I've just got an allotment! How should I start?

Question

It's in SE England and has been pretty well maintained. I've grown herbs and veggies in pots on the balcony, but this is the first time I've had actual land to grow on! I'm really excited, but don't know where to begin...

Answer 1

First off, buy a good quality spade...it's going to have a lot of work to do. :-)

If you're not going to be planting it for a while, perhaps you should add compost and sterilized manure now, and seed it with winter rye to grow a 'green manure' crop. Maybe cover it with some chopped straw or other mulch. In a few months, dig all that back into the soil to increase the humus content.

In the French Intensive Gardening Method, you dig the soil down to about 2 full shovels depth, and place compost at the bottom the first trench, then cover that with the soil from the bottom of the next trench, and so-on down the line.
You'll be double-digging the plot. This method sounds like it's twice as much work, but the yield is up to fourfold once you get the hang of it. That's why it's called the lazy man's gardening method in some areas... :-)

If you think of gardening as being a system of growing more soil by feeding the organisms within the soil, and the food as a by-product, you will be in an ongoing process of building better and more fertile soil. Gardening like this is called permaculture.

As for what to grow...concentrate on the stuff that's expensive to buy, and not something like potatoes, which take up a lot of room and are relatively cheap to buy.
Plant the taller plants, like corn (maize) on the north side so as to not shade lower plants.
I sometimes have grown corn and beans together in the same hill. Three of each. The beans are legumes and feed nitrogen to the corn to make it grow better. The beans climb up the corn stalks and use them for support. (If everything goes well...)

Compost: anything that came out of the soil can go back into the soil. That includes shredded-up old newspapers now that they don't use lead-based inks.

Answer 2

Hmmmmmm, lots of good advice so far, however I would be a bit more fundemental. Divide your allotment up into about six segments with string then do soil pH tests to see what you have and what you need to do to create the right soil conditions for what you want to grow.

If you have any rough areas, not dug lately, have a scout around and see if someone has a cultivator. A few fluttering eyelashes should get the job done for you and will save a lot of back ache. By the way, I'm not being sexist here, people on allotments are normally very friendly and often willing to help newcomers.

Any areas of rough ground, plant spuds first!

Answer 3

Preparation is important. Sit down and plan what you're going to grow, maybe with advice from books, magazines, other allotment holders, or even this site !

Prepare the ground. This might well mean an awful lot of digging, but if it has been well-maintained, perhaps not all that much.

Depending on what you grow, you are going to need storage, either a freezer, or several air-tight containers, or maybe both.

Enjoy !!

Answer 4

Being from the United states and not knowing what the weather and climate conditions are the best I can do is to is to reference you to some good websites to help you get started.
I know you are already prepared for the sweat equity part of gardening and it is well worth the effort. I have about 1 3/4 acres and wish I had some one to plant and use the space. I'm far too old now to do much gardening. I plant a few things amongst my flowers.
GOOD LUCK TO YOU!
Specific pages on gardeningdata.co.uk:
.............Vegetables .....................
http://www.gardeningdata.co.uk/vegetables/vegetables.php
..........Vegetables sowing and planting
...............through the year
http://www.gardeningdata.co.uk/vegetables/vegetables_sowing.php
.....................Vegetable families
http://www.gardeningdata.co.uk/vegetables/vegetable_families/vegetables_families.php


Great for Floral Images/you must a have a few to plant.
http://www.floralimages.co.uk/about.htm
http://www.floralimages.co.uk/links.htm
Complete List of veggies and care.
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Category:Gardening_pages

Answer 5

Lou Lou's answer really said it all, but I would add two things.
1 Get a good book. there was one on the market called 'Grow you own vegetables'
2 Keep a diary. When you have sown, make of seed, the quantity required, name and type of veg and results, and any other information that might help you the following year

Answer 6

Skiddoo, allotments are cool, we are into our 3rd year with ours. you can maintain the stuff thats already there, and prepare the ground for next year. you may well still be able to put some winter cabbage in, and grow them over winter for spring. Next year, you can start with onions...were doing ours drom seed this year...planted on xmas day. potatoes, runner beans....my favourites are the ' white lady ' variety...never had one die on me yet. beetroots, sweetcorn, pumpkins courgettes, and greenhouse tomatoes and cucumber. i always start mine off in the greenhouse and plant out when they are a good size. 4Also take and ask advice from the other lottie holders there. i've got some nice people at our allotment, and we swap seeds, plants produce and advice......but for now, just prepare the ground and plan for next year.....do more herbs too now if you like them. and buy your winter cabbage ready grown in pots from your local garden centre. lots of books in the library too......its dead exiting, and i wish you all the best in your new hobby. good luck x

Answer 7

You lucky devil. The council took mine away and when I went to the Police to complain they just said I've lost the plot.

Answer 8

You can start and tell us where you live and your locality..the length of your allotment and the width...are there any shrubs on it...how much grass...how many weeds...are you free from dogs and cats.