Allotment stuff

It’s lovely that all your hard work has paid off. We got ours in April and immediately set to work repairing the raised beds and constructing a Polytunnel. This year has been excellent for produce. In the winter we will prune the neglected fruit trees and construct a more substantial shed.
Enjoy your harvest.

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Next step is to put many ground cover sedums down amongst some structural plants and intersperse with narcissus cheerfulness

Water butts are full at last, I will have to half empty and re-direct roof drainage, in case of expanding ice over winter. I already have a floating ball in each water butt

The photos are november when I got my plot and feb when the basic work was done

I had to buy some very tough big tools, in order to prise roots out

What an absolutely fabulous effort Karmalady, your hard work and dedication has achieved so much in practical terms and I know from experience that working in my own garden does wonders for my mental health.

There’s nothing more satisfying than cooking something fresh out of the ground is there? My own onion crop this year has been way beyond expectations. Although soft fruits, peas and beans did need extra tlc due to the high temperatures as did the beetroot.

What a difference you have made, lots of hard work gone into that. Enjoy your produce.

J52 I decided not to have any tall structures here, the site is in a wind tunnel and many polytunnels were shredded but I am doing fine with the raised beds and I have strong stable netting systems. Well done on getting to grips with your allotment

I go to mine regularly; it is a nice cycle ride and I always take a walk around looking for weeds. There are some nasties with thick underground roots like bindweed but constantly digging out is having a very good effect

I bought 5 more bocking 14 comfrey from ebay. Split the roots, potted and waited. I now have over 50 in neat areas and have taken one small cut already. It makes the very best compost and never spreads, also is infertile and bees love the flowers

This autumn I will be moving my rooted strawberry runners, as well as the original 6 plants that I bought. I have drawn a basic plan so I keep a clear head about what I am planting and where. The 60 new ground cover sedums will work their magic as weed suppressors, I have them at home instead of lawn. Left of shed in the photos and I will get them in as soon as I can

What I do find lovely is the caring attitude of many of the allotment members eg they put excess produce on the sharing table. Not everyone is like this, a few bustle about with heads down but most are truly nice people. We just stop for very short chats, mindful that people have work to do

It’s been a poor year on my allotment.

It didn’t rain once from May until September and everything suffered though I watered as best I could, it’s not the same as rain.

Last year I had 32 butternut squashes. This year I have 9!

On the plus side, some of you might remember I posted about my problems in getting a shed. At last I have one🎉

Going up to the allotment in minute before the storm😃

We don’t have an allotment but I grow parsley, mint and other herbs in my garden plus tomatoes and a few strawberries.

We let local allotment holders come and help themselves to very well rotted manure from our remaining horse and they give us nice, fresh produce from their plots. Works well as I wouldn’t have time to tend an allotment now.

Yours sounds really good.👍

What a transformation! Well done.

How do you get rid of weeds?
Weed, weed, weed yet some rain and there they are again! I think the seeds must blow in from everywhere around.

DH is resistant to putting cardboard down which I suggested. He thinks it wouldn't look good but it would be better than weeds. Mulch helps but still they grow through it.

That's just reminded me!
I open-froze trays of runner beans last evening, must go and bag them up.
Thank you 😀

That’s an amazing amount of work for one person, karmalady. No wonder you are proud of your achievement.
Here’s to next year’s growing season.

After years of having a good sized garden I moved into a flat so I was very lucky to be allocated an allotment quite soon after the move.

It is pouring down, I managed to get a years worth of parsley bagged and into the freezer and quickly threw phacelia seeds down. I have 4 x 1m sq raised beds at home, only 6" tall. Handy by the house

I dug autumn bliss raspberries out a few weeks ago, only 2 years old but they were starting to come up through the path and in my raised beds at home, in fact a nuisance

Lathyrus, I remember your shed saga, congratulations on being successful in sourcing what you wanted

Ooh Allira, you must try and persuade him. The cardboard I put down to the left of shed was incredible at keeping weeds down and I planted 2 crown squash through it resulting in 7 big squashes. That cardboard is now soft and ready to decompose. I too never appreciated how good a cardboard layer is, all the beds had a cardboard layer under weedfabric and obviously that decomposed faster. I will forever be collecting cardboard

Allira re the weeds, you need to pick your moments. Hoeing is best when the soil is dry and there is sunshine, the roots will die quickly. Perennial weeds need my hori hori (darlac tool) and persistence but they do give up over time. If the weeds can be dealt with by end of june, then the remainder of the year is easy. I collect all weeds in a bucket in my shed, never ever putting them in my compost

Ooh Allira, you must try and persuade him

I have, karmalady, believe me.

Perhaps I'll just go out and do it (before he disposes of the boxes) and see how long before he notices. The trouble is, it's the area round fruit bushes and raspberry canes so not straightforward.
Our raspberries sprout up in expected places too. They didn't do very well this year.

Yes, I know - hoe between the rows is the mantra!
We don't put them on the compost heap any more either.
Anyway, the rain cometh!

Allira

What a transformation! Well done.

How do you get rid of weeds?
Weed, weed, weed yet some rain and there they are again! I think the seeds must blow in from everywhere around.

DH is resistant to putting cardboard down which I suggested. He thinks it wouldn't look good but it would be better than weeds. Mulch helps but still they grow through it.

At our allotment the committee arrange for huge amounts of wood clippings to be delivered for paths on the plots. We put down a barrier, could be cardboard and the chipping go on top, replaced as necessary. No carpet or underlay allowed.
Between the plots there are grass paths and everyone mows or strips around their plot.
Yes, kamalady our fellow allotmenters are also very kind and helpful. In fact this summer it’s been a lovely place to be.

Mows or strims!

Slug nematodes are arriving this week and I will get them watered in later this week. First session was in april and they are worth the effort. Its a gamble as to when to get them as the ground needs to be damp and warm enough

Only one session for me next year but I certainly saw the benefit this year. The effect seems to last for a couple of years

Wonderful, at last my phacelia green manure is growing well. It took a long time to sprout this year. I have a lot of basic green manure seeds but have taken the easy route this year, only sown phacelia. Wrt mustard, field beans, rye etc I need to get my rotation plan roughly sorted first. I have no idea what bugs, viruses etc are lurking in the soil, which is my priority just now. Phacelia is neutral and can be grown in any rotation, easy to chop down too

Prepping for winter now. I have 6 small water butts, dual purpose as they will help keep my shed upright. Now half empty, a ball floating in each one. I have dislocated and plugged the feeder hoses and later will put the insulation covers on the taps

I have sown green manure, winter mix, onto 3 beds, chopped and covered two beds of phacelia. Waiting for one big bed of phacelia to grow bigger before chopping that

A bed is ready for my autumn alliums, I have hoops ready to cover, to stop any critter from digging

Weeds are very under control, I have been relentless, hoe and hori hori mainly with the likes of bindweed dug out. The cardboard did a great job of suppression

60 ground cover sedum planted and 40 narcissi amongst those, in the old fruit cage area. Wiegelia, clump forming bamboo and lots of bocking 14 comfrey around the 4 edges. Dogwood down the centre

A big full bed of strawberry plants, all from 6 original plants plus rooted runners

I did a big second cut of my bocking 14 and all compost bins are benefitting, I am expecting good compost by next autumn

I now have veg for winter, brassicas and chard fordhook and leeks. Asparagus and rhubarb looking good and 14 excellent squash brought home just about cured for long storage

I never thought I would get much this year but I am so pleased, I have topped the paths with landscape bark, another 2 bags last week. I can see maybe 2-3 bags per year but hang the expense, so nice to walk on

Shed is tidy, tools sharpened and visible dried mud on the big tools has been washed away, remnant from all that initial digging into clay

It has been so worth it, the initial aches were awful as was the expense but all that is over. I now have somewhere lovely to go to on my bike and enjoy the grounding process of weeding by hand

I am glad of the rain last night and today, I am hoping that the autumn manure mix germinates. I won`t need to chop and cover those beds for winter

My organic veg order is very much reduced and I am appreciating the savings now. Already substantial with appreciated fresh organic veg available on my plot, I will have enough until late spring.

If you are dithering, get your name on a list anyway. I only waited 5 months but others seem to have to wait 2+ years. Lots are going to want an allotment, there are definite money-savings to be made as well as all the other benefits including the mental health aspect, exercise etc. I was 76 when I got my very neglected overgrown half plot

That's a massive transformation, you must feel really proud. Well done!

I’m having a load of manure delivery very today *karmalady.

So looking forward to it!❤️🤣

Lathyrus3

I’m having a load of manure delivery very today *karmalady.

So looking forward to it!❤️🤣

I respectfully suggest that fresh manure should be rotted down before adding to the soil or left on the vacant plot to rot down.
Sorry if you already know this.

Yes, but thank you.

I’m always happy to talk about manure or any other allotment stuff😬

I agree, please don`t be fobbed off with horse manure under 3 years old. You will get many weed seeds and acidity from horse wee