We've got an allotment-finally! Anyone got any tips?!

[redclover79]

Hi
We have finally got an allotment!! Went to visit yesterday and it appears we have landed on our feet as it has been occupiedall summer and has beds and crops and no weeds!! What should we plant now and in the next few weeks? Anything we should know?
tia!

[curiouscat]

Hi redclover and congratulations! Can't help much with planting ideas as ours is in a dreadful state at the mo. But consider green manures if you're leaving a bed empty over winter - clover, winter field beans or similar - they nourish the soil and you just dig them into it in the spring.

I think you might be able to overwinter onions, cabbages, purple sprouting now. Also if you've got no strawberries or raspberries plant them now so they get started for a crop next year (strawberries) or the year after (raspberries). If you like fruit (like me) then now's the time to plant bushes so they can root before the frosts.

Otherwise just harvest what you've got and tidy up spent plants, start a compost heap if you've not got one. Once again best of luck and here's to years of happy gardening

[TellusMater]

Think about garlic now too.

[dustystar]

I seem to remember that sprouts like this time of year.

[filthymindedvixen]

I've just planted some nantes Aumn growing carrots, some kale and some spinach. There are autumn sowing broad beans too and it is not too late for some salad greens if you're quick (those pick and come again leaves are great.) Also Japanese mizuna and mustard leaves can be sown now. (very winter hardy)
Try some bulbs round your edges too for some spring colour.

If anyone else on your allotment site has any rhubabr you get ask them if they can spare some - many people chop their rhubabr in half now to encourage new growth so you could have the other half.
I have also just planted some little broccolli plants.
If you are leaving an area unciltivated, you could look at some heavy duty blck sheeting to put down to discourage weeds (bear in mind thistledown, dandelions and docks are at premium seed blowing around stage

Have fun - i love my allotment, even when it's been a crap year like this one.

[filthymindedvixen]

Also, think about a water butt as some sites turn their water off for winter and it's very frustrating when you want to keep on planting.

[redclover79]

ooh, hello everyone!! just off to the allotment now to take a closer look at what we have (we were confused and thought we'd been given the wrong plot number and were looking at the overgrown one next door the first time!). will look through your responses and ask lots of q's when we get back!

[fillyjonk]

fmv-say more re the carrots. Are you growing under cover?

I have NEVER managed to grow them , the slugs get them, but am thinking I might try them in the garden this year.

Do I want an early variety, bascially?

[redclover79]

just got back... we have inherited a strawberry bed, some raspberry canes and 3 gooseberry bushes!
curious- I know what I'm doing with the strawberries as I have them in the garden, but what do I do with raspberries? Do I chop them down for winter?
Thanks for the suggestions everyone, we are gonna try onions and garlic, I'd forgotten about purple sproutng broccoli! Are there any varieties of garlic anyone would recommend?
fmv- will probably use your suggestion re carrots! Oh and we have inherited a rhubarb plant too!

[curiouscat]

Hi redc, no don't cut down your raspberries! Step away from the raspberry bed!! I haven't looked up the details yet, but raspberries take 2-3 years to establish and if you cut them all down they'll die.

They grow on the previous year's growth, so you need to cut down those stems which have fruited this year, and tie up new growth from this year ready for fruiting in 2008.

Will look it up at home tonight and post again if I'm wrong but definitly handle raspberries with care

[yeahinaminute]

Make friends with all the other allotmenteers - they'll be a mine of advice and cuttings !!

I brought along some wine and home made sloe gin - and offered it round to the "neighbours" .... me new best friend Cyril has been invaluable !!!

[thehairybabysmum]

Raspberries you need to try and work out if they are summer or autum rasps...autumn ones will be fruiting heavily now and will continue to fruit until first frosts.

If they are autumn variety then you cut down all the canes each winter once they've died back. If they are sumer ones then as ccat says.

Even if they are summer ones i would recommend gettting some autumn ones as is lovely to still have soft fruit this time of year when all the strawbs etc are done. We have the variety Autumn Bliss and they are lovely!

You can also plant some lettuce now and quick stuff like radish should eb ok especially if the weather stays nice for a few weeks.

If you can get some leek seedlings from anywhere they would be worth planting. Also agree with sprouts. purple sprouting if you can get some plants (rather than seeds) to start you off.

Exciting stuff...i love my allotment.

This book is fab...

Vegetable and Herb Expert by D.G. Hessayon

He also does a fruit one...often sold in garden centres.

They're good as tell you the practical basics like plant potatoes this deep, this far apart etc...fairly idiot proof (ie works for me!)

[Mercedes]

At the end of September you can also put in broad beans - which is my fav thing to grow and eat on an allotment.
When you stick the beans in you must put netting over the ground or the pigeons will eat them. That's what we didn't do in our first year and then had to watch them growing on the other allotments. We didn't have a clue till the old guy on the plot next took us under his wing. 3 years later we're still asking questions.
My other tip is take tea or a drink with you and give yourself time to just sit. Its the best.

[fillyjonk]

oh agree with mercedes re the drink. Better still, get a shed. Aside from having tools on site (makes it SOOOOOO much easier and you are MUCH more likely to pop up there), you can also stick a primus stove in there and cook things like eggs and sausages. This makes the whole enterprise much more civilised.

[filthymindedvixen]

filly, gawd, I've never actually grown autumn carrots before - I'll let you know

Allegedly these ones won't need fleece and tbh, even up north, we've not really had hard frosts until blardy march and these will be ready in december.

My may-planted carrots which I'm harvesting now, are ok-ish to my surprise as everything else has been disappointing this year...

[fillyjonk]

the slugs didn't eat the?

That is promising

did you get the seed from a special place? i went to tescos and woolworths today and there was nothing with the word "autumn" in it. Bit odd really.

[filthymindedvixen]

I spend a small fortune with a company called marshalls. The seed is very reliable. Except for the fecking potatoes...but I suppose there's not a lot one can do about blight (weather related)

[filthymindedvixen]

here you go

[filthymindedvixen]

oh. it says sow under cloches we'll see...

[fillyjonk]

ohhhhh thank you

lol at "sufficent seed for 35 ft row". I have a 1 m by 1m ex sandpit...

Although I COULD stick them on the allotment I suppose...worth a try...

but who has a 35 ft cloche?

[redclover79]

thanks for the advice about raspberries, will go and inspect them more closely later this week!
We have a shed but half the door's missing so won't be leaving anything up there just yet!
Liking the alcohol suggestion but I'm pg so maybe not! although if I mention that idea to dp...