Allotments.....who has one?

[ayceejay]

Bloody Hell Dave - top man.
My dad had two allotments and more veg in the back garden so we always had fresh cabbage he grew Savoys that were like yer proverbial football.

 

[Poacher]

Might be worth looking at Shaun's sister site. It's a bit quiet compared with here though! I've seen @totallyfixed 's allotment in Oakham, and been impressed, but He seems to have been very quiet of late, both on cyclechat proper and on the gardening section.

 

[Mile195]

I had an allotment. I grew nothing award-winning and I don't have the time now so I don't have it anymore. But I got some stuff out of the ground and it tasted lovely. We used to go down twice a week for a few hours - it was quite a way from where I lived at the time.

It can be as little or as much work as you make it, but here's my main tip - it's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer size of the "beginners allotment guide" type books. We bought a couple. Never read them. There was far too much to remember. I'm sure the advice is spot on to get the biggest and best veg out of your plot. But by our second year we'd worked out that you didn't actually need to spend 6 months studying before planting your first spring onion. Turns out if you chuck seeds in the ground and water them, they grow. Especially potatoes. I'm genuinely surprised that Potatoes haven't taken over the entire world by now the rate at which they seem to multiply!

To begin with make your priority to keep it weed free, and make sure you keep it watered, but other than that just learn as you go. Speaking to other people on the site you'll find is way more productive than trying to assimilate 500 pages of stuff you really don't need to know at this stage.

Another thing we'd learned by year two is why people use pesticides. The thought of wonderful organically grown vegetables is lovely. But slugs and blackfly appreciate the taste too!

 

[Tail End Charlie]

If the plot is overgrown and looks daunting, cover a large part of it with cardboard or black plastic and work the remaining bit. This encourages you more.
Grow things you like to eat. If you don't like something it's pointless growing it, no matter how easy it is.
As others have said, getting the plot into shape is the hard part, but well worth the effort. I wouldn't go for sheds and greenhouses though, attracts vandals and takes a lot of effort. Try for a plot near the water supply, makes watering less of a chore.
Sweet corn is well worth trying, as are broad beans. Parsnips take a bit more effort (to sieve the soil) but the taste is great.
I find my plot very therapeutic, love going down and pottering, and it's a bike ride away so win, win!!

 

[Red17]

I've had an allotment for the last 20 or so years and they are hard work, particularly if you can only get up there at weekends. About half of the plot is fruit trees and bushes which are pretty easy to look after and the other half is veg. Never particularly tried to be self sufficient and tend to grow salad stuff, tomatoes, squashes and beans, corn, new potatoes etc which I believe you can notice a taste difference to bought stuff, rather than cabbages, onions etc which all taste the same to me.

Some years are more productive than others but always get enough fruit to fill the freezer for a year. Never worked out whether its cost effective or not as for me its more about being outdoors and enjoying eating the stuff you grew yourself.

 

[growingvegetables]

I believe you can notice a taste difference to bought stuff ...

+1 on new potatoes.

A few others that taste VERY different ...

- asparagus and sweetcorn, eaten within 15 minutes of harvesting; just spectacular .
- Pink Fir Apple potatoes, with their splendid "nutty" flavour. (And there's lots of other intersting potato varieties to try).
- strawberries. Nothing, but nothing, beats the flavour of some of the older varieties.
- peas and french beans - fresh picked and lightly cooked.
- brussels sprouts - Noisette variety; small and nuttyflavour.
- Romanesco and Purple Sprouting Broccoli.

 

[biggs682]

allotments are great , but be warned unless you have a water supply and tool storage or live really close , you will have to transport those to the allotment every time you go near the place .

as others have suggested try turning your exsisting garden into a big veg plot and see how you get on

 

[summerdays]

allotments are great , but be warned unless you have a water supply and tool storage or live really close , you will have to transport those to the allotment every time you go near the place .

as others have suggested try turning your exsisting garden into a big veg plot and see how you get on

We collect the water that falls on our plot in a large pit (we managed to fill one water butt after one of the winter downpours), and we leave some small tools on site and have a large shared container than we can leave things in.

 

[bagpuss]

Thougth I would dig up this thread .
Lots done over the last couple of days . Big general tidy up . Two sheds sorted , Onions set .Frame for rasberries started .

Any one else doing a bit on their plot?

 

[Accy cyclist]

I've had a slight phobia of allotments or 'the hen pens' as we called them as children since I was about 5 or 6 year old. My grandad used to encourage me to feed some geese with bread on a 'pen'. I hated it when these crazed hissing birds came at us. He'd tell me to throw the bread not hold it, as they'd snap my fingers off if they got too close!! Do folk still keep crazed hissing geese on their allotments to deter predators?🤔

 

[lazybloke]

Still digging up a few carrots and spuds from last year's crop.
Cavalo Nero kale and Jerusalem Artichokes are great now. Purple sprouting soon, and not long until asparagus season.

Plenty of Canada Geese on nearby lakes, but no-one does anything to encourage them in. Most years we find a mallard nesting in a compost heap - had something like 13 eggs in one clutch. The rats got to those :-(

 

[PaulSB]

Thougth I would dig up this thread .
Lots done over the last couple of days . Big general tidy up . Two sheds sorted , Onions set .Frame for rasberries started .

Any one else doing a bit on their plot?

I've two or three days work I need to do before the weather warms up, mainly tidying, prune the soft fruit and clean the asparagus bed before top dressing.

I have a 10-12 year old asparagus bed and a new one which is three years old. I want to rip out the old one to give me some extra room for vegetables and an area for cut flowers. Space is always at a premium but despite this bed dropping in productivity I'm nervous about pulling it out.

The pigeons got the last of my Cavolo Nero in the recent short cold spell. Garlic, shallots and onions have all come through well though the garlic seems erratic compared to most years. Parsley is doing well under a cold frame, this is the first time I've tried to overwinter it. I'll be interested to see how the plants recover in the spring.

I've also a large stack of logs which need splitting and stacking. I realise that's not growing but it's part of my allotment work.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

I moved house about four years ago and tried to keep my allotment going in my old place, I'd had it for around 10 years, but it was too far (15 miles or so) so I let it go after a year. It was very productive and looked lovely in my view. Buzzing with wildlife.

Late last year I took on a more local plot (still 7 miles so I get a bike ride). It's less than half the size of my previous one and looked like this when I took it over.

Lots of hard work later and it's taking shape. Loads of bindweed, but thankfully not too much horsetail. I've put some beds in, not raised as such, it's more to stop me treading on the earth. I've since put some supports up for cordon apples when I get them and I'll try espalier aswell, which I've not done before. My elephant garlic, planted in November is showing now.

Looking forward to the start of the growing season proper.

 

[bagpuss]

I enjoy the planning of what to grow as each year starts .Our main crops are various soft fruits which we freeze after harvesting .Gooseberries never give up without a fight .
This proved useful for picking small berries .

Mower to service next .
Horse tail /Mares tail is a BIG problem as our plot has a high water table .Good for growing ,and the MT loves it .

 

[Red17]

We are generally just clearing and pruning our fruit trees and bushes at the moment. Autumn planted garlic and broad beans starting to poke through which I always see as the early sign of spring.

Big long list of jobs for the next few weeks though