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Post by david1966 on Feb 18, 2016 11:15:25 GMT
Hello America Lane!
My partner and I have just been offered a plot in America Lane. As complete novices we have no idea what to expect.
I wondered if anybody had any tips, suggestions or 'what to expect' comments.
It sounds like you have a great community at the site - we look forward to joining.
Hope to meet you all soon.
David & Richard (& Albert the dog)
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Post by murrayc on Feb 18, 2016 11:58:39 GMT
Hello America Lane! My partner and I have just been offered a plot in America Lane. As complete novices we have no idea what to expect. I wondered if anybody had any tips, suggestions or 'what to expect' comments. It sounds like you have a great community at the site - we look forward to joining. Hope to meet you all soon. David & Richard (& Albert the dog) Hi David, Richard and Albert. Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new plot. There is a very good community both on site and here online and you are very welcome to join in. Tips and suggestions
The first thing is to read a couple of documents on the HH Town Council site designed for new plotholders. www.haywardsheath.gov.uk/controls/DownloadDocument.ashx?docID=gn8773NPJISVEERYVP6568eBuc&aID=4958and www.haywardsheath.gov.uk/controls/DownloadDocument.ashx?docID=gf8855IUCCOUKJHDWA7248cFsw&aID=4958The first one gives you some basic information about the process of taking up an allotment and the minimum expectations of you, and the second one comprises some of the key actions that will help you to get into the swing of gardening. After that, it is is very much up to you to decide how far you want to go, what kind of things you want to grow, and what condition your plot is in and the demands it will make of you. Some of the plotholders are very experienced and grow plants to exhibition standards; others are content to grow just a few vegetables and enjoy the open air. Anyone here or those who you meet at the site will be happy to offer you advice from their own experience and will not be offended if you decide not to take it. Above all other things please remember that working an allotment should be enjoyable, so don't take on more than you can reasonably manage in terms of available time and phsyical energy. Look forward to seeing you on the site and please post any more questions that you think I or other forum members can answer. Best of luck!
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Post by Stuart@AmericaLane on Feb 18, 2016 12:28:08 GMT
Hello David, Richard and Albert. Welcome to America Lane. Congratulations on getting your plot. Which one is it?
I've had my plot for about 5 years now I think, might be a bit longer, so I don't consider myself to be any sort of expert. I'd say I have progressed to stage 2 which is I now have some experience whereas when I started I knew nothing at all really. So take everything I say with that in mind. Plus every gardener has their own preferred way of doing things so take all advice and pick and choose the bits that work for you.
The best piece of advice I can give I think is that if you want to enjoy owning an allotment the motto 'little and often' is the approach. It is pretty easy to keep on top of things so long as you don't leave the plot alone for long stretches because nothing stops the weeds and a plot covered in weeds is the one thing that puts most people off. There is no magic to those beautiful plots we all aspire too. The secret is the more work you do the better your plot will be. I don't have nearly enough time to do as much as I would like as I work full time and have loads of other stuff going on at weekends but even with a few hours a week I am able to keep things ticking over and grow plenty of stuff to eat. It is a little every week that is the trick. If you leave the plot for 2 or 3 weeks at a time all you will end up doing is pulling weeds, cutting grass etc and that is no fun.
Second dont rush in and try and do everything at once. It has taken me 5 years to get things organised the way I like and I still have loads of jobs that need doing. But in that time I have managed to grow loads and enjoy it. One thing I have done that is personal choice and not everybody's is to create raised beds and cover the paths so that there is no grass to cut. Given my limited time the effort to set that up is now paying off big time as I can work on a bed at a time and make visible progress in the limited time I have.
Third if you are new to growing stuff then I would go for the easy wins first to get some satisfaction before moving on to the more fickle crops. So potatoes are the easiest and quickest way to get a plot producing food. And you have got your plot at just the right time. You can go and buy your seeds potatoes now and put them in a cool light place to chit and then around easter plant them out. Other stuff that is dead easy are onions, shallots and garlic from sets but you need to get moving on those soon. Especially the garlic needs to go in now or at least in pots to give them a start. Beetroot sown direct in the spring onwards is also pretty hard to go wrong with. The stuff that is a bit more work are the likes of cabbages and cauliflowers but very rewarding when you do get some to grow properly. A good easy option for your greens is kale which is a whole lot easier to grow than the others. For all those brassicas I always start mine off in pots and plant them out when they are small plants as it helps them get through the pests that always have a go at the seedlings. Plus stuff that grows above ground like the cabbages and fruit you really do need to cover, first from the birds and then later from the butterflies or you will just get plants that have been stripped back to a skeleton.
The soil at AL is pretty heavy clay so you cannot add enough organic matter. The more manure and compost you can get on the soil the better. There is so much advice about the different soil types and what plants like what but honestly you can grow pretty good stuff without worrying too much. When you get to the stage of growing prize winning cauliflowers then you can worry about the PH levels. In the meantime if in doubt chuck as much manure on as possible. A good soil makes life a whole lot easier. When the dry weather comes AL bakes to concrete so the more organic matter in there the better to keep it workable. My biggest expense by far is manure and compost and I'm always on the look out for a deal as I can never have enough.
There are loads of helpful people at the America Lane so if you walk around and get to know people you will get all the advice you could ever need and probably as the spring comes loads of freebies as we all start off more than we ever need. I've lost count of the stuff I have been given. As you are on the forum you obviously know your way around a computer as well so search allotment on youtube and twitter and you will find a whole world of likeminded people.
Good luck and I'm on plot 5/5B most saturday / sunday afternoons for a least an hour or so. So feel free to come over for a chat.
Cheers,
Stuart.
PS would be great if you posted up your progress on here from time to time to see how you are getting along and would be very useful for other new plot holders I am sure.
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Post by murrayc on Feb 18, 2016 13:02:18 GMT
All good stuff stuart and agree completely. I think your point about the soil quality and need for composting is particularly true and depending on where david's new plot is and how recently it has been used that could be a priority recommendation, to manure it well now and dig in.
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Post by wilbarra on Feb 18, 2016 15:44:11 GMT
the first thing to do is take a flask down with you then on arrival place your spade firmly in the ground pour your tea or coffee into a mug ,then walk around the site and see which plots are well kept and what is going on,on those plots. Keep doing that all through the season and dont be afraid of pinching their ideas. Ask for advice off of the people you can see for yourself, know what they are talking about . Never be frightened of asking for advice and never be frightened of ignoring it. Find out who had the plot before you and whether it was looked after and what you have to do to get it in shape. Soil wise the america lane site is a bit difficult to explain as originally it was the old cuckfield and district rubbish tip and had three different types of soil put on it when it was converted into allotments. If your plot is on the right hand side as you go in,you have easier working soil than the plots have on the left. As for vegetables, as stuart has said, start with the easiest ones and proberly the easiest to grow are Runner beans and French beans. Club root has reared its ugly head on some plots, so once again find out if your plot has got it before you grow any green stuff. Always remember you wont be the only to have failures . Everybody does. So dont be put off if some of your stuff fails, keep at it and it will come right. Little and often is the way to work your plot never be frightened of doing things your way and most important never take any advice from televisions titchmarsh. happy gardening
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Post by Stuart@AmericaLane on Feb 18, 2016 17:36:09 GMT
Another 'quick cheat' that can be used if you don't have time to cultivate the whole plot before growing season is to plant your squashes direct into manure as they love it. When I say squashes I mean courgettes, marrows, pumpkins and all the other squashes. You can lump on a load of manure to an area of the plot without doing any digging there and grow your plants in pots from seed until they are a decent size (a good 5 or 6 leaves min) and the frosts are past so end of May really. Then plant them out direct into the manure. All the time it is sitting there the worms will be working away to drag it down into the soil. Then in the autumn that patch can be dug over and will be perfect for a different crop the next year. So there is one area that requires very little work to get things started. You can pile up the manure now but dont plant those squashes out until all frosts are gone for sure or you will go back the next day and they will have vanished.
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Post by david1966 on Feb 19, 2016 10:56:15 GMT
Hi folks - thanks so much for all the advice. We are looking forward to getting started. We got offered a couple of plots, but we have decided on Plot 4B - signing the contract today. We've been told it was well look after and the previous tenants have gone onto another plot - so hopeful we can get started quite quickly. We will definitely take the advice of learning from everyone else and meeting you all.
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Post by Stuart@AmericaLane on Feb 28, 2016 18:11:49 GMT
If you would like some Rhubarb for your new plot there are some roots sitting on the front of my plot 5. Just up from you. They need planting as they are regrowing now. Help yourself as I am going to compost them soon as I have all I need.
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Post by david1966 on Feb 29, 2016 10:16:19 GMT
Thanks Stuart. I love Rhubarb, so will definitely take you up on your offer!! Looking forward to meeting you soon.
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Post by Stuart@AmericaLane on Feb 29, 2016 10:29:56 GMT
Cool, help yourself to as much as you want and if you see any other new folk that want some tell them to do the same. It will only go in the compost bin if not.
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