Allotment at the bottom of my garden!

[Jaime]

I am very excited to join you all here in allotment tenantship

Although my plot is a scary prospect (never been-cultivated-dumping-ground!) it is right at the bottom of my garden, which is simply heaven. It's 20ft x 100ft and in Oxfordshire.



I have inherited an enormous compost heap/mound with nettles growing all around it (a sign of good soil?!) but what do I do with this heap? I've no idea what it's made up of (mainly dumped grass cuttings from neighbouring plots and gardens I think) it doesn't seem very 'active' should I cover and let it rot down? Or dig it over to see what's under it and/or start a fresh?



In terms of preparing my plot so far, I've simply been hacking away at the 3 foot high weeds and grass to ground level so as to create access. I have several large (dog rose?) trees/shrubs etc in my plot too - it's going to be a lot of work!!



What should I do with all my cuttings so far? Start a new compost pile? Burn them?! Bag them up? And should I start covering the cleared areas with cardboard/tarp for the winter? I have inherited so old corrugated metal, could that be repurposed as ground cover to kill off the weeds?

Any advice gratefully received!

[Lisasbolt]

Helcome to the vine Jaime.
How wonderful to have your allotment at the bottom of your garden, you will make more use out of it.
I really do not know anything about compost heaps but someone will be along shortly.

I wish you the best of luck with everything, you will have many years of enjoyment.

[Guest]

Hi and welcome to the vine

Congrats on your new lottie. I personally would burn and bin everything as you clear to start with (including the heap already there) it is seedy and will soon accumulate to an overwhelming amount once you get going. I don't know what to suggest for the corrugated metal. However cardboard is great and I would recommended it on worked ground topped with poo or mulch and then tarps for ground to be worked. The first year is very much a taming and learning process in my opinion.

[cariann88]

Hello and welcome Jamie

[Jaime]

Hi and welcome to the vine

Congrats on your new lottie. I personally would burn and bin everything as you clear to start with (including the heap already there) it is seedy and will soon accumulate to an overwhelming amount once you get going. I don't know what to suggest for the corrugated metal. However cardboard is great and I would recommended it on worked ground topped with poo or mulch and then tarps for ground to be worked. The first year is very much a taming and learning process in my opinion.

Thank you so much for your advice! I was thinking about burning it but don't n ow where to start! It's quite dry already, could I potentially dig a ditch around it and set it alight?! Or do I need to take small amounts and incinerate? Am I right in thinking the ashes will be a good addition to the beds?

I am pleased to have discovered lovely loamy soil under the scrub and have cleared a small patch already will cover that with card and keep going!!

Thanks!

[bramble]

You need to check and see if you are allowed to light a fire on site first just so you dont get off to a bad start.
Cover with thick cardboard as soon as you clear the ground.
You have a lot of work ahead of you but it will be worth it.
Welcome aboard by the way.

[Jaime]

You need to check and see if you are allowed to light a fire on site first just so you dont get off to a bad start.
Cover with thick cardboard as soon as you clear the ground.
You have a lot of work ahead of you but it will be worth it.
Welcome aboard by the way.

Thank you! Yes bonfires are allowed it's a very relaxed site which is fab.

So any tips on starting it? I should emphasise that I am not an expert on bonfires!!! :-o Do I need to re-stack it all or can I dig a ditch around the mound as it is already? (That's if its dry enough to catch)

Thank you!

[bramble]

Sorry to say I have never had a bonfire in my garden but Im sure someone on here will be able to advise you.

[Guest]

I am a wuss, I put mine in an incinerator bin but hopefully some pyromaniacs will be a long soon to give some advice

[Jungle Jane]

Is there somebody that could help you with your first bonfire? My dad loves a bonfire,as often as he can,if you have neighbours you might want to wait till the afternoon,as some people don't like the smell. It's good to have a bucket of water handy just incase. You don't need to dig a ditch but make sure the ground is clear around the pile,so it doesn't spread & the wind can blow bits of burnt twig around,so you might want a long pokey stick or something to give you some control of the heap,my dad uses a flammable liquid to help start the fire etc it can be extremely dangerous & could cause horrific burns,there might be a better or safer alternative to the new bonfiree? It can take a long time to stop burning,keep checking,you need to know that the fires gone out.

[veggiechicken]

Hello and welcome Jaime.
Lots of people dream of an allotment at the end of the garden - you're a very lucky plotter
If the compost heap has been there for a long time it may be home to wildlife. At this time of year, many creatures are thinking about hibernation - hedgehogs for example. Or there may be slowworms, mice or voles living in it. Please don't set fire to it without raking it out to check first.

[Jaime]

Hello and welcome Jaime.
Lots of people dream of an allotment at the end of the garden - you're a very lucky plotter
If the compost heap has been there for a long time it may be home to wildlife. At this time of year, many creatures are thinking about hibernation - hedgehogs for example. Heap or spread them out as they are?Or there may be slowworms, mice or voles living in it. Please don't set fire to it without raking it out to check first.

Yes, we are so lucky! We actually bought our house based on this possibility so it was a well planned endeavour Gosh yes, in my panic about the heap I hadn't even thought that far! We are going to clear an area and add the woody stems and green waste to it bit by bit so as to check for rubbish and wildlife.

Do I add the ashes to my (new) compost heap or spread them out over the beds as they are?

[dilettante]

Can you feel the weight of all our envy aimed at you? Congrats on your plot. Very exciting times. I want to echo the sentiment about checking for wildlife in your compost. I found eight frogs and a mouse in mine. It's a pallet bin, so I made the frogs a new home in the middle of the pallets and left them there. Hopefully they'll hang around and eat the slugs.

I'm also envious you get to have a bonfire. Exciting. I don't doubt there will be people on your site this weekend lighting bonfires. Maybe one of they can help you? Or you can just ask people until you find someone who knows what to do. I have a feeling you're supposed to stack the big bits in a sort of wigwam shape and stuff all the dry grass and bits in the middle, and light a small bit of that to get it going, but I'm not very experienced.

The ashes you could probably put on your beds right away, but I would probably put them in the compost. For what that's worth.

If you've got a bucket spare, make nettle tea to feed your plot next year. I have a lot of dry grass and weeds in my compost at the moment. I've taken a lot out, it's too much for me to try to build up some greens to mix it with any time soon. Don't forget to put some diluted wee on the pile to give it a kickstart

[Snadger]

Remember ,remember the fifth of November!

Enjoy your bonny!

[Jaime]

Thanks for all the advice! I've managed to rope in some help for my first bonfire and as it's the season for it, we're going to make a bit of an occasion out of it this weekend which will be fun for the children!

In bed this evening with a very sore back - only cleared about 6x4ft so far! Clearly need to build up some strength if I'm ever going to get it going...!

Even so, I'm still on cloud 9