How to get started with your allotment! First of a series of films featuring my two allotments.
Tidying, digging and mowing – Claire's Allotment Part 113 comments to Tidying, digging and mowing – Claire's Allotment Part 1 |
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Hi Claire
Thanks for sending this – very professionally put together! That digging look really heard work – what sort of soil do you have? Ours is heavy clay, so wet this year a coupl eof toads lived there happily, helping to keep the slug population down juat a bit!
Best wishes
John
Dear John,
Thanks for your comments, I’m very pleased you enjoyed it. the soil i’ve got is “loam”. I’m very lucky to have this. A good tip for breaking down clay soil is to put a load of horse manure in, and give it a good forking. this breaks down many of the clay lumps, and improves drainage.
I hope you find this useful, keep up the good work. I enjoyed your allotment movie too.
Claire.
Good lord!!!
That is one piece of bad land – i thought mine was bad when i first got onto it.
I will be posting videos of my allotment in the new year – maybe you would like to watch them?
Regards,
Matthew
Thanks for your comments, and good luck with yours i will enjoy watching your progress. I will be recording more in the new year, and am looking forward to the new planting year, so spring will be very busy. Keep me posted on your progress, maybe we will get tips from each other, the best ideas are ones that you borrow from other people.
Mulching with cardboard, plastic, carpet etc for a few months would save your back.
I’ve got some plastic compressing a load of grass at the moment. When I began the soil was soft enough to dig, so there was no need to cover it all. Carpet is also handy for marking out paths, it will biodegrade eventually, but is worth doing.
Hi Claire. Can ya come n dig mine by any chance?
hey claire
you’ve inspired me – been thinking of getting a veg patch, but didnt think i’d know how – your vids have got me off my arse.
dug up some ground like in your vid – put on a raised bed as it is in the garden
what i found was that using an edging tool makes life a lot easier – cut-up your ground in small squares with the edger, then the spade simply (!?) lifts up the soil/grass
starting easy with onions, carrots and beets and following your vids
Glad you’re finding the videos useful. Excellent with the edging tool they’re great. Enjoy reaping the rewards of your veg patch, and try a few more new seeds next year. A little each year is the key.
I’ve dug 320 sq metres. I think I’ve done enough now. How are you getting on?
good grief ! breaking virgin ground like that is tough ! i’m afraid i’d resort to letting it grow in the spring, strimming it down and then nuking it with glyphosate and then get out the heavy guns , a rotovator ! then i’d consider hand weeding !
Instant Iwo Jima for a plot like that
you’ve done an incredible job there! That’s how I have started all my garden patches, too!
Started a new allotment in a similar condition just this week – just managed to finish digging one quarter of it, digging an hour or two a day after work. God its boring!!! Looking forward to getting something in the ground – and getting a shed up!! Happy days!!