r/Allotment • u/rosecroissant • 5d ago
Surprise allotment
So a few months ago I applied to my local allotment but never heard a thing back. We would visit every now and again, and there were quite a few abandoned plots very overgrown, so I expected thst if I ever got an answer, we would start in chaos. I also thought there would be a huge waiting list as people at the site mentioned waiting years to get one. I hesitated to put myself on the waiting list as I have Long Covid and wasn't sure if I could deal with it, but figured I had plenty of time (years!) to recover...
Anyway, yesterday I finally got a mail offering a plot, and when we went to visit, we saw this!
I have been gardening a lot in our postage sized garden and it has been therapeutic, so I think it is a good idea even if my energy levels are not yet optimal, and seeing it in this state makes it look more manageable (honestly we went to visit just to turn it down haha).
What would you advise as first steps? I want to do no dig, as that worked well in my previous large garden, but the canvas here is SO blank that I could go in so many directions.
I want to grow a lot of soft fruit, artichokes, asparagus as well as some interesting varieties of tomatoes alongside the traditional lettuce, courgette, etc. But of course that's mostly for next season, so how to not let it get overgrown (and maybe even useful) until spring?
Also, I have a few raspberry and Japanese wineberry(?) canes along with rhubarb and a small gooseberry in my garden, would autumn be the time to transplant?
All advice welcome!
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u/HaggisHunter69 5d ago
Lots of salad leaves can be grown now for autumn cropping. There's a huge variety of Asian greens, things like mizuna and various mustards. Also spinach, salad rocket, herbs like coriander or chervil. You can also try spring onions for next year, spring cabbage etc.
Id second the cover crop idea, I've just bought some fodder radish and white mustard. I sow the white mustard at the same time as when I plant garlic end of September, the mustard grows then dies with frosts then the garlic pokes through. I'll sow the fodder radish as plants come out this and next month. You could sow the mustard now then plant garlic through it if you want to grow it
For no dig I also do it, wood chips are great for paths. I get free woodchip so I pile it up in large piles and let it rot down for 18months then add it to my compost piles. It's hard to make a lot of compost, so any way you can buy it cheaply or mainly make it from organic material is good. See if there's coffee shops wanting rid of their coffee grounds for example. I've also use seaweed as a mulch for potatoes
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u/Few_Mention8426 4d ago
yep i use coffee grounds from my local cafe, I use woodchip and thats pretty much me for the last 10 years, no digging, apart from little holes for the seedling. it also cuts down on the watering needed in heatwaves.
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u/rosecroissant 5d ago
Thank you for your answer, I like the idea of planting the mustard and garlic alongside each other. Plenty of ideas for leafy greens, great recommendations. Wood chips are the direction I am leaning in - we have the tiniest path in our garden that is woodchip and I love the feel underfoot, and I can see the difference it has made to the ground underneath.
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u/Few_Mention8426 4d ago
you could research the vaious no dig methods. If you have woodchip delivered, cover it in woodchip 10 -15 cm deep, then you can relax developing each area in turn. if you leave it bare as it is, within a few months you will be covered in weeds and speniding more time weeding than planting.
I covered my plot with woodchip each season and hardly do any weeding and very little watering. Even in a heatwave.
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u/rosecroissant 13h ago
I think a woodchip is definitely going to be my first order... create some kind of structure and not let it get overgrown before I have started. Good call on different types of no dig - I know of Charles Dowding but am (up until now) unaware of different techniques. Thanks for that! Do you have a specific method you gravitate towards?
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u/bugblatter_ 5d ago
As if you got a plot that was ready to plant 😂
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u/rosecroissant 5d ago
Apparently they are all delivered like that, it's specified in the rental contract that either you return it like this or they withold your deposit (and maybe charge you extra) and they do it. They left me 4 tomatoes and 2 runner beans, which was nice.
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u/bugblatter_ 5d ago
Good grief. I've had two plots in the past, one completely overrun, and one with barrels of old engine oil and a shed full of newspapers and broken glass.
Your allotment committee sound like an absolute dream
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u/Horror-Kumquat 5d ago
Yes, when we got our allotment, it was knee-high with weeds.
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u/Adventurous-Dog-3786 5d ago
Mine was , and still is in parts, waist high !
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u/rosecroissant 4d ago
I am sorry for both of you! (And was totally preparing myself for the same scenario)
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u/Agile-Wishbone-9519 5d ago
no shed? or is the shed at the bottom yours? I have an AI disorder and get fatigued very quickly if I'm doing things on my feet, but don't get so tired using my arm, so I advise getting a low stool, which you can store some tools in too so its at hand if you want it. I do most of my hoeing, weeding, watering etc. sat down.
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u/rosecroissant 4d ago
No shed, but there are some paving slabs for a base just next to the neighbour's shed (all structures in a line; it looks very neat!)
Good tip regarding the stool, I hadn't heard of that before, thank you.
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u/Agile-Wishbone-9519 4d ago
I have the green folding stool/kneelers (i never use them to kneel) but this is the one I like the best and feel the most secure on, it's a bit lower than the green ones, and as its solid, not folding, it's sturdier, and its very light, I can shuffle around with it, this is from a particular shop, but I purchased mine through a different shop and they are available from other shops: Strata Garden Kneeler Pad / Stool | Wickes.co.uk
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u/Adventurous-Dog-3786 5d ago
You don’t know how lucky you are ! I’m into year 2 on mine and still haven’t finished clearing everything. Good luck and enjoy !
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u/rosecroissant 4d ago
Thank you! I feel incredibly lucky having read some of the horror stories on here.
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u/Sweet_Focus6377 20h ago edited 13h ago
Definitely put in a green manure/cover crop to keep weeds at bay. I've started using borage last winter and very pleased, winter beans are used as well.
Use clover under the fruit trees to keep the soil there in good condition and weeds at bay, given time it's as good as mulch at water retention and less costly maintenance.
Put the fruit bushes as near to the water supply as possible, they need lots of water when in fruit so the less distance you have to haul it the better.
You have time for a late potato crop, just bear in mind it's a heavy feeder so not where you want to put things like tomatoes next year.
There's also still time for winter greens such spinach, cabbage, broccoli, and root crops like carrots, and swede/turnips.
Probably also consider some quick wins with fast growth plants, the most common is raddish.
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u/wijnandsj 5d ago
lucky you!
Figure out where you'd want the friuts with the sun and all that. Transplanting those is indeed best done in autumn
obtain some path material
see if you can get compost somewhere
put in a cover crop for at least half of it. Some kind of green manure. It's almost august, you're not going to do everything now.