Post your allotment!

[tres]

I don't think this quite fits in the garden thread..?

I'm truly embracing my middle age and have just got a small allotment. I'm very much a beginner and would love to see your allotments, any advice, tips & tricks etc

Here's our starting point (cleared a LOT of weeds to get to this point).
There is an established little apple tree as you can see, and the back right is thick with raspberry bushes

I'm planning to re-lay weed suppressing fabric down and probably add stone chippings to the path
Built a 3ft fence around the plot
Add a small greenhouse at the back
Add a pallet composter for the bulk of the cut back stuff and leave for a year
Add a couple of hot composters for ongoing maintenance

Obviously this is very late in the season but would appreciate any over-wintering tips for bed preparation, any winter veg possible, etc

 

[tres]

If you're in the south there's still plenty of time to plant stuff for this year. Carrots, beetroots, lettuces I'm still sowing but we rarely get frost here though especially before December. In the late autumn ill be getting in some garlic and onions.

In the deep dark north, however last few winters have been quite mild/late

 

[tres]

My early carrots were a mostly a miss I think due to the cold and wet spring. Later sowings are growing well. Parsnips germinated well though and are doing very well this year. My onions have all been pulled now and drying well, been a good year for those as well and now i'll be getting a later crop of beetroot into those beds which I sowed in trays a few weeks ago.

Are you planning to plant anything other than beetroot?

 

[tres]

Next question - compost

Do you use the container composters? Does anyone have a big open compost pile? We've got a lot of green waste after the initial clean up and have chucked it all in a corner. I'm wondering if that's enough to compost down over the next 9-12 months. Should I cover it with tarp over the winter?

 

[tres]

My little plot is going well, spent a lot of time clearing the weeds, rebuilt lots of the planters, laid some weed suppressing membrane and going to chuck a few ton of gravel in the paths

Thanks very much for all the advice. Planning to add compost and then start to plant for next year.

 

[tres]

I wouldn't gravel the paths personally. Just leave as is.

Over time you will get a buildup of mud underneath the gravel. Then stuff can grow.
Mine looks like yours does now. Quick brush down couple of times a year and all the dusty mud is gone.

Start collecting all your compostable from home. Tea bags, banana skins are two of my favs.

If you find after year 1 your not getting good crops might be worth a PH test.

Is that a pile of old wood at the end? If your not going to use it bury it in the beds at least 30cm or so down. It will decay over a number of years. It brings a lot of positives to the beds.
Or go for a single Hugelkultur bed.

Hügelkultur - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I hadn't considered leaving it as is. Makes sense. Quite satisfying giving it a little brush this afternoon and it's neat again.

Good thought about the wood. That's the old planters etc. Most of it is soft and rotten. Will add it to the planters!