On 14 Apr 2005 05:54:26 -0700, wrote:
~jane wrote:
~ You can have great fun too. Do you like woodwork? Then creating
~raised
~ beds can be a good idea, as then you don't have to dig them over
~much,
~ just heavily mulch with manure if necessary, and keep covered with
~ pieces of carpet when there are no crops. If you do, then I'd advise
~
~I am sure there is some kind of 'time*money=working plot' equation.
~There are lots of methods you can use to save on time spend down the
~lotty. But they all cost money! From rotivators through fabric mulches,
~raised beds with covered paths, no-dig methods, drip irrigation systems
~to the non organic methods using weed-killers. Or you can spend no
~money and just dig up every weed. But that takes a lot of time.

Not all cost money - if you ask around for any old pallets, you can
knock the rigid bits out of the centre with a lump hammer, which
removes the nails through the thinner bits (this tip courtesy of an
allotment forum I haunt). These can then be used for edging.

Carpeting (for paths) I get from the skip of the local carpet
warehouse, who are delighted to have it removed as it then takes them
longer to fill up their skip so it costs them less over a year...

Woodchip you can get for nothing by ringing round tree surgeons and
getting them to dump chipped trees on your plot (they are happy to
ensure that the trees aren't diseased in any way).

Horse manure is often given away by stables, though usually in a
non-rotted form. If you can borrow a trailer then you can shovel a
fair bit in, dump it at the plots, cover and forget for at least 6
months, then use. Getting fresh manure now is probably the best time,
as it'll have a chance of being well rotted by the time you need it in
the autumn.

So there's plenty of possible freebies which over time will make life
a lot easier. Just not at first if you get faced by a jungle!

~Although i grow my veges organically (i initially adopted the dig
~method with a bit of fabric mulch thrown in but have recently bought a
~rotavator which i love). I think if i was going to start over i might
~give over a few months to a few applications of weedkiller over the
~whole plot. This does cost money and it also is NOT AT ALL organic. But
~it does leave a blank slate from which you can begin work without being
~overcome with weeds.

I did that to begin with - wasn't intending to be organic with
anything except carrots because they are known to soak up pesticide
residues. Then I realised how many times you have to chemically treat
veg to get them supermarket-perfect and read how the chemicals
worked... and I was eating this stuff? I was an organic convert within
6 months!

~By the by - courgettes and beans all need regular picking. If you
~missed one weekends harvest you would find marrows and stringy beans
~the next.

All too true. But then again, braised buttered marrow with boiled
runner beans is one of the nicest combinations IMHO you can find...
and if you know you're going to be away for a weekend, you can always
ask a neighbouring tenant to pick and use your beans - they stop
cropping if you let them seed, so it's better to give them away as
then they keep going!


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

Please remove onmaps from replies, thanks!