Hi, with mixing up the plants the problem was different plants growing at different rates and smaller plats getting swamped by others, admittedly I planted way too many marrows in the first year, one in each bed, but also with different harvest times, for example I would end with space where I have pulled up potatoes but difficult to reuse the space for a salad crop, if you see what I mean. I also found weeding tricky with things all mixed up.
I had some success this year growing through membrane in some beds - in particular this worked really well for onions and leeks and brasicas, with hardly any weeding needed at all. This year I am going to grow as much a s I can through membrane, which gets some criticism on forums but for me it works as I have a hexagon of membrane with holes at distances ideal for onions for example, this i can re-use teh following year on a different bed.
The raised beds - yes they are doing great I just fill them up with as much compost as I can (unrotted) in the autumn and cover with membrane. Just treating them like compost heaps really, without digging them. I'm not obsessing about rotting everything before it gets spread around - nature will rot it down in time I think. Had a peek yesterday - looks like its rotting ok. I am next to a cemetary and they donate all their dead flowers etc into my main compost heap.
I am not an allotment gardener, though I admire anyone who takes one on and can grow veggies and the dedication it takes. I am glad to see your old topic revived. I really liked your lay out, it looks (sorry) pretty. And with a few adjustments seems to be working. Congratulations on the cup Richard.
I just recently discovered Gardener's World on BBC. I love, love, love the program and all the vital information it gives. I had never heard of allotment gardening which is not done here in S/W Missouri. U.S.A., and am absolutely amazed at this. It's brilliant! I love your design and how you are managing. My question is, is it expensive to rent an allotment and how big are they? I am wondering if this type of gardening would work here in our city where space for growing our own food is just not available. Also, if my husband and I buy land to offer, should we build poly tunnels for individual greenhouse space? We live in zone 6a where winters can get brutally cold (-23c) and summers are normally rainy, hot (38c) and humid (80% or more) .We do have the University offering greenhouse space for rent at $5 per sq. ft, and I'm not sure what that would be in the UK, but it's ridiculously expensive here. I want the plan to be to help people grow healthy food, not hurt them financially. I know this is an old thread, but any input will be greatly appreciated.
Hello DreminInBlue The rental is £35 a year for me, about 80ftx30ft, quite a big plot for the UK. The healthy food is one part of it, a bigger aspect (imho) is the community and mental health benefits to having an allotment. It gets me out and I see people, if you get what I mean. There is also an apriary on the site and I have 3 bee hives in there. Most in the UK were set up by the Victorians to help poor folk grow their own food. Nowadays they are getting harder to rent as many are getting closed to make way for housing developments, so I am lucky to have one at a fair price so I am allways going to make the most of it as it has had really positive effect on my life. I hope you go with your plan, I guess the Polly tunnels are needed if you have a shorter growing season?
Thank you for responding so quickly. Yes, I would love to see the aspect of community happen. Our country, although portrayed as friendly, is a nation made up largely of people who don't interact with their neighbors. I would love to see that change. And I totally agree that gardening helps with mental health. After falling from my horse and critically injuring my back, I have felt like there isn't much left for me to do, but I can still crawl out of my wheelchair and do the weeding and deadheading, while my husband plants continuously. This has helped pull me out of depression, so I know it can help others. We thought we were too old to start expanding our love of gardening into a small business, but after watching the show about the gal who turned a swamp into a park while she's in her 70's, we decided that being 71 years old might be the beginning of a new adventure. Thank you for your invaluable input.
In my town we have very few allotments because it's in a steep-sided valley with little flat land. What we do have, however, is an amazing community food-growing project, which has inspired similar groups all round the world. This is a link so you can see what I'm talking about:
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I had some success this year growing through membrane in some beds - in particular this worked really well for onions and leeks and brasicas, with hardly any weeding needed at all.
This year I am going to grow as much a s I can through membrane, which gets some criticism on forums but for me it works as I have a hexagon of membrane with holes at distances ideal for onions for example, this i can re-use teh following year on a different bed.
I am glad to see your old topic revived.
I really liked your lay out, it looks (sorry) pretty. And with a few adjustments seems to be working.
Congratulations on the cup Richard.
Me too , but what fun
Would not be a bonemeal kinda component?
I'll get me coat....
The rental is £35 a year for me, about 80ftx30ft, quite a big plot for the UK.
The healthy food is one part of it, a bigger aspect (imho) is the community and mental health benefits to having an allotment. It gets me out and I see people, if you get what I mean. There is also an apriary on the site and I have 3 bee hives in there.
Most in the UK were set up by the Victorians to help poor folk grow their own food. Nowadays they are getting harder to rent as many are getting closed to make way for housing developments, so I am lucky to have one at a fair price so I am allways going to make the most of it as it has had really positive effect on my life.
I hope you go with your plan, I guess the Polly tunnels are needed if you have a shorter growing season?
In my town we have very few allotments because it's in a steep-sided valley with little flat land. What we do have, however, is an amazing community food-growing project, which has inspired similar groups all round the world. This is a link so you can see what I'm talking about:
https://theecologist.org/2014/jan/01/incredible-edible-todmorden
Maybe something like this might work where you live?