[simpbow]

Been thinking of doing this for a while now but am not to sure how to go about starting it, thought id mention it in here as a lot of yous guys across the water have these kind of things, i want to make a small allotment in the corner of the garden so how would you go about preparing it ready for planting & also a small choice of vegetables which would have low maintenance, eg:carrots, turnips, beetroot & maybe lettuce if that is along the right lines, would appreciate any help or tips, cheers Simpbow.

[Summerleft]

I had a triangular bit of ground at my parents, the soil was clay so I hired the guy in front with his rotavator (is that it?) and he prepared the ground, then I added some quality rotted manure and also a bit of compost

Now some garden gurus might throw thier hands up in horror but I dont care lol

Then left it to settle but weeded it for about a month or so, before planting

salads I had in the greenhouse as slugs and all manner of things will eat the green leafy things

We went on holiday to come home to find cabbage stalks :| one year

Strawberrys and potatoes, I built a brick raised bed, dug the ground then filled with compost.

Quite easy getting started its the maintenance and making sure uglies dont eat them thats the hard bit.

[simpbow]

Cheers Summerleft thanx for the tips, would like to give it ago & see what happens & hopefully get some good vegy out of it, cheers.

[Angela]

I have to confess to being of the "chuck it in the ground and if it grows, it grows, if it doesn't then don't plant it again" school of gardening so Idon't think I can offer any proper advice!

But good luck, I wish I was more green-fingered.

[Chilliman]

I used to have a veg garden at my old house, growing your own was more satisfying and tasty cause you grow the types you want.
Maybe you should have started preparing it before winter, you could have had some well rotted manure in the ground enriching the soils. If you can get a hold of some rotted manure preferably horse manure and it must be well rotted then dig it in to the soil, it helps tremendously.

Farmyard manure which we used to get free from our local slaughterhouse was ok but it brought with it lots of new weeds, so you have to be careful using farmyard stuff. Digging fresh manure in while plants are in place can damage them. Hopefully drainage is ok in the veg area, if not you will have problems. You could also make your own compost free, plenty of sites on the net showing you how.

For the first year I'd probably fill most of it up with potatoes, earlies and lates so you have tatties most of the year. Carrots can be a bit pernickity if the soil conditions are not good. Lettuces you could plant a week or two apart in between the rows of spuds so their not all ready at once. Beetroot and onions are fairly easy to grow, turnip is ok if you eat lots of it. You need to look at what veg the family eats each week and make your choices from there. No point growing lots of stuff you don't eat much of. Good luck with it.

[Dave]

Have a friends partner (Matt Adams) who helps run this :- Good Gardeners - home . I have seen the "no dig" method of growing veg & was mighty impressed with the results

[Dutchie]

I've got an alotment
First i've weeded the ground.
Then someone has gone over with the rotavator.
I've put lots of cowmuc on. And i've started planting cabage, sprouts, cauliflower and potatoes, leeks and more which i can't remember.
You need to protect the plants with like chickenwire, or a net. Sticks on the side and put the net over. Then you could throw some slugpallets down. This will protect your veg from birds and slugs.

Good luck. This is my first time, but i'm doing it on a big alotmentsight. I'm getting loads of hints and tips.

[simpbow]

Cheers guys thanx for all your great help I've took note of all this so should have enough info to get it ready for when the times right to plant, sorry for delay , just popped in for a quick tea-break.

[Soupdragon]

I have only done this for herbs.
All I did was dig two strips about two foot wide by eight foot long in the back garden and threw a load of different herb seeds and nursery potted stuff in.
It's awesome picking your own herby seasoning.
I got carried away and bought a Pestle and Mortar for grinding and blending the stuff too.
Well, I used it once.

[Markulous]

I'm a firm believer that the only two tools you ever need for gardening are a JCB and a flamethrower! 'Nuff said!

[Soupdragon]

Originally Posted by Markulous

I'm a firm believer that the only two tools you ever need for gardening are a JCB and a flamethrower! 'Nuff said!

So, you're growing giant pre-baked spuds are you?

[nelliestew]

Hi
We have an allotment - and last year was our first - inevitably we planted too much, so my first piece of advice would be to keep it simple. We had great success with potatoes (much nicer, as was everything, than shop-bought), different varieties of beans, garlic and onions. It is really important to plan a crop rotation, so make sure you make a note of where everything goes so you don't plant the same thing, in the same place, next year. We also grew loads of chillies and tomatoes (I have promised not to plant so many this year )
Hope you enjoy growing your own vegetables - I had a good year last year then my husband bought me this camera and...well... the rest of my free time is history...
Nellie

[simpbow]

Cheers guys thanx for advice, wouldnt have greenfingers but hopefully something should come up.

[EKIMIKE]

One thing i reccomend you grow is Purple Sprouting Broccoli. My Dad did some recently and its the muts nuts. It quite possibly the best greens going, and with crazy supermarket prices (trust me i work in morrisons fruit and veg) you may as well grow it yourself. Good choice though to grow your own stuff. Call me weird, but it tastes a whole lot better. What my parents also do is have a little raised bed (made out of a square wooden frame) with some salad type stuff in it, so if your into your salads its good stuff (not my cup of tea).

Good Luck,

MiKE

[simpbow]

Cheers Mike tried the home grown stuff a few times & i think its far nicer than the stuff that's forced on, love all kinds of veg & salad stuff, so I'll deffinantly be given it ago & hopefully something happens, don't know till you try.