Anyone with an allotment?

My partner and mother in law are convinced that putting cooked food in the compost will result 100% in rats. I am fairly confident that rats also eat raw food sometimes so YMMV.

Mild day here so headed to plot.

2hrs to weed (bindweed & mares tail roots out of soil) from this small patch that has been covered with tarp for almost 2yrs . The rest needs the same treatment so just re-covered temporarily for now.

Elsewhere the 2 x 2kg of straw I was keeping for the strawberries has been found by rats, scattered across shed & used as a toilet for a couple of weeks by look of it.

Not fun removing it, particularly as all the site water is off until end of month so I couldn't wash down properly. Didn't get it all sorted, and will probably contract Weil's disease. Kept my daughter away from it all so fingers crossed she won't get poorly.

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Finished moving 3 massive raised beds through my house and to the allotment today. Feel a bit fucked but pleased with how it's coming together.

Next step is the dig out the compost heap and rebuild that, then add a load more soil that's bagged up to the right of photo.

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I did a bit on Sunday too, pretty much got everything I wanted done this winter, I'm trying to get it a bit more manageable as I have too many hobbies, with Audaxing also being a massive time drain - and there's home-brewing too!

Need to sort a few more pathways and I'm pretty much ready for spring.

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This all looks very impressive! After a handful of weekend sessions at our newly inherited plot we're still very much in clear-up phase. Getting there... Will hopefully get it looking like actual soil before Spring.

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Any suggestions for cheap/ free alternatives to land drains to stick in our raised beds before we fill them with soil to make watering a bit easier and more effective?

Potato Day!

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I also found 5 sunflower seeds germinating on some manure on my plot, so quickly stuck them in the soil along the fence line..

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I went to my plot for the first time this year. Pretty heart breaking.
-Poly tunnel collaspes
-Glass broken
-Plenty of weeds

I've been experimenting with no dig. So I've been laying cardboard down with manure over the top over winter. That area has no weeds at all.

I planted lots of greens in October they are nowhere to be seen.

That’s a bit of a downer. It’s been pretty fierce and have seen others poly / mesh covers blown to shit thou, so not just you...
What greens did you plant? It sounds a bit late for most things :( and our onion sets have pretty much all come to nothing. Garlic is thriving mind you.

I planted pak choi, lettuce, onions. Nothing really coming of it. I planted it on a whim and netted it.

Garlic however is loving life lots growing.

I'm thinking that the first year or 3 of an allotment depending on your situation is basically clearing and enriching the sight.

Ours was a state when we got it and the soil condition was terrible.

First year or so can be a bit of a slog. We need to feed the dirt with tons of horseshit when I get a moment (weekend) as the soil is really crap. Grab some rhubarb roots if you got none and get them in now?

I've spent the last few months putting bags of horseshit down on top of cardboard and it seems to be making a difference to the number of weeds.

I've only done 1/4 of the plot so far. As we're about to go into the next growing season I won't be putting anymore down until September, then will make the effort to cover the whole plot.

I made a big effort to try and make the plot look nice last year. This year will be purely about how much can I grow.

Are you basically letting the cardboard rot under the manure? (we don't have a plot yet, looks like we'll get one before the end of 2020 though so planning)

I'm not an aficionado but as I understand it you put cardboard down to block the sunlight and weed seeds getting in to the soil. Whilst adding compost or manure on top.

I've never tried it before. On the area where I have started the weeds are massively reduced. So will do the whole plot next year.

This year will be purely about how much can I grow.

Good plan. #brexit #prepping #tinfoilhat

Planting first then hoeing after :)

Subbed. We got the keys to ours in mid Jan. Not vast but about 3 times the size we were expecting from the map. It's all terraced but hadn't been touched for 5 + years we reckon. There's a rotten shed with a door that doesn't close (it did until the storms the other day pulled it apart). The shed also contains a small, heavily used portable toilet - not really sure what to do with that. There's a plastic greenhouse - again, without a functioning door and some loose panels. The terrace supports are all rotten. The soil is basically clay at the top of the hill but better at the bottom.

When we arrived it looked like this:

Then this:

First pass at turning over soil with a broken fork we found in the shed before it snapped:

And now with a proper fork and some time it's slowly progressing:

Not sure what to plant at this stage or when to do it - we've got another few weeks of work to do in any case (more ground work, replace the terrace supports, fix the shed door, replace water butt (don't think it's repairable). I'd also love some kind of private terrace bit to just sit and read when the summer comes but we'll see.

Also, loads of pheasants.

First/second early seed potatoes can go in soonish. I've no experience, but I've heard pheasants can be a bit of a bastard for ruining stuff.

Good work on the allotment. Greenhouse and shed in situ are a big plus.

I’d agree with @Tonts as potatoes are a great crop in the first year as they help to break up the soil.

Pheasants and pidgeons :)

That soil looks lovely. Good job. Have you got 5 compost bins?

Planting first then hoeing after :)

Did you get the cocaine sorted out in time?

I’d agree with @Tonts as potatoes are a great crop in the first year as they help to break up the soil.

Yup. Tato's are a great crop for unused allotments. It's just what you do with the massive amount of tubers afterwards.

lol