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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Original poster

Shall we have an ALLOTMENT/veg. patch thread? Do enough people have one to justify a thread??

93 replies

LadyOfWaffle · 07/02/2008 13:51

Thought i'd try and start up an allotment thread because I am a complete novice, and although I have joined a site it just doesn't feel the same! Anyway, hope this takes off, be nice to chat to fellow allotmenteers before I destroy mine.

OP posts:
needmorecoffee · 11/02/2008 15:38

unfinshishedsymphony - mine costs £10 a year.
What costs more is the seeds and anything fancy. I want railway sleeps so I can have a raised bed but I reckon the railway company might get narked if I go nick some...

Cloudhopper · 11/02/2008 15:39

that's what i am wondering needmorecoffee! I just went to check on them in the cellar and they have all sprouted. they are in eggboxes, but not sure whether I should just leave them there???

i will ask some of the oldtimers at the allotment and post a reply if i get one.

filthymindedvixen · 11/02/2008 19:47

we could maybe do a seed swap next month, to save costs?? anyone up for that?

fakeblonde · 12/02/2008 11:45

So what veg seeds can we start off this month ?

Original poster
LadyOfWaffle · 12/02/2008 11:53

Just been writing up a list of everything I want to plant - not sure i'll have room though! Whoever asked, I pay £25 or £30 a year I think for mine. The more I read up on it, the more confusing it all gets with crop rotation and what not . I did see that radishes are about the easiest thing to grow - so good job I like them! Going to try and drag DH up there this afternoon so I can measure, see how big (well, small) the allotment really is. Hopefully I'll start planting this Friday - I think garlic goes in about now (?) so I'll try that, and I know my mum is going to shove flower bulbs in everywhere too.

OP posts:
beautifuldays · 12/02/2008 13:53

i would love an allotment - there are some down by our local park - who do i contact about getting one? local council?

Original poster
LadyOfWaffle · 12/02/2008 15:51

Yep, council. Check their website and put in allotments. I found out mine by googling the allotments and they (and other in the area) had a website with contact details, but it was basically just the council.

OP posts:
Cloudhopper · 13/02/2008 18:43

can't remember how much mine costs, but ours is a half-size and I think is about 16. This includes water which I reckon is amazing value for a london borough.

i read up on crop rotation and got confused by all the different advice! But the one I am using is a 4 bed system:

potatoes - add manure - to start your ground off, get rid of weeds and break up the soil.

legumes - add manure - they add nitrogen for the following year

roots/alliums - no manure (apparently makes carrots fork)

brassicas - add lime unless on chalk soil.

Other plants like sweetcorn and courgettes can apparently go anywhere.

VeniVidiVickiQV · 13/02/2008 18:50

Oooh hello! .

I'm getting an allotment again this year after having to give mine up a couple of years ago! Just waiting the go ahead with contracts from the council

Joekate · 14/02/2008 10:58

I've just got my allotment so I'm going to be lurking on here a lot to get advice. At the moment it's just all overgrown, but I'm hoping to get a man in to rotovate the whole lot - then the fun will begin! I'm trying to remind myself that, although it is HUGE, it is only an allotment and not a blooming farm - I think I may go overboard if I don't watch out. I have purchased a good beginners book though - The Allotment Book which has lots of advice.

Anyone here in the North East of Scotland?

Original poster
LadyOfWaffle · 15/02/2008 13:12

I need to get a book, i'll check amazon out for that book. Just been down to mine - it looks so different this time of year! It's about half cleared, but i have a massive 8ft x 8ft pen in the middle - no idea what it's used for, but I think it has mesh that goes over the top aswell (??!). Measured it all up aswell, I thought it was tiny but it's 13ft 6 x 43 ft (36 ft useable - 2ft is a path I think and 5ft at the top end is really weird, all wonky and I think a blackberry bush will take most of that up). THat gives me masses of room for everything I think Although I have got that 8 x8 pen right in the middle I'm off to plan it all out

OP posts:
filthymindedvixen · 16/02/2008 17:10

Woolies have loads of lovely summer bulbs and seeds on BOGOF or half price at the moment! Have just bought a load of dahlias, gladioli bulbs and wildflower seeds. They also have half price tomato, mushrooom, herbs, strawberry kits, shrubs, roses all sorts!

BigBadMouse · 16/02/2008 17:31

Ooohhh can I join in too??? I'm happiest when playing in my veggie garden .

I used to have an allotment where I used to live. Now we have a big garden and have a good sized veggie patch, fruit garden. Hopefully this year we will be getting some Chooks too. We have the house built just need to make a very fox proof run.

DDs are very keen on growing their own veggies too - there is a photo of DD1 with her very own carrot crop on my profile - I don't know who was more proud her or me .

filthymindedvixen · 16/02/2008 17:54

bbmouse - you can join but I cannot speak to you - too eaten up with envy!! (just been looking at yr profile, beautiful kids, beautiful place, beautiful life and, erm, nice carrots )

BigBadMouse · 16/02/2008 20:10

filthymindedvixen - yeah but crappy wages down here - 'tis all worth it though . Will have to look out for you if I get chooks - I don't want any vixens, filthy minded or not, in my garden then

Nymphadora · 17/02/2008 16:27

I planted my tom seeds last week cos I remember them taking ages to come up before and they are already 2 inches think its all the sun we've had this week!

filthymindedvixen · 17/02/2008 18:28

are they indoor or outdoor ones Nymph?

Nymphadora · 17/02/2008 18:38

Tumbling ones

OverRated · 17/02/2008 18:49

Hello LoW - I'm getting an allotment this yr too but not til April. Am ready to start planning though.

Granny22 · 17/02/2008 21:35

Can I join too? I have had a fruit and veg garden since my DDs were little (over 30 years ago). DD2 has 5month LO and a huge garden - by coincidence (while here collecting & splitting logs) she asked us to come over to hers tomorrow to help her make a start on her plot.

As a granny of course you cannot feed your GCs yourself but Oh the joy of spooning in your own home & organically grown pureed fruit & veg.

A wee word to anyone 'up North' i.e. Yorkshire and East but not West Scotland - you need to work about a month behind the South of England with its softer climate in terms of when to sow/plant stuff.

Berrie · 18/02/2008 08:08

We took on an Orchard allotment last year. We LOVE it. I want to make a vegetable bed this year but I can't dig because my back isn't good Need to persuade DH...
We made some raised beds with sleepers a couple of years ago. The whole project cost £200 what with buying soil and then enriching it. We planted it all up only to find out about how you shouldn't grow veg next to treated sleepers. In the sun they released fumes and were sticky. All the vegetables grew we had to take the sleepers away. It was very very sad!

Berrie · 18/02/2008 08:10

BigBadMouse...we have a house built and need to make a run now too!
What sort of birds are you thinking of getting?

mamapetal · 18/02/2008 09:02

I've had an allotment for the past 4 years, since DS was 2 years old. I just love it. Its a great escape as DP and DS aren't at all interested in it. I don't get great results but did manage to get lettuces growing in two beautiful rows last year - just like you get them in childrens books!!!

WelliesAndPyjamas · 18/02/2008 09:12

Oh look! Like-minded people! We can all witter endlessly about vegetables. Yay!

Last year was my first year doing 'proper' growing and it was great. Still got tons of potatoes, carrots, dried stuff, and endless jars of chutneys and jams down in the storeroom.

Just bought my onions, and a lot more seeds than I need, but you know how it is... I got carried away. All I have left to get is potatoes but they aren't in the shop yet. Hopefully next week.

My season starts later than you guys over there (I'm in E Europe). According to wise old people here we must never plant before April. Or else. It's true, last year there were still frosts in April and May. So I am still daydreaming about my garden and looking forward to the ground thawing a bit so we can dig.

lottymadbird · 18/02/2008 09:14

can i join? i've had an allotment for the past 8 years or so and spent a couple of years in france trying to be self-sufficient.

seeds to plant now... if you have somewhere warm (ie windowsill etc) good idea to plant tomato seeds, chilli and pepper seeds, squashes, courgettes, aubergines. I normally plant 1/3 of the seeds i have now then another 1/3 in march, last 1/3 april, that way you have a succession of crops.

re. seed potatoes, dont leave them too long before planting them if they've sprouted as apparently it can make them go leggy and get less crop. I've put the ones in that have reached about 3/4 inches.