Taking on a new plot, whether full or half size, can be daunting. Brimming with ideas and enthusiasm to get started in growing your own fruit and vegetables, it can also be handy to have some general pointers on getting started and maintaining your plot (and enthusiasm!) for the years ahead.
Improving the Soil
It can be important to get to know the soil type on your plot, as this can help with deciding what work needs doing and what will successfully grow. In Penistone, the soil on the allotment sites can be heavy and include clay, which means they may need help with drainage, take time to warm up and prone to cracking in dry weather. They definitely benefit from having compost and manure added to them.
Once you've decided on your bed/plot layout, the plot will benefit from being thoroughly dug over, even if you plan to adopt a "no-digging" approach in the future. This will give you a chance to clear the soil from weeds, debris and any large stones and to add any material to it, such as sharp sand if need to improve drainage and compost/manure.
It is a good time to test the soil too, to see if it is too acidic/more alkaline. If the soil is acidic, one option is to add lime, which is best added in the autumn. It is advised not to add lime at the same time as manure or other fertilisers can they can react together and cancel each other out.
Rotavating your plot is another option, especially if you are taking it on in later in the year or if it is heavily overgrown. Tall weeds can be strimmed down (best to check for wildlife first if very overgrown, such as hedgehogs) and then the plot rotavated. It can help with breaking down heavy soils and getting rid of weeds. On the down side, weed roots can be chopped up and seeds disturbed, causing them to germinate. The ground will need regular hoeing to get rid of the weeds once they start growing.
"No-digging" is also an option to manage your plot. As well as the time and effect it can take to either single or double dig your beds, it is thought that annual digging can have an impact on the soil's natural structure and disturb weed seeds. An option is to concentrate on the top layer of soil, incorporating things such as compost or manure as a top dressing. Growing crops through membrane can reduce weeds and need for regular hoeing/weeding around the plants.
Using green manures can also help improve your soil. These are crops of plants that are grown to be dug into the soil. Some crops are grown to "fix" nitrogen into the soil whereas others have strong roots that can help break up heavy soils. Planting such crops in areas not being grown in can reduce weeds and stop nutrients being washed away by autumn and winter weather. Examples of green manures include alfalfa, field beans, clover, mustard and winter tares.
Compost
Making your own compost can be a good way to keep on top of the waste plants from your plot and provide a good free source of nutrition and improvement for your soil.
Options range from a simple heap of cuttings, weeds etc in the corner of your plot, to more elaborate home-made or bought containers. These structures can help keep in heat and therefore help with the waste's decomposition.
A balance of "green waste", such as used vegetable plants, thinnings, annual weeds and grass clippings and " brown waste", such as shredded paper, more twiggy bits, egg shells etc can help achieve a better compost. The heaps can benefit from being turned and being kept moist. Covering them from the worst of the weather can help decomposition further.
Protecting crops and extending the season
With Penistone's altitude above sea level and climate, the growing season can be shorter than other areas, with the chance of late frosts, snow and soil taking longer to warm up. To extend the growing season, it can be helpful to warm up the soil being using materials such as membrane, plastic sheeting or fleece. Growing plants under cloches or mini polytunnels can also help protect early or late sowings and overwintering crops.
Crops may need protecting from a range of "pests", including aphids, slugs and birds. There are a variety of options for covering plants, including cane and netting, home-made or bought cloches from hoops and mesh, of varying sizes. Hoops made out of cut lengths of water pipe and covered with netting or mesh can be popular. Fleece is also an option but both sites can be exposed to the wind, so this can get easily torn.
Meshes or close woven netting can offer protection against pests such as carrot fly and cabbage root fly. Netting can offer some protection from butterflies laying eggs and the subsequent caterpillars. It can also offer some protection from birds eating tender crops or the ripening fruit.
Other methods for protecting crops include companion planting, encouraging birds and other wildlife that feed off aphids and slugs, beer traps, grit barriers, copper discs around brassicas.
Other methods for protecting crops include companion planting, encouraging birds and other wildlife that feed off aphids and slugs, beer traps, grit barriers, copper discs around brassicas.
Slug pellets can be an option but can be harmful to other beneficial wildlife, such as hedgehogs. Alternative options include keeping the plot tidy, to reduce places for them to hide, clearing away debris and any diseased plants and encouraging other wildlife.
Companion Planting
This involves planting crops together that have similar needs or planting flowers and herbs alongside vegetables. These herbs and flowers can encourage bees and other pollinators, which are needed for pollination of the vegetable flowers. In addition, they can encourage insects such as hoverflies, which feed on aphids such as black-fly. For example, nasturtiums have been grown as a "sacrifice" crop for aphids to feed on, to keep them away from vegetables such as beans. Other traditional examples include strongly scented flowers such as marigolds planted alongside tomatoes or carrots; onions or chives near to both brassicas and carrots to confuse pests such as carrot and cabbage root flies. One plot-holder places spare garlic cloves around brassicas. There is mixed evidence whether these approaches work, so best thing will be trial and error! Carrot fly has been a problem at both allotment sites so carrots are generally more successful grown under cover, keeping weeding and thinning to a minimum |
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