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Hi folks. I have just taken over another allotment after a bit of a break due to other things. It is a half plot, 15 yards long by 5 yards wide. It is pure sand!! With nothing in it to bulk it out or feed it etc. As I am at the bottom of the plot as it were, I have someone else in front of me who wont allow me to have a load of manure delivered as it would have to go onto her plot. Now, what the heck can I use to feed up the soil and give it some goodness back? I can feed it as much chicken manure as it can take and any other granular fertiliser but no organic stuff.
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Welcome, to the vine Skywatcher!
Can I ask a question first? Why won't she allow manure on her plot?
Bring it in bagged up? Alpaca manure? -
Hi there and welcome to the Vine
Hops from a local brewery?
Seaweed?
Lawn mowings and cardboard over winter.
Collect as many leaves in autumn as you can and compost down.
I had to do similar on our first plot which was very heavy, unworked clay.
Raised beds might be the way to go too so you just add bulk and nutrients to the beds and not waste it on the paths?"Nicos, Queen of Gooooogle" and... GYO's own Miss Marple
Location....Normandy FranceComment
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Seaweed isn't an option as I cann't get any in decent cheap amounts here. The leaf option is a good way to go as I am the Cemetery Supervisor for the town and have access to a rather a large amount of Horse Chestnut leaves in the autumnOriginally posted by Nicos View PostHi there and welcome to the Vine
Hops from a local brewery?
Seaweed?
Lawn mowings and cardboard over winter.
Collect as many leaves in autumn as you can and compost down.
I had to do similar on our first plot which was very heavy, unworked clay.
Raised beds might be the way to go too so you just add bulk and nutrients to the beds and not waste it on the paths?
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She has fruit trees and veg at the bottom of her area and she reckons that I would destroy the grass path that we have to the side of the plots for access. She is quite right about the path and I wouldn't like a tractor putting a trailer onto MY plot to dump a load of cow manure when I had veg etc growingOriginally posted by Scarlet View Post. Thanks for the welcome . I used to be a member some time ago but gave up due to work commitments where I live
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Is the access path to your plot through her plot or is there a shared access path up the side?
I can see the point about having a load dumped on the path but can you trug them in one bag at a time. Rather than get a wagon delivered you can often find stables giving bag fulls away. Sure it's going to take longer but if you do one bed at a time and leave the paths alone.
Green manure will also help - you might have time to get a crop of buckwheat in which is quick to grow and can handle being on poor soil.Comment
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Hi and welcome!
Could the manure be dumped elsewhere and barrowed on to your plot? When I have manure delivered I have to barrow it from the roadside to the back garden.
Or you could grow green manure on your plot and chop it down for bulk.Comment
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I reckon the best bet is Manure and whatever it is you choose, just get it dropped to the closest possible spot and hand ball it from there. You only have to do it once to last a long time.
Regards RobComment
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Leaves of all types will be wonderfull - next year, unless you know where a load were hidden up after last autumn. I was lucky and found a stash dumped with grass clippings in a churchyard, they went straight in.
Anything and everything organic is good. Even collection one bag a week and barrowing it onto site will add up over time.
Green manure, it will soon be time to plant these up again, so thats all good. Cardboard, cover any open ground not being used, it good dug into the soil too.
Our local council have 'soil improver' which is composted garden waste collected from households, it's cheap but does feature odd bits of plastic that I'm forever plucking out.
Bales of straw. If you have nothing else, lay down your uncomposted leaves on the soil, then a layer of straw water it over with some diluted urine and cover the lot with cardboard. Weigh it down with wood chip if you can and leave it over winter. in the spring just plant through without disturbing it and the soil will love it.Comment
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Yes, I think barrowing or bagging in manure when you can will help... plus I've found grass clippings surprisingly good at enriching and activating the soil, the worms seem to go crazy for them and anything I've mulched with clippings this year has done really well on it.Comment
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