: Misty wrote in message :: Hi folks, I've enjoyed reading your posts for awhile, while I've :: been on the waiting list for an allotment here in Devon. I've only :: just been able to get one, and to my dismay, not a thing has been :: done to it since the end of last summer. I've got a lot of work :: ahead of me. (apologies in advance for the long post btw, but I want :: to make sure I get off on the right foot) : : Sounds an easy job, ours wasn't used for over 20 years when we took : it over (except for parking cars on!!!) : :: :: My current aim is to get the existing beds in shape so I can plant :: some vegetables asap. I haven't started any seeds, because I had no :: idea when or if I'd get an allotment this year. I don't have any :: experience gardening in the UK but judging by what the books and :: seed packets have to say, it will be ok if I sow outdoors by the end :: of May. I'm planting pretty standard stuff this year: carrots, :: beets, peas, beans, courgettes, sweetcorn, lettuce, radishes, spring :: onions and some herbs. Also some tomatoes and strawberries, but I'll :: get plants for those. Am I being too ambitious, given that it's :: already early May? : : No, should be OK. :: :: My other question is with regards to bed preparation. The beds are :: raised (although the boards have been taken down and need :: re-affixing) and full of weeds, plus one of them is full of :: Jerusalem artichokes which I don't want to keep (even though I hear :: they're expensive, and wonderful, and stuff). My current plan goes :: something like this, _base_d on different things I've read and my :: (admittedly sketchy) understanding of British growing conditions. :: :: 1. Remove weeds (and Jerusalem artichokes) : : It's only a year since it was used so will be mostly annual weeds so : should be easy but I'm not so sure the fartychokes will be. : :: 2. Remove raised soil onto tarpaulin :: 3. Install newspaper 4-5 inches below top soil level, leaving spaces :: for root crop rows (apparently this will help stop any perennial :: weeds coming back) : : Shouldn't be many perennial weeds if it's only been left fallow for a : year and you can just hoe them off anyway and if you keep doing that : they eventually die out. (except for Mares Tails that is) : :: 4. Replace soil :: 5. Fertilise and cover with black plastic :: 6. Leave for 2 weeks, remove any stubborn weeds, then sow seeds : : Why? Why not just weed, manure lightly, and plant.

Hi folks, I've enjoyed reading your posts for awhile, while I've been on the waiting list for an allotment here in Devon. I've only just been able to get one, and to my dismay, not a thing has been done to it since the end of last summer. I've got a lot of work ahead of me. (apologies in advance for the long post btw, but I want to make sure I get off on the right foot) Lucky old you!  In Cornwall here, there's no way I can get an allotment. One thing you could consider as you're starting a little late in the year, and that is to go to your local livestock market.  You will find farmers there later in the year, selling things like cabbage, broccoli,caulifower, sprout, leek plants etc.  Usually not too expensive , and that will enable you to get your winter vegetables planted out in nice time.  Good luck, I envy you. - Peter James Change AT to @ to reply

~ ~Hi folks, I've enjoyed reading your posts for awhile, while I've been on ~the waiting list for an allotment here in Devon. I've only just been ~able to get one, and to my dismay, not a thing has been done to it since ~the end of last summer. I've got a lot of work ahead of me. (apologies ~in advance for the long post btw, but I want to make sure I get off on ~the right foot) ~ ~Lucky old you!  In Cornwall here, there's no way I can get an ~allotment. ~One thing you could consider as you're starting a little late in the ~year, and that is to go to your local livestock market.  You will find ~farmers there later in the year, selling things like cabbage, ~broccoli,caulifower, sprout, leek plants etc.  Usually not too ~expensive , and that will enable you to get your winter vegetables ~planted out in nice time.  Good luck, I envy you. I'd not buy in brassicas, in case your plot has not got clubroot and the bought-in ones do... cos once you've got it... I started at this time of the year and bunged in carrots, leeks (bought in: Gardener's Kitchen from local garden centre), onion sets (cheap at this time of year), beetroot (seed tape!), marrows and green sprouting broccoli (the latter grown myself and planted out in July!) and accidental spuds (were left from previous tenant) and all did very well. I was eating the broccoli for most of the next spring. I grew enough to warrant a second freezer come September and all veg in Christmas dinner was homegrown. Have fun - it's hard work but gets easier after the first year.

Following up to M Babcock carrots (protect from foxes once large), How does one protect a carrot from foxes, and what do the foxes do to them ? I'm presuming dig them up ... ... but being as my carrots are coming up nicely, and I've just finished scraping foxshit off the bottom of my shoe after spending some time in my vegetable patch, I think this is something I need to know ...

How does one protect a carrot from foxes, and what do the foxes do to them ? I'm presuming dig them up ... ... but being as my carrots are coming up nicely, and I've just finished scraping foxshit off the bottom of my shoe after spending some time in my vegetable patch, I think this is something I need to know ... everything was OK until I started to harvest, they got the scent(?) and started digging them up, chewing tops off. I put wire netting over them which expensivly solved the problem.

Thanks, everyone for your helpful suggestions and sharing your experience - I feel like I have more common-sense ideas to go on now. Also quite encouraged. I've just done my first afternoon's garden recovery onslaught, and discovered several interesting things: The bed with the best quality soil also has a large ants nest. Might have to drag some sterno out there for boiling water, since I imagine it's not a good idea to plant with them still there? Another bed has millipedes (are these ok to leave, or will they cause crop damage? I'm not sure how to evict them). Happily, there are also plenty of worms. I haven't even gone near the Jerusalem artichokes - I'm too scared! I'm not going to expect too much out of that bed this year. There's a trade shed on the allotment that sells compost and canes and stuff, which is handy as I haven't got a car, but apparently they only arrange manure delivery once a year in the winter time, so that will have to wait. Thanks again for your input, Misty