Selfsufficientish.com

Hello,
My cousins outlaws have lent us their allotment until they both retire so we have it for a few years to come, hopefully by which time I'll have my own. Trouble is it's not been used for... erm...ever... it's a large patch of turf at the mo! We've planned to all go down en mass, kids and all, on the 8th to rotorvate and dig over. we've plenty of access to free 'orse poo too. What would be the best crops to plant this year to get it going?
Thanks
Benner

Hi Benner, i would say that all "bog-standard" veggies will do o.k. However, i s'pose it depends on the amount of preparation/condition of the soil, & also because of your location, southerly winds/salty air etc. Good luck.

benner wrote:Hello,
My cousins outlaws have lent us their allotment until they both retire so we have it for a few years to come, hopefully by which time I'll have my own. Trouble is it's not been used for... erm...ever... it's a large patch of turf at the mo! We've planned to all go down en mass, kids and all, on the 8th to rotorvate and dig over. we've plenty of access to free 'orse poo too. What would be the best crops to plant this year to get it going?
Thanks
Benner

Tatties.......


I made the mistake of planning everything, doing all the hard bits and never got much veg in. Dig it over get some tatties in and then plan for next year while eating your spuds with lots of hot butter etc.

Carrots and parsnips don't like manure just before sowing. Potatoes will be very pleased with a manured plot. You need to leave some months after manuring before planting cabbages or other brassicas (remember that swedes are members of the brassica family). Onions like a well manured plot (grow from sets till you are experienced) and shallots too (again plant sets).

Your local garden centre will be able to provide seed potatoes, onion and shallot sets (get along there smartish for a good variety).

You could pick up The Vegetable and Herb Expert by D. G. Hessayon (have a look here to get a flavour of what it is like. It's a very good basic, starting guide which has helped many vegetable growers to get started.

You could also consider what herbs you use in the kitchen (go and lot at the pots of dried herbs) and plant some of those - have a look in the above book for growing advice.

I agree about keeping it to simple veg and moreover take care not to bite off more than you can chew. I'm cutting back on the total area I'm going to cultivate this year as I've found that if it gets too large the whole thing gets neglected, so I'd rather have fewer veggies that I commit to. If you have access to materials you may find it easier to manage if you make beds.

It's also best not to turn soil until you intend to use it (unless it is particularly unfertile and you need to get the muck in there) as you will lose a lot nitrogen. Perhaps you could rotovate what you intend to use now and cover other areas with light excluding materials to kill of the grass and weeds.

But none of this is answering your question! It really depends on how much time you have. Potatoes are space and time consuming (unless you grow them in containers) and are cheap as proverbial chips so unless you really have the time and space to spare, I wouldn't bother. Ditto onions. Broad beans and peas are easy to grow and will improve the soil with their nitrogen fixing rot nodules, but plant them a few at a time so you have a steady long cropping season rather than a glut. Lettuce is easy to grow as is spinach, which can provide you with something rather quickly if you take some of the baby leaves on a cut-and-come-again basis. Brassicas and lettuce you can get cheaply as plantlets (plugs), so that helps you to feel like something is already going on in there. I'd be tempted to get some one or two year rhubarb crowns too.

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!

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

I would stick to veggies, as they are easier to grow and take care of.

if you dig a big enough hole & fill with manure punpkins & butternut squash will take up a fair bit of room

edited for Fruedian slip