Thanks for all of the suggestions in response to my request for advice on
the new allotment. Here's an update on what I found when I went to pick a
plot on Friday, and what I've done since.

There were several empty plots, and it came down to a choice of two. Both
had sheds, were right next to each other, but one had a well established
rhubarb patch and a little bit of horseradish so I plumped for that one.
Other than the rhubarb and horseradish it's got some nettles by the end,
which looked good and healthy, so I figured that this was the one. The rest
of the plot was rotivated maybe a month ago, so there are a few little
annual weeds to dig in and a wee bit of bindweed, grass and some little
thistles that'll need pulling out.

The little shop on site had some seed spuds left, and I figured that I might
get away with planting some this late. Of the available varieties desiree
was probably the best, and as it's fairly resistant to slug damage I went
for that one. I planted five rows of those, and then went on to plant some
carrot seeds (an 'early' or fast growing variety), spring onions, leaf
radish, chard and large leaved sorrel. That patch is essentially where I'm
putting the things that aren't too fussy (with the onions to ward off carrot
fly from their neighbouring carrots, the chard and sorrel being
indestructable once they get going).

The organic content of the soil ain't bad; I guess the stuff rotivated in
has helped. At one end I'm saving a patch for leaf veg next year, and I
thought I might begin with some green manure followed by some more
traditional manure in winter (as soon as I can find a good supply of that).
Fenugreek makes a good green manure, or so I'm told, and has the advantage
of smelling and tasting great.

I've got lots of stuff in the garden to go into the plot now too. Sprouting
broccoli that needs more space, chard that's too tightly packed, red cabbage
thinnings that can go in, and more lettuce seedlings than I've got room for.
I'll dig in what compost I can find to make a nice patch for those. I've
also got some cuttings of red and white currants, which ought to be happy
wherever they're put. Sitting at home are also some more peas and dwarf
runner beans, planted and waiting to sprout. Quick growing varieties that
should give me a harvest to extend into autumn the summer crop I'm beginning
to harvest in the garden.

On order are a whole load of seeds for summer and autumn planting; thanks
for the suggestions, I've followed many of them up and gone to Nickys
Nursery website to see what looked interesting. Amongst other things I've
got turnips, kale, kohl-rabi and winter cabbages on their way.

My only real problem now is sourcing as much horse manure as I can find, and
getting it to my plot. That and the fact that with only about a fifth of my
own plot dug over, the empty patch next to it is also looking tempting, and
if I don't take that and want more space in future it'll be hard to get an
adjoining one... And they're so cheap to rent...

In article , Colin Davidson
writes


My only real problem now is sourcing as much horse manure as I can find, and
getting it to my plot.

Many of the places around me sell Horse Manure in Black Plastic bags,
50p a bag. Now you cold put that inside another bag and transport it in
the boot of your car ............ as fast as you can :-) to your
allotment. The other alternative, not as fast is the compost heap.

That and the fact that with only about a fifth of my
own plot dug over, the empty patch next to it is also looking tempting, and
if I don't take that and want more space in future it'll be hard to get an
adjoining one... And they're so cheap to rent...

Will you have time to run 2 ? ;-} Years ago, just after I was married, I
had an allotment and an old fellow nearby had 5. He 'lived' there!! But
it was his whole life and hobby and was retired.

What you could do now, is to take it and keep it covered with plastic,
old carpets, old cardboard until you are ready for it, then open it up a
bit at a time. The soils 'should' be nice and clean of weeds. In theory.


Mike
Just about to cut the grass in his window box.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forthcoming reunions.
British Pacific Fleet Hayling Island Sept 5th - 8th
Castle Class Corvettes Assn. Isle of Wight. Oct 3rd - 6th.
R.N. Trafalgar Weekend Leamington Spa. Oct 10th - 13th. Plus many more

"Mike" wrote in message
...

Many of the places around me sell Horse Manure in Black Plastic bags,
50p a bag. Now you cold put that inside another bag and transport it in
the boot of your car ............ as fast as you can :-) to your
allotment. The other alternative, not as fast is the compost heap.

I have no car :-) I transport most things on my back, by bicycle. And
although I am quite happy carrying heavy weights, I'm unconvinced that I can
carry enough compost on my back to make a difference. I suppose I'm going to
have to bribe one of my motorist friends

That and the fact that with only about a fifth of my
own plot dug over, the empty patch next to it is also looking tempting,
and
if I don't take that and want more space in future it'll be hard to get
an
adjoining one... And they're so cheap to rent...

Will you have time to run 2 ? ;-} Years ago, just after I was married, I
had an allotment and an old fellow nearby had 5. He 'lived' there!! But
it was his whole life and hobby and was retired.

What you could do now, is to take it and keep it covered with plastic,
old carpets, old cardboard until you are ready for it, then open it up a
bit at a time. The soils 'should' be nice and clean of weeds. In theory.

In theory, yes. The other alternative is to take the second plot and cover
it in a green manure crop, and rotivate it in progressively as I get time to
plant it. It's awfully tempting.

"Colin Davidson" wrote in message
...

"Mike" wrote in message
...

Many of the places around me sell Horse Manure in Black Plastic bags,
50p a bag. Now you cold put that inside another bag and transport it in
the boot of your car ............ as fast as you can :-) to your
allotment. The other alternative, not as fast is the compost heap.

I have no car :-) I transport most things on my back, by bicycle. And
although I am quite happy carrying heavy weights, I'm unconvinced that I
can
carry enough compost on my back to make a difference. I suppose I'm going
to
have to bribe one of my motorist friends

That and the fact that with only about a fifth of my
own plot dug over, the empty patch next to it is also looking tempting,
and
if I don't take that and want more space in future it'll be hard to get
an
adjoining one... And they're so cheap to rent...

Will you have time to run 2 ? ;-} Years ago, just after I was married, I
had an allotment and an old fellow nearby had 5. He 'lived' there!! But
it was his whole life and hobby and was retired.

What you could do now, is to take it and keep it covered with plastic,
old carpets, old cardboard until you are ready for it, then open it up a
bit at a time. The soils 'should' be nice and clean of weeds. In theory.

In theory, yes. The other alternative is to take the second plot and cover
it in a green manure crop, and rotivate it in progressively as I get time
to
plant it. It's awfully tempting.



I used to have two allotments before moving somewhere with a very large
garden. Two plots (assuming they are the normal 10 poles each) are a lot of
work. I saw many new allotmenteers get very enthusiastic at first and take
on a second plot. But the extra work left them disillusioned and they failed
to keep up either plot. My advice is work a single plot for a year or two
and then decide. IMO the one exception to this may be if there is a need to
demonstrate a need for allotments with the council and the more plots that
are rented may help.

Re your need for manure, why not ask if the allotment group/society does a
bulk order and delivery. If not maybe you could persuade them. We used to do
this. Once a large heap was left for people to collect loose, once it was
delivered in individual heaps by peoples plots and another year we had bags
of spent mushroom compost.

Good luck. It's definitely worth the effort but don't underestimate the time
and effort needed.

Jay

In article , Colin Davidson
writes

"Mike" wrote in message
...

Many of the places around me sell Horse Manure in Black Plastic bags,
50p a bag. Now you cold put that inside another bag and transport it in
the boot of your car ............ as fast as you can :-) to your
allotment. The other alternative, not as fast is the compost heap.

I have no car :-) I transport most things on my back, by bicycle. And
although I am quite happy carrying heavy weights, I'm unconvinced that I can
carry enough compost on my back to make a difference. I suppose I'm going to
have to bribe one of my motorist friends


Will you have time to run 2 ? ;-} Years ago, just after I was married, I
had an allotment and an old fellow nearby had 5. He 'lived' there!! But
it was his whole life and hobby and was retired.

This old boy had a bike and a trailer;-) We would see him going by our
house with stuff lashed to the cross bar and the trailer loaded, with
him pushing it all ;-)


In theory, yes. The other alternative is to take the second plot and cover
it in a green manure crop, and rotivate it in progressively as I get time to
plant it. It's awfully tempting.



'as I get time to plant it' ;-)?

My Father in Law had 1, and it was a full time job with him (outside his
own 'proper' job if you see what I mean)

Also, do you have a supply of water nearby?

Good luck. (By the way, the veg taste much better)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forthcoming reunions.
British Pacific Fleet Hayling Island Sept 5th - 8th
Castle Class Corvettes Assn. Isle of Wight. Oct 3rd - 6th.
R.N. Trafalgar Weekend Leamington Spa. Oct 10th - 13th. Plus many more

Where are you in UK my sister has horses and alot of free manure. I might be
able to help.

Tony

"Colin Davidson" wrote in message
...
Thanks for all of the suggestions in response to my request for advice on
the new allotment. Here's an update on what I found when I went to pick a
plot on Friday, and what I've done since.

There were several empty plots, and it came down to a choice of two. Both
had sheds, were right next to each other, but one had a well established
rhubarb patch and a little bit of horseradish so I plumped for that one.
Other than the rhubarb and horseradish it's got some nettles by the end,
which looked good and healthy, so I figured that this was the one. The
rest
of the plot was rotivated maybe a month ago, so there are a few little
annual weeds to dig in and a wee bit of bindweed, grass and some little
thistles that'll need pulling out.

The little shop on site had some seed spuds left, and I figured that I
might
get away with planting some this late. Of the available varieties desiree
was probably the best, and as it's fairly resistant to slug damage I went
for that one. I planted five rows of those, and then went on to plant some
carrot seeds (an 'early' or fast growing variety), spring onions, leaf
radish, chard and large leaved sorrel. That patch is essentially where I'm
putting the things that aren't too fussy (with the onions to ward off
carrot
fly from their neighbouring carrots, the chard and sorrel being
indestructable once they get going).

The organic content of the soil ain't bad; I guess the stuff rotivated in
has helped. At one end I'm saving a patch for leaf veg next year, and I
thought I might begin with some green manure followed by some more
traditional manure in winter (as soon as I can find a good supply of
that).
Fenugreek makes a good green manure, or so I'm told, and has the advantage
of smelling and tasting great.

I've got lots of stuff in the garden to go into the plot now too.
Sprouting
broccoli that needs more space, chard that's too tightly packed, red
cabbage
thinnings that can go in, and more lettuce seedlings than I've got room
for.
I'll dig in what compost I can find to make a nice patch for those. I've
also got some cuttings of red and white currants, which ought to be happy
wherever they're put. Sitting at home are also some more peas and dwarf
runner beans, planted and waiting to sprout. Quick growing varieties that
should give me a harvest to extend into autumn the summer crop I'm
beginning
to harvest in the garden.

On order are a whole load of seeds for summer and autumn planting; thanks
for the suggestions, I've followed many of them up and gone to Nickys
Nursery website to see what looked interesting. Amongst other things I've
got turnips, kale, kohl-rabi and winter cabbages on their way.

My only real problem now is sourcing as much horse manure as I can find,
and
getting it to my plot. That and the fact that with only about a fifth of
my
own plot dug over, the empty patch next to it is also looking tempting,
and
if I don't take that and want more space in future it'll be hard to get an
adjoining one... And they're so cheap to rent...

On Mon, 23 Jun 2003 14:21:40 +0100, Mike
wrote:

In article , Colin Davidson
writes


My only real problem now is sourcing as much horse manure as I can find, and
getting it to my plot.

Many of the places around me sell Horse Manure in Black Plastic bags,
50p a bag. Now you cold put that inside another bag and transport it in
the boot of your car ............ as fast as you can :-) to your
allotment. The other alternative, not as fast is the compost heap.

That and the fact that with only about a fifth of my
own plot dug over, the empty patch next to it is also looking tempting, and
if I don't take that and want more space in future it'll be hard to get an
adjoining one... And they're so cheap to rent...

Will you have time to run 2 ? ;-} Years ago, just after I was married, I
had an allotment and an old fellow nearby had 5. He 'lived' there!! But
it was his whole life and hobby and was retired.

What you could do now, is to take it and keep it covered with plastic,
old carpets, old cardboard until you are ready for it, then open it up a
bit at a time. The soils 'should' be nice and clean of weeds. In theory.


Mike
Just about to cut the grass in his window box.


50p for a bag of horse poo! People cant give the stuff away round
here. I would certainly go and have 2 if it`s right next door because
at least you`d be in control of it. If not then all you have next door
is a seed factory of the wrong kind.

Must admit tho that I picked up a bag of horsey poo last week and it
was a little bit strong. SWMBO was saying that I stank of horses all
night. Have to admit when I empted the bag into my compost heap it
fair took my breath away!!!!

My usual source is pure poo cos it`s from what can best be described
as pooper scooping his yard! So that does`nt have any smell at all.

Get on the phone to the local riding stables and talk to them. Plus if
you don`t have a trailer then tap up a mate who has!

Mike`s reminded me that I must get some old plastic timber sheets to
put down on my allotment.

Have fun

In article , Chris Norton
writes

Mike`s reminded me that I must get some old plastic timber sheets to
put down on my allotment.


At my last house, there was a piece of land which we never did anything
with. It was where an old cottage was, but fell down a long time ago.
All the rubble removed but the footings still in and rough. On this land
were some sheets of corrugated iron lying around. On a very hot sunny
day, if you lifted them slowly, there would be dozens of slow worms
under :-)) Rather nice really.

Mike

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forthcoming reunions.
British Pacific Fleet Hayling Island Sept 5th - 8th
Castle Class Corvettes Assn. Isle of Wight. Oct 3rd - 6th.
R.N. Trafalgar Weekend Leamington Spa. Oct 10th - 13th. Plus many more

"Mike" wrote in message
...


This old boy had a bike and a trailer;-) We would see him going by our
house with stuff lashed to the cross bar and the trailer loaded, with
him pushing it all ;-)

A bike trailer is an option, of course, but it's a heck of a lot of trips
and a heck of a long way to bring manure from any farms nearby.

'as I get time to plant it' ;-)?

Yes, I know

My Father in Law had 1, and it was a full time job with him (outside his
own 'proper' job if you see what I mean)

Also, do you have a supply of water nearby?

Good luck. (By the way, the veg taste much better)

I grow a lot of veg in the garden already, and yes, they do taste much
better!

The water supply is from a pump about 20 yards away that feeds into a
tank... I've got an idea for a pump on a hosepipe that might make watering
much, much easier

"Tony Gent" wrote in message
...
Where are you in UK my sister has horses and alot of free manure. I might
be
able to help.

I'm in Cambridge.

"Chris Norton" wrote in message
news
Get on the phone to the local riding stables and talk to them. Plus if
you don`t have a trailer then tap up a mate who has!

That's a good idea, I'll have a butchers rough the phone book this evening.
Cheers.

On Tue, 24 Jun 2003 13:43:31 +0100, "Colin Davidson"
wrote:

~
~"Mike" wrote in message
...
~
~
~ This old boy had a bike and a trailer;-) We would see him going by our
~ house with stuff lashed to the cross bar and the trailer loaded, with
~ him pushing it all ;-)
~
~A bike trailer is an option, of course, but it's a heck of a lot of trips
~and a heck of a long way to bring manure from any farms nearby.
~
~ 'as I get time to plant it' ;-)?
~
~Yes, I know
~
~ My Father in Law had 1, and it was a full time job with him (outside his
~ own 'proper' job if you see what I mean)
~
~ Also, do you have a supply of water nearby?
~
~ Good luck. (By the way, the veg taste much better)
~
~I grow a lot of veg in the garden already, and yes, they do taste much
~better!
~
~The water supply is from a pump about 20 yards away that feeds into a
~tank... I've got an idea for a pump on a hosepipe that might make watering
~much, much easier
~
Most of the plots at my allotment get manure delivered. A typical
price here is 25 quid per delivered trailerload, and believe me,
that's a *lot*. I'm still using up the load from 20 months ago and
won't need to buy any more this calendar year. Come autumn you'll see
loads of huge heaps appearing on your access roads, with people
frantically shovelling it onto their plots before the next tractor
arrives and wants to get past...

I'd say ask about in the allotments, find out who has the
best-recommended manure* (ie well rotted, not claggy etc) and beg the
farm or stables' phone number. Then arrange delivery with the
farmer/owner.

jane

*horse (stable) or cow (farmyard), depending on your preferences.
Either should be left to rot for 6 months, covered if it is to be
used organically if it's not from an organic farm. If you don't, you
could end up spreading anitbiotics or other drugs on your soil...
Searching google groups should give you the previous threads
discussing which type is best!

"jane" wrote in message
...

Most of the plots at my allotment get manure delivered. A typical
price here is 25 quid per delivered trailerload, and believe me,
that's a *lot*. I'm still using up the load from 20 months ago and
won't need to buy any more this calendar year. Come autumn you'll see
loads of huge heaps appearing on your access roads, with people
frantically shovelling it onto their plots before the next tractor
arrives and wants to get past...

I'd say ask about in the allotments, find out who has the
best-recommended manure* (ie well rotted, not claggy etc) and beg the
farm or stables' phone number. Then arrange delivery with the
farmer/owner.

Shall do... Someone is bound to have some good advice on this. Cheers.

In article , Colin Davidson
writes


My only real problem now is sourcing as much horse manure as I can find, and
getting it to my plot.

Many of the places around me sell Horse Manure in Black Plastic bags,
50p a bag. Now you cold put that inside another bag and transport it in
the boot of your car ............ as fast as you can :-) to your
allotment. The other alternative, not as fast is the compost heap.

That and the fact that with only about a fifth of my
own plot dug over, the empty patch next to it is also looking tempting, and
if I don't take that and want more space in future it'll be hard to get an
adjoining one... And they're so cheap to rent...

Will you have time to run 2 ? ;-} Years ago, just after I was married, I
had an allotment and an old fellow nearby had 5. He 'lived' there!! But
it was his whole life and hobby and was retired.

What you could do now, is to take it and keep it covered with plastic,
old carpets, old cardboard until you are ready for it, then open it up a
bit at a time. The soils 'should' be nice and clean of weeds. In theory.


Mike
Just about to cut the grass in his window box.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forthcoming reunions.
British Pacific Fleet Hayling Island Sept 5th - 8th
Castle Class Corvettes Assn. Isle of Wight. Oct 3rd - 6th.
R.N. Trafalgar Weekend Leamington Spa. Oct 10th - 13th. Plus many more

"Mike" wrote in message
...

Many of the places around me sell Horse Manure in Black Plastic bags,
50p a bag. Now you cold put that inside another bag and transport it in
the boot of your car ............ as fast as you can :-) to your
allotment. The other alternative, not as fast is the compost heap.

I have no car :-) I transport most things on my back, by bicycle. And
although I am quite happy carrying heavy weights, I'm unconvinced that I can
carry enough compost on my back to make a difference. I suppose I'm going to
have to bribe one of my motorist friends

That and the fact that with only about a fifth of my
own plot dug over, the empty patch next to it is also looking tempting,
and
if I don't take that and want more space in future it'll be hard to get
an
adjoining one... And they're so cheap to rent...

Will you have time to run 2 ? ;-} Years ago, just after I was married, I
had an allotment and an old fellow nearby had 5. He 'lived' there!! But
it was his whole life and hobby and was retired.

What you could do now, is to take it and keep it covered with plastic,
old carpets, old cardboard until you are ready for it, then open it up a
bit at a time. The soils 'should' be nice and clean of weeds. In theory.

In theory, yes. The other alternative is to take the second plot and cover
it in a green manure crop, and rotivate it in progressively as I get time to
plant it. It's awfully tempting.