new allotment

[mrsc]

Hi
I'm potentially getting a 20m x 7m allotment but have no idea where to start to prepare it or plant it. Would like raised beds but need to do this as cheaply as possible
Any ideas and advice gratefully received x

[lancashire lass]

how exciting getting an allotment

Depending on how high you want raised beds (is it because of disability or maybe the soil is too clay?), you could make bed surrounds from whatever you can get your hands on. So if you can get your hands on pallets or wood out of skips (ask first!), then it is more or less free. Some people use lawn edging, corrugated metal sheet or contact a local scaffold firm to see if they sell used scaffold boards (when these are ready for discarding for H&S reasons) However, like a lot of things, you might have to find your own transportation although sometimes a generous person may do it on your behalf.

Where to start - at this time of year you might want to start planning your beds and orientation (find south - this is where the sun is at maximum so orientate your beds east to west) and then decide on the size of the bed and width of the footpaths between them. Bear in mind that if you have a wheel barrow, they don't do tight right hand corners (especially the 2 supports at the back meaning you have to lift the handles up high so that they clear a raised bed ... usually resulting in whatever you have in the wheelbarrow being tipped out LOL) so you could try making beds that have a 45o angle rather than a 90o angle corner (scroll down this LINK to a post in my diary and find the photo with the triangle bed to give you an idea) If you make your footpaths too wide, you lose a lot of growing area but don't make them too narrow where you are unable to balance when bending down - 30cm width paths are probably the minimum. Bed widths are important too - how far can you stretch over comfortably to the middle of the bed without standing on it? There is a general consensus that 4 foot width beds are ideal - personally I go for 3 feet on my plot. And be aware of the length ... remember, you shouldn't walk on the beds but around them so if they are too long, you find yourself doing a lot of walking round them all. I have a mix of lengths from 5 feet up to about 12 feet.

To save back breaking work digging the entire plot over, if you mark your beds out now (twine and stakes), then with the footpaths you can put a weed suppressant material down unless it is already grass turfed. Beware that carpets are not always the best answer - sometimes weed seeds land on top and start to push roots through to the soil beneath and if you are not careful, will anchor the carpet down (much to the annoyance of any future tenants)

Avoid standing on the bed soil but if you have to to start digging and clearing, work your way back after digging and forking. If you have heavy clay soil, try and avoid standing on the beds altogether especially at this time of year - when you stand on it, you squeeze the water out and compact the soil even more.

And finally, you might want to get your seed potatoes sooner rather than later - you can start chitting the potatoes on a cool bright windowsill ready for planting in early spring, but also you will get a better choice now before others waiting until the early signs of spring weather descend on the shops. And you could get onion sets about now but I usually wait until March-ish, or at the very least start looking at seeds and deciding what else you would like to grow this year (grow things that you like to eat rather than be swayed by all the fancy varieties)

And don't forget to start thinking about tools too - a good spade, garden fork, maybe hand trowel or some rotavator (like a claw for dragging weed seedlings from soil surface) A Dutch hoe is handy too but start with the basics and see how it goes - sometimes all the fancy tools available on the market end up as an expensive novelty.

Good luck with your new plot and let us know how you get on with it

[mrsc]

Thanks for the reply Lancashire lass!
No disability to mean I need raised beds but thought it may save backache. Really hope we can have it, going to look on Saturday morning. It's 5 mins bike ride away and after a deposit, is £5 a year! My young children will love growing food and looking for worms for the hens!

[Mo]

The thing I liked best when we lived with my Grandparents and he had an allotment backing onto the garden (just across the back-way and through the loose fenceboard) was the raspberry feast in summer. And strawberries, but they are harder to grow (what with weeds & birds).