Allotmenteers ?

[Fibilou]

Does anyone else have an allotment and would like to chat ?
It's our 3rd year this year, didn't do very much this year due to pregnancy and very hectic schedule but can't wait to get back into it this year. Got big plans !
We've got 2 greenhouses on our plot and I'm planning on planting a grape vine this year and we're going to be investing in a fruit cage.
There's an empty plot next to us which can't be cultivated (apparently) so we are contemplating writing to the committee to see if we can rent it and plant a proper little orchard with a couple of apples, pears, plums and a cherry.

[allstarsprincess]

Hello,

I have an allotment. I love it.

Not sure if this is in keeping with mumsnet forums but I use this site to talk about what I grow when etc. They are a friendly bunch who are happy to talk swede, strawberries and okra til the cows come home.

www.allotment.org.uk/

I am also planning on planting some fruit trees this year. We have some in our garden at home but DH has banned me from planting any more. He thinks 6 is enough (I know he is right!)

[tispity]

if you are in london, be prepared to join a very, very long waiting list - i think it is something ridiculous like 80 years in Islington. i toyed with the idea of 'unofficially' taking over a friends plot when they moved house, though i chickened out in the end (the results from my veg patch in the garden wre not good and i realised that i was a long way away from self-sufficiency). bear in mind that it is a pretty big all-weather commitment - i have friends who have almost divorced over the time the dh spends down at the allotment (esp if it has a big communal storage shed!!!!). i would recommend The Allotment Handbook as a good starting point.

wrt the land you mention, you could ignore the soil underneath and build raised beds over it instead

[dreamingofsun]

at least they have allotments in london. we don't have any where we live in dorset. though we do have a waiting list!

[paisleyleaf]

We've got one. Only got it last autumn, so still full of enthusiasm for it.
We've done lot's of work on it already as it was quite a state. And I did plant some stuff for overwintering, but unfortunately it flooded for quite a while so a lot of it drowned. - Some of the onions and garlic and a few red cabbages still look okay though.

I went to the AGM - I giggled all through it. It was like a vicar of Dibley meeting

Our sites great too as there's a park with swings and slide right next door and I can see it from our plot.

Fibilou, the greenhouses sound handy (we're not allowed glass on ours (vandals )
But my plan for this year is to get a greenhouse onto the bit where I had the vegetable patch in our garden, so I can have more space to start things off from seed.
That bit you've got that you can't cultivate might be to attract bees, butterflies etc - a few fruit trees shouldn't interfere with that.

tispity, that'll be why we've got some Londoners with plots down here in East Sussex then.
They really should try and sort out more land for allotments.

I'm hoping for a fig tree for my birthday or mother's day or something.

[Fibilou]

DH went "down the plot" a couple of times this week and has been putting up fencing around the bottom end next to the shed so we can start getting the fruit cage up. We're planning on training a fig against the shed wall and growing soft fruit in it.

Ordered some gladioli/dahlia/lily corms the day before yesterday for cut flowers and might go down the nursery this afternoon to get some seed potatoes to start chitting.

[tjacksonpfc]

hi all we took over our allotment last april. it was in a right mess hadn,t been touched in 20 years but we managed with the help of a petrol strimmer brought on ebay to clear the weeds.

we got potatoes carrots onions and runner beans in and grown last year. just got all the seeds for this year and have onions and garlic in growning already.

still got loads of work today this year to get it up and running properly but im due to have a shoulder op in next couple of weeks so it wil be coming down to dp a lot this week. we love going up the allotment the kids love helping and the dog loves belong able to run around up there.

will be watching this thread with interest maybe we can give each other tips through out the year.

[meltedmarsbars]

I'm on my third (allotment - have moved house a few times).

Been donw there this moring preparing the asparagus beds!

[aJumpedUpPantryBoy]

Can I join in?

I haven't got an allotment as such, but we have a three quarter acre garden, so I have a huge vegetable plot.

[meltedmarsbars]

What do you grow?

[aJumpedUpPantryBoy]

I'm planning on growing

potatoes
broad beans (planted)
peas
Sweetcorn
Tomatoes
Chillis (planted)
Peppers (planted)
mangetout
courgettes
cucumbers
butternut squash
pumpkins
garlic
radishes
lettuce
spinach
runnerbeans
carrots
garlic
aubergine

I'v e also got some gooseberry, redcurrant and blackcurrant bushes, apple trees and raspberry canes

[MollyRoger]

I wish I had a greenhouse. They sometimes come up on freecycle. But I wouldn't know where to start on dismantling one and putting one together

I do have a very sunny back yward where most things grow and a magic windowsill.

Having said that, I am trailing a very hardy watermelon this year on my allotment. You never know, it might be a hot hot summer?

I have had a lot for 5 years so have grown most stuff.

I have a lovely herb garden and gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and loganberries. And an apple tree on th eplot next door which I am allowed to share.
I also have 2 young vicccy plums and a baby pear tree which sadly won't fruit yet.

Anyone have top tips for butternut? I only managed 2 fruits from 12 plants last year And poor, runty little specimans they were too.

[catsdontscreetch]

Hello

Just started second year on our allotment. 1st proper year as we were 'helpers' but now it's ours!!! (manic laughter)

Currently clearing 40 (60) years of junk, but so since new year have
pruned overgrown apple tree,
moved 4 patches of rhubarb to make one massive patch
build 3 compost bays with pallets.

Am planning
potatoes (chitting)
broad beans
peas
french beans
sweetcorn
tomatoes
cucumbers
chillis
peppers
courgettes
butternut squash
pumpkins
onions
red onions
shallots
garlic
parsnips
turnip
swede
spinach
beetroot
spinach beet
carrots
lettuce
radishes

fruit
rhubarb
raspberries
gooseberries
logonberries

[meltedmarsbars]

Catsds: wot no blackcurrants or redcurrants? You've got everything else!

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

OMG, have just logged onto my email to find I've been offered an allotment, was told there were over 50 on one place and a 7 year waiting list so a bit of a surprise!

Will email him and go and have a look, I have visions of huge weeds and brambles so shall see what the reality is.

[meltedmarsbars]

Don't worry if you have brambles etc - they are not hard to get rid of - just cut the tops off and burn them then lever out the root.

Have fun making plans for the summer!

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

Thanks melted, I will get stuck in if needs be. We've had a look on google maps and they all look well cultivated though I guess things could change since it was taken. By the look of things the allotment officer only works Monday and Thursday so I shall have to wait a couple of days to hear back again. I am so excited, like when I was a child at Christmas.

[meltedmarsbars]

Its not too late to put fruit bushes in - if it is overgron, just put the bushes/canes in the ground then lay carpet or cardboard over the weeds around them for a few months till the weeds are dead.

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

Great tip, we're about to rip up the carpet so can use that. There are some raspberry canes that can be moved and I saw a small blackcurrant plant lurking in the garden.

He's just rang and I'm going to look on Saturday. It's not been cultivated for 18months and is in fair condition apparently . 11 feet x 92 feet, I'm allowed a shed and it's a tenner a year. Roll on Saturday!

[meltedmarsbars]

Just make sure you take the carpet up again when the weeds have rotted otherwise it will rot into the ground too and that's not so good if it has the rubber backing stuff on it. Very few carpets are made from natural materials.

A lot of weeds can grow in 18 months!

Another tip: don't do the same job (eg heavy digging) for more than one day at a time to prevent back strain. Mix and match your jobs.

If you were anywhre near me (leics) I could give you more fruit bushes, otherwise try freecycle? And plant them far apart, they grow huge!

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

Thank you so much for all your help and your kind offer. Unfortunately I am nowhere near you, freecycle is a great idea, I'll give that a go.

I can't wait to see just how many weeds have grown in 18 months ! I had visions of being offered something that hadn't been touched for years and years so 18 months didn't sound too much when he said it, roll on Saturday so I can see!

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

Am now officially an allotment owner and it is way better than I expected. I found two gooseberry bushes and some raspberry canes. Soil looks pretty good and the apparently don't have too much of a slug problem. Parking is going to be a bit of a problem but we'll work round that. Most exciting!

[meltedmarsbars]

Gooseberries propagate easily - just pin a branch to the ground and it will sprout roots.

Have fun!

[plantwoman]

Hello Can I join?
We've had our current allotment for 2 years now.
It is the most peaceful place on earth with fantastic views, free deliveries of horse manure but unfortunately no water supply!
So far I put my garlic in last october, I have sown leeks and sweet peas in my cold frame,I have some onions and thyme on the windowsill.
I have resisted putting my broad beans in yet.
I might put in some lettuce if I can find some space on the windowsill (I don't have a greenhouse).
I received my potatoes from the allotment society this week, so I have my earlies (Epicure) chitting on the windowsill of DH's office - we are running out of windowsills....

[plantwoman]

By the way - does anyone have trouble with rabbits - they are a menace on our plot and have just had all my kale.
I put up a chicken wire fence at the weekend, but whether it will do anything.
They also chopped the tops off all my garlic and last year had my runner beans - v dis heartening...

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

Meltedmarsbars, I will try that thank you. Have had one digging session so far and am making some progress. Found a couple more raspberry canes and popped them in with the others, plus dug the soil a bit in the hope that when they take the lovely big shed away they don't trample all over my raspberries.

Plantwoman, your sounds lovely. Bert tells me that I have to put a fence up to keep the rabbits out. Bert is the plot next door but one and he keeps winning the Best Plot competition so I'm listening to what he says ! All the plots on our site have little chicken wire fences around them and apparently it does the job but I have a vague feeling you have to bury the wire down a bit. I'll ask more when I get down there next time.

The other thing I noticed was someone had made a series of little fences using wood off an old pallet and chicken wire so they could construct cages where they wanted them, which looked like quite a good idea.

Do you all have sheds ?