How do I start?

[invisiblepiper]

Hi - I am looking for tips to start up an 'allotment' style garden. OK - i will be the only one to work it - I am quite fit. There is masses of mare's tail EVERYWHERE. Its right by the sea - ie: 50 yards - and windy west coast Scotland to boot. Quite mild though , by British standards, if very wet. Oh, and zero budget(of course). Any tips would be most welcome - novice gardener - but I do know which way up for a spade(just).
Thanks.

[Steven]

Hiya! mare's tail is a royal pain in the bum.. it grows underground for a long long way and if you don't keep it under control by hoeing it every few weeks it goes crazy, there's probably some chemical systemic weed killer that will help but I think it's best to leave these products on the shop shelf personally and just keep hoeing them down.

What would you like to grow in your allotment and how big is it? there's masses of information on google and on here so it's just a case of reading up about each plant you plan to grow really.. here's hoping you don't get information indigestion!

Regards, Steve.

[invisiblepiper]

Cheers for that - I'll try not to panic about the mare's tail underground thing - This garden has not been hoed for around thirty years!! Aargh.
I'm hoping to grow the veg which is costly in shops - peppers asparagus and good root veg.
I'll check google though - good tip.

[Penny Lane]

Just saying hi right now, there are way more experienced gardeners out there than me!

[Steven]

Cheers for that - I'll try not to panic about the mare's tail underground thing - This garden has not been hoed for around thirty years!! Aargh.
I'm hoping to grow the veg which is costly in shops - peppers asparagus and good root veg.
I'll check google though - good tip.

No worries! once the back breaking works done and dusted it should just be a case of maintaining order in the garden.

I'd suggest checking out companion planting which is growing a secondary plant to deter pests off the main plant, for example, if you grow carrots and onions, get some garlic cloves growing as the smell from the garlic deters white fly etc.

You'll learn heaps as you go, hopefully learn from other peoples mistakes too so try not to worry about the mares tail for now, but the mares tail you lift should in my opinion be binned and not put on to compost as even a 1" long piece of it can root and overgrow your compost!

[Enormous Sage]

Someone told me that beetroot grows very well by the sea, but I don't know if that's true.

Supposedly it originates from the coast and benefits from a sprinkling of salt. I regard this a guff though, as it does well in my garden and I've never put salt on it.

[Annpan]

Pretty sure I have heard the same about asparagus.

First thing I would do is get on some nice thick work gloves and pull up all the mares tail you can find, then cover the whole plot (or as much as you can) with something to kill the grass/weeds You can use old carpet, black plastic, cardboard... anything that the light won't get through.
Since you are so near the sea I would get down to the beach and pick up loads of seaweed, put down cardboard or newspaper on as much of your plot (or your beds) as you can and cover with seaweed (seaweed is as good as manure at fertilising, but has no seed problems)
By the spring most of the cardboard and seaweed would have rotted down and you can prepare the ground for planting.

If I were you I would consider the layout, I opted for slightly raised beds (1m x 2m) rather long rows. This means you only need prepare the area you are going to plant on.

You might also think about doing things slowly, this year I have 7 beds, the rest of the area is covered (as I have said above) in the spring I will dig out some more beds (perhaps another 6) eventually I will have 16 beds but there is no point in breaking my back just now doing it.

Winter and early spring (as long as the ground isn't frozen) is the best time to weed I find as during the summer the stuff is growing almost as fast as you can pull it up.

You might also want to spend the winter looking through books, websites and seed catalogues to decide exactly what you want to grow and how much you are willing to spend.

Do a bit of homework to save yourself time and money at the end of the day (eg 300 onion seeds are £1, 50 onion sets are £1, but onion sets are MUCH easier to grow) You can pick up cheap packets of seeds in lidl for 30p, you can spend several pounds on fancy varieties from a garden centre.

Oh... I have waffled on...

Basically I think - kill weeds and plan, that's what you should do first


Just out of sheer nosiness where are you?

[invisiblepiper]

Wow - what a great reply! Thankyou
I like the idea of developing thing gradually - and the beach is lasen with seaweed now, tractors clean it daily May - September, but they stop around now.
I am in Ayrshire btw - wet and windy!
I will look at raised beds too, as that might help with the mare's tails. the garden is huge - covered mostly with 'lawn' ie: clover , daisies, vetch etc - which is fine.
I have been here for 12 years - but never had time to really tackle the garden, however - becoming freelance allows for what I want to do, I guess.
I will post a photo if I can work out how - perhaps show developments?
Cheers!

[Adjoa]

Hi Invisiblepiper
I am so surprised at the similarity of our situation. I just came onto the forum to post nearly exactly the same as you! I am in North Ayrshire, and wanting to start an allotment style garden! I am also wanting to do raised beds and really want to try to source free wood to make them, so if you find any locally let me know .
The idea about the sea weed sounds good and i've loads of cardboard from boxes from moving house. Should i dig the soil and remove weeds before i put these down, or is that what they do?
Is there an ideal time that i should start preparing my beds for planting next year?
:)

[Annpan]

I would either
Dig over the ground just now, cover with carpet (or something similar, you could use your cardboard as long as it is weighed down) dig over again in February, then it should be easy to rake the beds into a fine tilth in April.
OR
Cover in Cardboard then compost/ manure/ seaweed and plant straight onto that come Spring...

The later is the no-dig, permaculture option but I think the first is more tried and tested (and that's what I did)

[Green Aura]

If you keep cutting down the horsetail and put it in a tub of water it makes great plant food. I put it in a tea with comfrey, seaweed and nettles. Smells awful but covers just about every mineral the plants need.

And as you keep cutting it back it weakens the plant - eventually (this is something for a small patch maybe and try to get rid of the rest)

[invisiblepiper]

If you keep cutting down the horsetail and put it in a tub of water it makes great plant food. I put it in a tea with comfrey, seaweed and nettles. Smells awful but covers just about every mineral the plants need.

And as you keep cutting it back it weakens the plant - eventually (this is something for a small patch maybe and try to get rid of the rest)

Is horsetail silicon coated or something - it is one strange plant when you get to know it!

Hi Invisiblepiper
I am so surprised at the similarity of our situation. I just came onto the forum to post nearly exactly the same as you! I am in North Ayrshire, and wanting to start an allotment style garden! I am also wanting to do raised beds and really want to try to source free wood to make them, so if you find any locally let me know .

I started a thread on cheap edging for raised beds - take a look. - one idea was inverted wine bottles round the edge, but I was wary of so much glass (dogs, kids, etc). However - there is a mass of logs and trees on the beach this morning because of last night's storm - so I am trying to borrow a mini chain saw to make logs to edge raised beds! Oh and I used to live in Dalry!

I would either
Dig over the ground just now, cover with carpet (or something similar, you could use your cardboard as long as it is weighed down) dig over again in February, then it should be easy to rake the beds into a fine tilth in April.
OR
Cover in Cardboard then compost/ manure/ seaweed and plant straight onto that come Spring...

Thanks for the timely advice Annpan!

[Thomzo]

If the plot is very windy you might want to think about some form of windbreak to protect tender seedlings. Some hedging along the windward side would be a great permanent option (you could go for something that would give you edible fruit) but short term maybe some planks, old fencing, willow panels or similar.

Have fun
Zoe

[sleepyowl]

Celery, fennel, samphire, alexanders, sea peas are wild seasidey veg you could grow, lettuces, onions, leeks, potatoes, kale, cabbage, rhubarb, carrots, turnips, thyme, oregano, mint, strawberries, raspberries & blackberries tend to be relatively hardy & even survive in Shetland

[invisiblepiper]

Hi Sleepyowl - what are Alexanders?