Regarding carrots @celcius_kkw my best crops have been from soil that grew potatoes the previous year. I add manure to the soil for the potatoes, then the next year only add compost to the planting hole ( its supposed to make it easier for the carrots to establish good roots) when planting the seeds.
@GWRS My allotment site is sort of in the middle of the city.. I should try to find a local farm/stable, will probably need some sort of arrangement. I came across some allotment sites where they have an active committee who runs a shop that sells compost, manure and even seeds. Unfortunately all of those sites have very long waiting lists.. understandably.
I also thought of buying them online in bulk and have them delivered.. but I am not sure if they could find this site given it’s not really on google maps..
@purplerallim I read that carrots like fine non-lumpy soil.. I was thinking of digging in some sand, and possibly sieve the soil before I sow the seeds.. maybe multi purpose compost would be better than sand.. as it has some nutrients.
Tried the sand the first year @celcius_kkw , and this year's compost worked better. Have you thought about rabbit muck? There maybe people nearby with rabbits and their hutch cleanings make a good manure. You could ask around in your area, rabbiters are crying out for somewhere to dispose of their waste.
Well in spite of the rain earlier, I went to harvest the Christmas veg this pm. Sprouts and beetroot no problem but getting the Parsnips was more of a challenge. I have been doing this for nearly 60 years, I have often had frozen fingers, sometimes it's been warm & dry sometimes snow but this was the wettest ever. It took twice as long to scrub the mud off as it did to dig them, but it's done. A couple had grown into the clay layer but they snapped off trying to get them out. Hey ho. Happy Christmas to all you Allotmenteers.
@GWRS My allotment site is sort of in the middle of the city.. I should try to find a local farm/stable, will probably need some sort of arrangement. I came across some allotment sites where they have an active committee who runs a shop that sells compost, manure and even seeds. Unfortunately all of those sites have very long waiting lists.. understandably.
I also thought of buying them online in bulk and have them delivered.. but I am not sure if they could find this site given it’s not really on google maps..
@purplerallim I read that carrots like fine non-lumpy soil.. I was thinking of digging in some sand, and possibly sieve the soil before I sow the seeds.. maybe multi purpose compost would be better than sand.. as it has some nutrients.
@celcius_kkw Great you have a plot enjoy digging - remember little and often, good to face the area you have dug so you know you are getting somewhere, I go sometimes to big store for compost, also get seed compost (gro-sure) from Marshall seeds online free delivery.
Our site allotment has a shop with a committee where you can have a membership to get a bit of discount on some items and they allow different sites and outside gardeners in when open gates on weekend to join if want to or just to use the shop, I go collect horse manure bag it up for free from a lady who has horses
@Wilderbeast for potatoes I use 30ltr buckets does ok, get a good amount from, lot cleaner spuds than the ground grown ones, I put 5 tuber per bucket 10cm compost first potato tubers then also use potato food pellets then cover up and remember to cover up more when the shoots come up about 5cm high like you would do (earth up meaning cover up so you don't get green spuds) in ground potatoes
We will be in tier 4 for us in a few days lucky we will still be able to go to our chickens at the allotment so all ok
@Gardengirl.. I'm looking forward to having a go at the bucket spuds, take care in tier 4 luckily we are sticking with tier 3.
@celcius_kkw I buy compost from B&Q, 125lt bags and get maybe 15 bags so it's free delivery. Some say it's not the best compost but has worked really well for me, it works out as the cheapest price per litre of compost I can find anywhere.
@Allotment Boy if you've been doing it for 60years I feel i should call you Mr Allotment Boy , bit of respect and all that
@GWRS enjoy your Christmas too and everyone else obviously
@Gardengirl.. Do you leave those presumably fresh manure to rot down on your plot? I feel like I need to make some new friends who own horses/stable. 😛
@Wilderbeast did B&Q deliver to your allotment site? I think having a shop on site is really convenient.. since it could afford to buy in bulk and have them all delivered straight to the plots.. rather than hauling bags of manure in our own car 😌
@Wilderbeast I was just a toddler when I started, luckily my father was a very patient man. I'm sure I was more hindrance than help for the early years. The moniker came from my time at Capel Manor when I did the RHS course. 😃
@celcius_kkw , I cover what I call small beds with horse manure , and leave it on over winter , it stops a lot of the weeds growing , when I need the bed depending on the crop I’ll either dig it in or scape it off and put in compost bins
@celcius_kkw I'm an interloper here 😲 as I don't have an allotment just a large and getting larger veg area (hopefully over half an allotment size) in my garden. Does your allotment have a postcode or rd name ? if so you should be able to make a delivery. I know some sites can be very awkward on Access while others are brilliant.
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I add manure to the soil for the potatoes, then the next year only add compost to the planting hole ( its supposed to make it easier for the carrots to establish good roots) when planting the seeds.
@purplerallim I read that carrots like fine non-lumpy soil.. I was thinking of digging in some sand, and possibly sieve the soil before I sow the seeds.. maybe multi purpose compost would be better than sand.. as it has some nutrients.
Have you thought about rabbit muck? There maybe people nearby with rabbits and their hutch cleanings make a good manure. You could ask around in your area, rabbiters are crying out for somewhere to dispose of their waste.
@celcius_kkw I buy compost from B&Q, 125lt bags and get maybe 15 bags so it's free delivery. Some say it's not the best compost but has worked really well for me, it works out as the cheapest price per litre of compost I can find anywhere.
@Allotment Boy if you've been doing it for 60years I feel i should call you Mr Allotment Boy , bit of respect and all that
@GWRS enjoy your Christmas too and everyone else obviously
@Wilderbeast did B&Q deliver to your allotment site? I think having a shop on site is really convenient.. since it could afford to buy in bulk and have them all delivered straight to the plots.. rather than hauling bags of manure in our own car 😌