allotment advice.

[mimififi]

Hi there,
well, some of you may remember my post a few months ago re living the self sufficient life. I'm still here and still striving but have had to have a bit of a rethink. While I have been heartily blessed and encouraged this summer with the few veggies I have grown, I have also realised that five children (3 under 5) playing in thegarden all summer next to my precious produce is not always a good combo. |The littl'un picks the tomatoes before they are ripe and it causes all sorts of heart ache.
So, I'm thinking of taking on an allotment. Obviously, with the waiting lists I could be waiting some time, but if I do manage to get one soon, obviously it'll be prime time as I can dig/manure and winter the soil in time for planting in the spring.
however, I know nothing about allotments. Can anyone offer any advice from the etiquette between fellow gardners to planting advice and pitfalls for my first year. Also, anyone know any good books that I could order from the library?

many thanks, by gum,
mimi
X

[Monster-S]

This year was very bad due to the heat for alot of people , its a gamble that you may get any fruit and veg from year to year,again depending on the weather.
As for your garden-without seeing it- why not put a natural fence around it ? it will protect against the weather and children, im sure someone near you makes fences around 3 - 4 feet high.
As for books id try amazon.co.uk for alot of good advice , but the best book i ever read was by alan tichmarsh.
And alotments have waiting lists these days ,but if your lucky where you live then go for it .

[CLOWN TICKLE]

Hi, good luck, there is a magazine called I think Vegetable grower which is for allotment holders and they have articles on keeping chickens which some allow

[mimififi]

thanks guys, that is very helpful to know. I shall certainly look ou for that mag CT and maybe could put a subscription for it on my christmas list!!!

love mim

[cascarelli]

We took on an allotment last year - no waiting list in our area. We were lucky in that we got first choice of sites available and were able to choose one that wasn't too overgrown.

Be prepared for a lot of hard work, even if your site isnt too grown over. Try and get a site near to the water butt or taps. Don't try and grow everything in the first year (like we did!) and get over run!

There's certainly some odd folks down the allotment (which probably includes me in that statement!) but mostly theyre easy to get on with and helpful. We had a few things nicked (onions, strangely). Don't keep any new or valuable equipment down there.

[cascarelli]

Oh, a decent magazine is Grow Your Own (GYO)

[mimififi]

oh, thank you cascerelli, that sounds like sound advice. Do you still work in your allotment? Do you enjoy it? How many hours a day do you spend down there on average?

many thanks
mimi

[Catso]

Our council gave us a factsheet when we took ours on - quite useful for a 'newbie'. If you want a copy, I can email it to you.

[chijiki]

I have recently inherited a large plot in a neighbour�s garden, which I can use as an allotment. It had been growing wild for years and was overgrown with brambles.
I�ve spent all summer preparing the ground and have at last got a few crops growing.

I purchased an excellent book from Tesco to help me with answers to all the questions that were running through my head about exactly what I should be doing and when.

It�s called �The Allotment Book�; the author is Andi Clevely and Collins publishes it.
It is now my bible.

[mimififi]

wow you guys, that sounds great. I would be very interested in seeing a copy of your factsheet. That would be lovely.

That book sounds cool too, i'll look it out at the library.

many thanks too. I really appreciate this. I went round to have a peep at a couple of allotment sites today (didn't go in, just looked from the fence) How do you know where the patche's start and stop? It looked confusing. But it also looked very peaceful and industrious at the same time. I think my mind is made up.

how exciting

[cascarelli]

hi mimi we're doing less at this time of the year. busy time seems to be the spring and early summer. we spent a lot of hours down there early on digging it over, then a couple of evenings a week and once or twice at the weekend.

Our allotment is about 20 minutes walk away and, strangely, even that seems a bit far sometimes when you come home from work knackered! Worst thing is the watering when its hot, takes ages.

Dont get me wrong, we really enjoy it, but you do need to spend a fair bit of time on it - we didnt really spend enough some times this year and it started to get out of control (weeds).

You should go in and have a wander around. If nothing else you'll probably see how many vacant plots there are and chances are you'll find soemone to chat to! Good luck

[Catso]

mimififi - no problem send me your email address to "[email protected]" and I'll send it to you.

[mimififi]

Thanks catso: a mail is winging its cyber way to you as we speak....

thanks again, I'm very very grateful to you for your help. All of you.

[ipek]

.....and don't forget to rotate your crops!

[Catso]

Hope you got it OK, mimififi.

[WendyS]

There is also a monthly magazine called Kitchen Garden which gives details of all you need to know about growing fruit and vegetables. A couple of weeks ago there was a special Daily Telegraph offer to get six issues for �15. Tel [phone] or visit www.subscription.co.uk/kg/5002.

The first year of an allotment is hard work, especially if it needs digging from scratch, so perhaps share one with somebody else, and if you only clear a small patch of ground initially, use it to grow the crops which are most expensive to buy, i.e. beans, tomatoes, salad crops, courgettes. Your library may also subscribe to various gardening magazines and this will also be a source of good books on growing vegetables. Once your allotments is established, a small section for soft fruit bushes such as blackcurrants, redcurrants and gooseberries will keep your freezer stocked for winter fruit treats.

[WendyS]

Rather belatedly picking up your mid-August thread again when you were talking about taking up an allotment. Have now received my first monthly magazine entitled Kitchen Garden and am really impressed with its contents. They also have a very interesting forum on their magazine website:
www.kitchengarden.co.uk

which you can register for, which has all kinds of useful chats and info from veggie growers swapping hints, recipes and experiences. Perhaps a useful forum when it's too wet to go and dig your allotment ??