I have an allotment now what?
This is written for anyone who is about to embark on starting
an allotment in the Bradford District, the advice applies to anyone
with a small plot of land to garden. If you want to apply for
an allotment the contact is at the bottom of this page under useful
contacts.
As of August 2009 the timeline for allotments in Bradford is:
Allotment holders get billed in April to be payed by October.
The Allotment Officer does a site visit in June/July and any plots
deemed un-worked, a letter is sent to the tenant in October and
their tenancy can be terminated by 31st December. Vacant plots
are usually offered in early January.
Once
you get notification of an allotment, it is important you make
a site visit as soon as possible to ascertain exactly which allotment
you have been allocated. It might be worth checking with anyone
gardening the site which number plot is which. You might hit lucky
and get cultivated land, but this seldom happens partly because
the way the tenancy works, someone who is giving up will likely
hang on for a year which means the weeds will have got well under
way. If you are not sure you have the correct plot ring the allotment
officer up and explain. This is very important, as in the past
people have dug the wrong allotment and all your work can be a
waste of time.
Once
you have established your allotment, before you do anything else,
spend some time on the plot finding out what is yours; if it has
any water butts or even a shed. Once you have established ownership
It's worth planning where essentials are to go. If the plot is
on a slope plan to put water butts and compost bins at the top
so that you walk down the slope to water and spread the compost,
rather than uphill. Check to see if there are any fruit bushes
and if they are in good condition. If they are overgrown, ideally
you need to prune them in the winter; currant bushes need one
third of their growth taking out. Raspberry canes; the old wood
needs removing and the new season's growth tying in. Autumn raspberries
need cutting right back as they fruit on the new seasons growth.
The ideal time to take on an allotment is the "back end"
- October for a spring growing, however the way Bradford works
means the tenancy usually lapses for a January start.
Ready to start
When
people first get an allotment they are keen to make a start and
usually first job they do is get a scythe or hire a strimmer to
cut down overgrown vegetation, and then proceed to hire a rotavator
and cultivate the land. This is the worst thing to do as scything
the vegetation down looks great to begin with but this is like
pruning, the undergrowth will grow back with vengeance. The photo
(left) shows a piece of couch grass with a runner that is over
3ft (1 metre) long and 3 plant stems growing from it, using a
rotavator will mince up the perennial weeds; instead of one piece
of couch grass there are now a hundred pieces to grow
There
is little to benefit hiring machinery, your plot is probably as
bad as it gets, and is not likely to get worse. Instead, put your
money, time and effort into a long term plan. One way to have
a beneficial impact is to buy a large sheet of heavy gauge black
plastic, preferably the width of the allotment, and lay this down
on a section of the plot using bricks or stones to prevent it
from blowing away. Any growth underneath this will now be suppressed
by the lack of light; It will usually take about nine months to
a year for the weeds underneath to completely die. Other benefit
is any annual seed will germinate earlier under the plastic due
to the warmth with the black absorbing the sun's heat.
Now
is the time to do some digging. Pull the black sheet back and
dig a small section of the land, dig with the spade turning the
soil over and work the fork through removing perennial weed roots.
It is worth investing in a good spade, a stainless steel one is
ideal as the soil will not stick to it as much as a steel one.
Aim to do a couple of hours work, a bit at a time is better than
doing too much in one day. When you have finished digging a large
plot for vegetables, pull the plastic sheet over another uncovered
area. Keep an eye on the land you have dug making sure any new
weed is removed. If you can get hold of horse manure in the autumn
you can add as you you dig, and also put on top of the soil. In
spring it is worth adding manure to trenches for potatoes.
As
you are clearing and digging the allotment you will be accumulating
waste material such as weeds. It is worth investing in a couple
of compost bins. You can make two rectangular bins out of wood
which are called New Zealand bins, or you could buy plastic compost
bins which are ideal as they block light out. You will need at
least two, one to add to while the other is composting.
Your own compost can take some time to rot down and become usable,
it is quicker in the summer months with warmer weather. If you
can find well rotted horse manure preferably straw based is beneficial
to add to the soil while you are digging in the autumn. Avoid
horse manure with wood chipping as some of the larger wood chips
if added to soil can rob nitrogen in the process of rotting down.
Make
sure you have defined paths. One system of growing is the "bed"
system, where you dig four foot wide beds and a small path between.
This means you never stand on the soil, working from the paths
to weed and in autumn you fork over the ground, removing any weeds.
If you are creating paths you can cut thick plastic into strips
to cover the path and put carpet over to stop the plastic wearing.
It is not advisable to put carpet straight down on the ground
as weeds such as couch can "weave" into the carpet making
it difficult to remove. Avoid putting timber around the borders
of the beds, initially it looks nice but weeds can get under and
they become difficult to remove
As the season progresses and there is a spell of dry weather it
can make digging difficult, by the end of April it is best to
stop digging and concentrate on keeping the land you have weed
free.
Growing vegetables
It
is likely that the first plot of land you dug will have been weeded
earliest and will be more suited for vegetables such as onions
which are not good for suppressing weeds. The last plot you dug
where less weeding has been done would be better to have potato;
their dense canopy (photo right) is a good ground clearer. Once
you have planted your crops you should make a plan of where they
were grown as you need to rotate crops on a three yearly cycle:
1) Brassicas;
(cabbage, turnip, swede, broccoli etc)
2) Roots; (Potato carrot beetroot, parsnip etc)
3) Others; (Pea, Bean, sweetcorn, courgette, onion etc).
Doing this means there is less risk of increased build up of pests,
and some crops benefit from occupying the land from previous crops
such as peas and beans which lock beneficial nitrogen in their
roots.
You will need to consider adding fertilizer to the land to ensure
there is enough NPK (Nitrogen Phosphorus, Potassium) in the soil.
It is worth looking for products that are organic, Chicken manure
and Seaweed extract are popular choices.
It is a good idea to check what the PH (acid - alkaline) of the
soil is like. Potato can tolerate acidic soil to a point, but
other vegetables such as brassicas need the soil to be alkaline.
You can buy a soil testing kit to determine how acid/alkaline
the soil is. You need to adjust this as early as you can by liming
the ground. You are looking for a neutral PH to alkaline soil.
Liming is best done in autumn.
An
important aspect of gardening is keeping weeds under control.
Buy a good quality hoe and keep it sharp. You are aiming to cut
annual weeds just below the surface. Do this when the soil is
dry and on a sunny day, once you have hoed the weeds they will
dry out and die in the sun. This is when you appreciate growing
vegetables in straight lines meaning you can hoe in between rows
easily. Watch crops such as onions which have a shallow root system
avoid going too near, better to hand weed around them after the
main hoeing. If it is overcast spend time hand weeding, If you
hoe when the ground is wet you churn the weeds up and they can
grow back again. "One year's seed is seven years weed"
is very true.
When to Grow
Gardening
in the local area of Haworth Cross Roads and Stanbury can be a
challenge due to being on the edge of the Pennines, with harsh
cold and damaging winds. Gardening at 800ft means that for every
300ft you lose 1 degree in temperature. More information on growing
can be found on this page (top right menu) using the
month
by month Gardening Diary, main page is here...
If you are on an allotment it is worth asking the other gardeners
when they are putting crops in. When you get experience you will
be able to make a judgment as to when you feel is the best time
for you. Times to consider is when the chance of the last frost
is likely to happen. In Haworth this can be anytime from early
May to early June.
It is worth sowing some crops indoors such as leeks cabbage marrow,
courgette to try and get a head start on the season. If you don't
have a greenhouse you can put the seedlings on a window sill.
To prevent them growing "leggy" turn the pot around
periodically. You can also add a sheet of aluminum kitchen foil
to the back of the pot which will reflect light back. Some root
crops such as turnip, carrot, beetroot do not re-plant well due
to not liking their root system being disturbed.
End of the first season
Chances
are you will have had success growing some crops and a few failures,
talking to other gardeners may help you gain knowledge and get
to grips with any problems experienced. You should have areas
of land where it is clear of most weed an area where the black
plastic is suppressing weeds and another area which is still overgrown.
As October approaches you can get back into digging the plot again
as the annual weeds will recede as the cool weather and shorter
days approach.
You might start thinking about putting a shed on your plot, current
law as of July 2009 states that you do not need written or planning
permission to erect a shed, greenhouse or poly-tunnel on allotment
land. Please note that a shed or greenhouse larger than 8ft x
6ft that require foundations or are connected to services, might
be construed as a permanent structure.
Useful contacts
2 Council owned sites - one near the Parsonage and the other near
Rawdon rd. Contact the allotment officer, Janette Goodinson at:
Dept of Asset Management 3rd Floor City Hall Bradford West Yorkshire
BD1 1HX - Phone 01274 432247 Email:
janette.goodinson@bradford.gov.uk
The National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Ltd (NSALG)
provides membership to allotment societies and allotment gardeners.
Website for more information:
http://www.nsalg.org.uk
Useful tips:
If you have any advice or tips about growing, contact us and
if suitable will add to the page - please local to Haworth and
the surrounding area only.
