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New allotment OMG...Part 2...

Just signed up for a new allotment...OMG...were my first thoughts when I looked onto my first plot...

...what had I let myself in for...image...putting your name down on a waiting list is one thing...but faced with a plot over grown with brambles, weeds and grass...it's hard to imagine veggies will ever grow again on such a neglected site ...image  

... but grow they do...image... and by my second year I was looking forward to taking on a bigger plot to grow, not just growing veg but fruit and flowers... 

This is part 2 of a thread which started a couple of years ago...here is the link if you want to look back...lots of familiar posters...who give good advise...and share their day down on the plot... so if you have an allotment whether just starting out or an experienced allotmenteer...feel free to drop in...    

http://www.gardenersworld.com/forum/talkback/new-allotment-omg/220407.html 

 

happy growing..image...

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Posts

  • Lupin 1Lupin 1 Posts: 8,916

    Happy to see part 2 Zoomer image You lot have certainly been busy and productive..have a great season  

  • Zoomer44Zoomer44 Posts: 3,267

    Thanks KEF, just read your post on the old thread. 

     Shame we can't carry over the recent pics Gg posted of the allotment shop on the site where she has a plot, the shop is amazing...image...  

    Just checked the weather forcast for the weekend and it's looking good here both mornings. Hoping to go to the plot Saturday morning to plant a couple of pear tree's and do some weeding round the onions and garlic planted in the Autumn.  

    Happy growing everyoneimage

  • Lupin 1Lupin 1 Posts: 8,916

    I think you can still view but not post on part one..maybe Gg would repost them image

  • GWRSGWRS Posts: 8,478

    Hello can still see old posts 

    No allotmenteering for a just over a week as helping sister in law decorate flat in Swindon 

    all the best image

  • Zoomer44Zoomer44 Posts: 3,267
    Enjoy Swindon. I'm going up to Aberdeen next weekend so hoping to get a lot of jobs done on the plot this weekend.



    Just made a monthly sowing guide for the year as I run out of steam by June and successional sowing always tappers off.
  • Aster2Aster2 Posts: 629

    I've been meaning to ask about successional sowing: how often do you sow? Every two weeks? Does it vary for different crops?

  •  GG your shop looks amazing, we have a loo and tiny car park as we only have 39 plots and they are nearly all half plots. 

    Aster, I think you can sow  every 2 -4 weeks, depending on the crop and how long they take to come to maturity I only ever get round to remembering when its too late so it pays to be super organised! image

  • Zoomer44Zoomer44 Posts: 3,267

    Aster/Ginagibbs-I'm not usually this organised with sowing but I've alot of different veggies and varieties this year...image

    You can sow every 2-4 wks depending on the crop. Radish and spring onions can be sown every 4wks throughout the growing season as they grow fairly quickly. 

    I've at least two varieties or more for peas, beans, turnip/swede, carrots, beertroot, kale, lettuce and broccoli(calabrese and purple sprouting). Each variety will grow better sown at different times...

    ...check the growing instructions on the packet....some are more hardy than others and they mature at different times... so I'll sow some of these every 4-8 weeks...

    For instance peas, I'll sow a hardy one in March and less hardy one's in April and May. The same with turnip, I'll sow a hardy one in April which matures quickly and again in May. Winter turnips/swedes will be sown in July and August, these can stay in the ground to be picked over winter...   

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  • Aster2Aster2 Posts: 629

    Thanks, Ginagibbs and Zoomer, that's really helpful. I'm trying to decide whether to start some seeds indoors or sow them in the ground later - I might just wait to sow outside, as I don't have a cold frame or a greenhouse or an unheated room.

  • Hi Aster,

    I start a lot of seeds indoors or in the green house before I plant them out, I have clay soil and it takes a while to warm up.I only sow outside from late March onwards depending on the weather.

    ,I cover some of the ground with black plastic sheets to try and warm it up first. the ground needs to be slightly on the dry side to sow outside.You could use plastic cloches.image

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