benner wrote:thanks for all the advice!
There are going to be 4-5 of us tending the allotment so I reckon we can make a good go of it, but I see what you mean about getting good nitrogen levels going this year.
We were thinking of stuff that can be frozen or processed into things.. probably alcohol! Sweetcorn, peas and beans, brocolli and some salad stuff were on the list, as well as spuds and carrots! The soil on neighbouring plots looked pretty light but a bit stony so not sure how well root veg will do, raised beds and a seive would solve that problem I guess? I bought Mangel seeds last year, for making beer, but they didn't like my clayey garden might give them a go again. The other guys are getting into their homebrewing this year so I think everything is fair game!
Be aware of doing too many of the "not yet needed " jobs like sieving before you get some crops out. I dug a pond, sorted the greenhouse out, done the path then time came to dig over the plot and i was totally wrecked. From then on it was a nightmare and in the end i gave it up after a few weeks of fighting marestail every day.
That's why I sugested only potatoes as these will break up the soil for you and you can, if needed plant under plastic so this will kill the rest of the weeds / grasses and then you can get some time in a warmer period to do the rest of the jobs like digging over manually the other side of the plot, weeding, taking out stones, building fertillity etc.
Also don't forget that carrots are best thinned / pulled at night, Sweetcorn is planted in blocks rather than rows and do sucessional planting little and often if you do decide to do more than pots alone.
Good luck anyway
BA
