round up ( Glyphosate ) works best March to September and it will definitely not work in one week anytime of the year Any seed you have bought my advice is give them to a friend have great patience carry on clearing and look forward to spring I'll tell you via the forum how to deal with the thistles etc then
Thank you for your advice,
Nina Posted at 19:17 on Sat, 11/15/2008Thank you for your advice, I'm up there tomorrow and will definitely be doing what you said. I'll no doubt ask for your advice in the Spring again.
N
New to this game
Denise Posted at 10:21 on Mon, 11/10/2008I have had my allotment about 4 weeks, it is full size and has been completely neglected. With the help of my husband (he's not really into gardening but is a willing labourer with the promise of many rhubarb crumbles to come) we have made a good start despite the wet weather. Any advise anyone can give me regarding clearing a plot would be gratefully received.
Many thanks, Denise
Hi there I've only had mine
Nina Posted at 20:31 on Tue, 11/11/2008Hi there
I've only had mine for just over 2 weeks and it's a half plot but was covered in thistles and grass. The advice I was given was to clear it in small chunks, little and often. The grass is the hardest thing to clear I'm finding so am resorting to using a spade.
My nice 'allotment neighbour' sprayed my thistles with Round Up which I've Googled and doesn't affect your soil (I don't intend to spray my veg at all). Leave it for about a week after spraying and then dig clear the patch. The roots will apparently be killed off. That's the only bit of advice I can give so far as I'm a real novice at this. Hope it helps and good luck, you'll get there.
Nina
grass
phil Posted at 17:24 on Sun, 11/09/2008there,s no exact method to getting shut of the grass. dig it whichever way u find most suitable to you. The main thing is to take as long as u want and dont try to do it all at once, slow and sure I find is the best way. Its boring and tedious but come next spring you,ll be ready to go and then the magic begins.
Dont get down hearted it will all be worth it in the end.
You can cover the patches you dig with black polythene to limit any further growth and before you know it you will be ready for lift off.
good luck
phil
Great thanks Phil. I am
Nina Posted at 17:57 on Sun, 11/09/2008Great thanks Phil. I am going to try using a spade to see if that helps which hopefully it will. I'm still really excited about having my own plot so will keep on at it and I'm sure this time next year we'll be enjoying the fruits of all the hard work all being well.
Thanks for your advice.
N
Hi
Cymon Posted at 11:22 on Mon, 11/03/2008Hi Nina,
I'm also very new to this allotment game, I only got my half plot a couple of weeks back.
As far as planting in November, I had planned to get an over wintering set of onions in, and maybe some broad beans, and peas, all Autumn sowing varieties.
I had planned this last wekend if it hadn't rained so much, did manage to get out on Sunday though and make a start on a small patch to grow the above, or maybe just the onions, I just about got a 1.5m x 2.5m patch prepared, and it poured again, so here's hoping for next weekend.
Have fun.
Simon.
Good luck with the planting,
Nina Posted at 18:07 on Sat, 11/08/2008Good luck with the planting, you're further ahead than I am. Maybe I'll get some more tips from you when you've got some planted :-)
I'm also very new to this, I
Lumpyjumper Posted at 12:44 on Mon, 11/03/2008I'm also very new to this, I got my half-plot 10 days ago and because of the clocks changing have only managed to get up there for a total of 5 hours.
However, we've cleared a lot of the overgrown grass and have started to mark out beds to dig. The plot is 8m by 5m. Not very big but I should get 6 one metre by two metre beds in it, as well as a fruit cage and a rhubarb patch.
Hopefully the weather will play ball and I'll be able to go up there this weekend and do some more.
Grass
Nina Posted at 18:06 on Sat, 11/08/2008Hi there
Thank you for your reply. Can I just ask how you got rid of the grass? I am using a fork and maybe should be using a spade to try and dig it out but it's very stubborn. Can't seem to shift it at the moment, it's taking me ages.
N
new plot
phil Posted at 21:32 on Sun, 11/02/2008Hi and welcome to the wonderful world of allotments,you could still get some garlic planted,but I would think that the best thing that you could do at the moment is to just prepare for next year and keep digging and weeding
good luck
phil
New plot
Nina Posted at 18:05 on Sat, 11/08/2008Hi Phil
Thanks for your advice. I managed to get some more of the plot cleared today but I can't shift the grass, it's a complete nightmare. I think I need to build up my strength more :-)
N