Hobbit Allotment!

[snohare]

Lack of declarative memory strikes again !

[Two_Sheds]

I believe there is someone on this forum whose signature says, "every gardener knows best" or words to that effect.

Lol, that's mine !

[snohare]

A Low Impact Woodland Home

Hmm, just what I've always wanted for a house. Yes, really !! <nodding head emoticon>

Great way to dig a soakaway and employ the spoil usefully, while avoiding the cost of a normal allotment shed and creating a new raised bed...this could be worthy of a reporter's visit !

I keep getting told different things!

I believe there is someone on this forum whose signature says, "every gardener knows best" or words to that effect. That's pretty accurate, the caveat being that doing it wrong does sometimes constitute an unmistakeable rap on the knuckles from Ma Nature.
Everyone's experience is different, and seen through different eyes; you are just beginning to create your own prism of experience...

[Two_Sheds]

I keep getting told different things!

Yes, you will. Some things you'll just have to try yourself

[horticultural_hobbit]

That really would be quite apt. Looks very much like The Hole.

[dave_norm_smith]

What about one of these then! Seemed somewhat appropriate when I saw it. I'd love one for the kids.

A Low Impact Woodland Home

[horticultural_hobbit]

Am glad I mentioned it. Though I keep getting told different things! Want to make the most of hobbit land. So having a small patch of spuds suits me, really. There's a lot in my seed box that I would like to play with

[Two_Sheds]

potatoes ...meant to help the soil get better.

As Snohare says, they don't get the soil better, in fact they are greedy things and take a lot of nutrients out.
They are good for shading out annual weeds (because of their large foliage canopy) but they won't have any effect on couch grass or bindweed, etc.

However, if you eat a lot of spuds, then plant a lot.

Otherwise, use that valuable ground to grow crops that are unusual or expensive to buy.

[snohare]

No, it is not perfect. There are probably a thousand things wrong with it, but I am staying true my curiosity as the main reason I wanted to be a horticultural hobbit.

Chances are that potatoes won't just be in that little section. Will try and get them everywhere, as that is meant to help the soil get better.

No plan, perspective or action is ever perfect in all respects. It all depends on the paradigm by which you judge it; and as soon as you have anything other than complete Zen-like acceptance, there will of neccesity be some aspects that are inferior to others. The act of judgement imposes a perceptual filter. ("Zen and the Art of Allotment Maintenance". )

Hate to burst your bubble, but tatties don't actually "clean" the ground. What makes the difference is all the digging and earthing up of soil that you do while you are growing them. But yes, growing tatties is great fun (IMHO) and you will get through a lot. Old-timer farm workers used to devote HALF their growing area to potatoes every year - and the statutory size of an allotment is based on how much land such a family would need. You only have half that...good job you don't all do labouring for a living !
I have heard that planting turnips will clear an area of couch grass though. This may be apocryphal, I have never met anyone who has done it, just come across it in books. I believe Gerard cited this, and by all accounts he was a pretty fair gardener - for the 1600s.

[horticultural_hobbit]

The plan that Ma will probably ignore....

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater
This has been in my lovely log book since before the summer, whilst I was still dreaming of a plot. No, it is not perfect. There are probably a thousand things wrong with it, but I am staying true my curiosity as the main reason I wanted to be a horticultural hobbit.

Chances are that potatoes won't just be in that little section. Will try and get them everywhere, as that is meant to help the soil get better.

[horticultural_hobbit]

I do like the look of the one that two sheds has indicated.

Today, Grandad Mike and I cleared the last bit of grass. I did a small jig.Tomorrow, whilst Mike goes off to St.Andrews to watch Blues, Ma and I will do some digging. I have to be nice to pops and see if he'll help get rid of the thirty odd waste bags. I have half a plan for planning with a line. Twine and BBQ skewers and twine for the moment, else I'll go find some
Poundland tent pegs. Sounds logical, and that's fine. The bit where I explain to Ma, now that's going to be interesting.

[taff]

It might be worth thinking about a digging plate for your foot if you are going to be dancing vigorously on and off a spade or fork. Just a simple piece of board that you strap onto your shoes, like roller skates, that saves the nerves in the arch of your foot from damage. (This is why some spades have that turned over lip - the "Scotch tread" - but it is of limited use.) It will also save your footwear from being wrecked, anything with a stiffened midsole tends to come apart if you get too bolshie with a spade or fork. Means you can go to the lottie in trainers or good shoes and still do some work !

what a bladdy good idea! I will be stealing that this winter

[snohare]

I was about to recommend you get an azada.
Organic gardening in Lancashire
The main advantages are that leverage and gravity do most of the work for you, and if you don't need to do a lot of deep digging - which describes taking off the top layer of old sod and grass tufts - then it will do fine. But right enough, that spade Two Sheds points out looks like a cracker. Much better than anything I've got, and at a good price too !
Personally I use a mattock, and an ancient digging fork, but wouldn't recommend them for you. The mattock is a much heavier type of azada and frankly it's a �$%^&* sometimes just because it's so heavy; the fork just...fits.
The only reason I get away with using these is because I am tall and have the necessary upper body strength. (Sometimes. On my feeble days I use a strong rake.)
It might be worth thinking about a digging plate for your foot if you are going to be dancing vigorously on and off a spade or fork. Just a simple piece of board that you strap onto your shoes, like roller skates, that saves the nerves in the arch of your foot from damage. (This is why some spades have that turned over lip - the "Scotch tread" - but it is of limited use.) It will also save your footwear from being wrecked, anything with a stiffened midsole tends to come apart if you get too bolshie with a spade or fork. Means you can go to the lottie in trainers or good shoes and still do some work !
Before you start digging proper, have you got line and pegs/stones for marking out the different areas on your plan ? Now is your best and only chance to be organised from the beginning.
(Brightly coloured string or hazard tape a la Poundland pegged right at ground level of course or you will endanger your 'elf on account of always tripping up !)
Suddenly I feel dig-addiction hit me...pity I'm 25 miles from my plot !

[reetnproper]

I also use the small size of bendy buckets because when the big ones are full I struggle to carry them. I have a collection of about 11 now, they're useful for all sorts

We got several of those style of buckets from B&Q a couple of years ago, to grow our beans in - big ones for the runner beans and smaller ones for the french beans - fabulous and decently priced as well.

I've always known them as animal feed/water buckets but OH refers to them as Builders buckets.

Reet
x

[Two_Sheds]

HH, I can't use normal size tools either, I'm a weakling with a bad neck/back. I LOVE my border (sometimes called a lady's) spade: Fiskars Lifetime Power Border Spade (601576W) [WILKS911576W] | Capital Gardens

It's light, strong and sharp, cuts through soil like butter

I also use the small size of bendy buckets because when the big ones are full I struggle to carry them. I have a collection of about 11 now, they're useful for all sorts