Dave's Allotment - organics and all that

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updated December 1998

1999 will be the fifth year that Dave has had an allotment and a lot of hard work it is too. When he first took it over, it was covered in couch grass and yes, the only real way of getting rid of it is by digging it out. This year is the first that the current growing area of the plot is relatively couch-free, which makes a lot of difference to the time it takes to prepare the soil.

Everything is grown according to Organic and crop rotation priciples and all seeds are obtained through Henry Doubleday. Apart from being Organic the seeds are of extremely good quality giving a high germination rate. Put twelve tomato seeds in and you will get twelve tomato seedlings.

At the moment it is worked on a three year rotation - a fourth area has yet to be cleared. There are also two compost heaps on the allotment which provide a good compost base for the potato and bean trenches. These are made out of 3' high stock fencing joined into a circle to hold one of those sacks you get large quantities of sand delivered in from builder's merchants. There is a nearby stables where straw manure is free for the taking. This has helped condition the rather heavy soil.

There is no water supply on the site so water conservation is important. Mulches of various sorts have been used to aid this as well as weed suppression. Straw has proved to be not very efficient at either, wood chippings are quite good if you can get a thick enough layer. Carpets seem to be the best, however our floor at home are beginning to look a little bare!

Because of the lack of water some of our crops are started off at home in the garden or greenhouse where they can get ample water at the crucial time. Sweetcorn and runner beans are particularly vulnerable as they are planted when the weather starts to dry up. The greenhouse is also used for crops such as tomatoes, peppers and aubergines.

Where the allotment is Dave's domain, the greenhouse is Karin's. This doesn't cause to many arguements except over the runner beans which Karin always plants on the allotment, insisting on a north-south orientation for the poles. As there is always a bumper crop, she must be right and all the beans and peas are planted the same way; one side has the sun in the morning, the other in the afternoon. At the hottest part of the day neither side is in the full glare of the sun. If you plant them east-west, then one side never gets any proper sunshine and the other gets burnt!

Anyway, 1998 plan of our Allotment

1999 to follow

South - top of hill

under carpet

sweet corn & jerusalem artichokes

compost heap

Brassicas

Parsnips - Celery - Brassicas

Potatoes

Carrots

Sunflowers

Onions

Shallots

Legumes

R.Beans - Peas - B.Beans

Perpetual Spinach

Pumpkins Courgettes

Strawberries

compost heap

various herbs underneath apple trees

north - bottom of hill

Worrying news came to light earlier in the year - there had been a lot of complaints about rabbit damage to crops (although we have never suffered from any major damage, surprising as our allotment is apart from the others and surrounded by overgrown plots) by some of the other allotment holders. Whole rows of peas disappearing overnight, cabbages absolutely shredded to pieces! Well our peas withstood the torrential rain very well and were coming through unscathed. There may have been more rabbits around than normal, as the one of the foxes that resides on the allotments has been shot although we have not noticed an increase and these complaints have been going on for the past 2-3 years. We have been asked by the land owner on several occasions and have always been quite adamant that we have no problem. However it now seems that rabbits with myxomatosis have been found on the allotment site! Some coincidence - would you say?

What was more of a problem was the SLUG population........to say it was bad is an understatement. We lost celery, all sorts of brassicas, peas, beans and even carrots to these little beasties. Any suggestions for how to combat them this year? Also deer got a taste for runner beans - when they had grown half way up the poles - so not such a good crop of those!
We are gradually moving up the hill and have planted on a previously carpeted plot - and moved the carpet further up the hill to kill off the couch.

We have also rented the half chain plot on the west side of ours. Unfortunately the weather and replanting has meant we haven't been able to clear it at all, we just keep strimming it down to keep the weeds at bay.

View looking North Down the Hill - March 1998

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