An allotment at last.

[Vossy1]

Sorry if you feel thats a bit strong. And I certainly dont wish to give offence but the truth is that whenever someone imports a plant, theres a chance that a disease will be imported with it. How do you think fireblight got here?

Totally agree with you, no need to apologise certainly no offence taken, I just read it as a general tarring of cheap fruit trees...they aren't all bad :lol:

New Zealand have the right idea with phytosecurity - absolutely no plant matter whatsoever is allowed in unless absolutely proven to be healthy. If only we had the same attitude to protecting our environment.

I know what you mean but I think we have to accept it's simply not possible in this day and age, even in NZ, it's a great start but it's not going to prevent non native species or diseases becoming established. I was having a nosey round e-bay the other day and was surprised at the amount of seed/plant sellers from all over the world who'll ship to the U.K :shock: ...a slippery slope me thinks :cry:
The internet has made the world a very small place indeed, it also has bad points too.

Raining in Manc today, too wet for lotty, my Gloire de Sablon will have to wait to be planted Went to JaneLane Nurseries yesterday, cracking value, bought too much as usual :P

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Many congrats on getting a allotment. I had to give mine up last year as I just didnt have the time. A bit of advice:-
1, Do not rotovate unless you are willing to spray with Glysophate.
2, Cover 3/4 of your plot with cardboard, onlt work on 1/4 to start.
3, you will need to spend 2hrs per day down there in the spring and summer.
4, Only grow what you can eat....ie dont break your back on growing things that you are going to give away
5, As time dictates remove the cardboard (and compost) and work on another bit.
6, Build a compost heap (reclaimed pallets are ideal)
7, Research "crop rotation"
8, Take some HB with you,,,its amazing what you are given when you ruck up with some beer.
9, Dont try to do too much in one go...little and often
10, Get your hops in (I hve some hop plants here if you want them)
11, As soon as it becomes a chore, give it up.

 

[Dieseljockey]

For plums, try and get them on a VVA1 rootstock, else they can get absurdly large.

Blackmoor do them for £16, Keepers nursery and Bernwode do them for about £20. Much better to buy from a respected UK nursery that Poundstretcher/Wilkos/Homebase despite the difference in price, the risk of getting a diseased tree from these cheap foreign-sourced places is too high.

Been on Blackmoor and Keepers tonight, so far got 2 plum, 1 apple and a cherry for about £80....who said an allotment was cheap?? :lol: :lol:

Oooh! Which apple did you get?

The apple was going to be a cooker (Granny smith) that's want the swmbo wants for the kitchen. Thankfully I didn't place the order last night, as I wanted more time to surf the net. I found this...HERE as we want a couple of plums.. which seems to be ok...but at the moment I'm still looking.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Please check the conditions of your allotment...regarding planting trees
Some allow it, some dont

 

[Dieseljockey]

Many congrats on getting a allotment. I had to give mine up last year as I just didnt have the time. A bit of advice:-
1, Do not rotovate unless you are willing to spray with Glysophate.
2, Cover 3/4 of your plot with cardboard, onlt work on 1/4 to start.
3, you will need to spend 2hrs per day down there in the spring and summer.
4, Only grow what you can eat....ie dont break your back on growing things that you are going to give away
5, As time dictates remove the cardboard (and compost) and work on another bit.
6, Build a compost heap (reclaimed pallets are ideal)
7, Research "crop rotation"
8, Take some HB with you,,,its amazing what you are given when you ruck up with some beer.
9, Dont try to do too much in one go...little and often
10, Get your hops in (I hve some hop plants here if you want them)
11, As soon as it becomes a chore, give it up.

Wow...all good advice thanks.. :thumb: compost heap already there..I know of "crop rotation" but will have to read up on it some more.
and a big YES to any hop rhizomes that you have going...what are they??.

Please check the conditions of your allotment...regarding planting trees
Some allow it, some dont

There are fruit trees on most of the plot...will check just to make sure.. :thumb:

 

[johnnyboy1965]

I have Target, Challenger and Progress. They were taken as cuttings 2 years ago. Ill wait until mid spring and take some more cuttings. They will be 12 months behind rhizomes, but hey, there free.

 

[Dieseljockey]

No problem johnnyboy... will look forward to them...many thanks :thumb:

 

[Vossy1]

1, Do not rotovate unless you are willing to spray with Glysophate.

Why J :wha: I rotavated my plot for 4 years without the need to spray so not with you there.
What I would say regards rotovating is that if you have any couch grass of bind weed clear it before rotovating...unless your a sadist that is :lol:

 

[Dieseljockey]

Do not rotovate unless you are willing to spray with Glysophate.

We've been told that the lady before ran the plot on an organic basis, so if we can we would hope to continue with this...fingers crossed. :thumb:

 

[31bb3]

I'm sure she will be there to give some pointers aswell Brian

 

[Dieseljockey]

:thumb: Hope so Eddie...I'm no Percy Thrower...but we both intend to make a go at it.

 

[PD]

well that's your brewing curtailed till winter...... looks like lagers from now on :party: .....

 

[johnnyboy1965]

1, Do not rotovate unless you are willing to spray with Glysophate.

Why J :wha: I rotavated my plot for 4 years without the need to spray so not with you there.
What I would say regards rotovating is that if you have any couch grass of bind weed clear it before rotovating...unless your a sadist that is :lol:

If you rotivate all you do is chop the weeds into little pieces and they grow again. People give Glysophate a hard time, but it does not affect the soil, all it does is kill most roots. I would personally let the weeds grow for a bit, then spray, the rotovate. leave for a few weeks and repeat.

 

[Vossy1]

With you now The Mrs won't let me spray and the old timers would give me a VERY hard time if I didn't dig those weeds out :lol: I do understand not everyone has the time to dig them out, I know how hard and time consuming it can be.
My 1st plot which was 20m x 20m was 8' high in brambles when we got it and by the time we left it had been dug over 2 spades deep, no serious weeds remained, only those seeds blown in stood a chance. It takes time to weed a lotty properly, just take your time and you'll get there.
We used a manitis tiller with it's tines reversed to weed, that way it doesn't dig, only scratches to about 2" down, we could weed that entire plot in an hour. Naturally that didn't get rid of the weeds, it killed most, but if done every week those that remained can't get a hold.
The Mantis was also great for mounding up spuds, one run in the trough in digging mode (1 min max for 7m trough.) then pull the soil up job done...loved that tiller

 

[PD]

One years seeding...............7 years weeding...

 

[Dieseljockey]

We used a manitis tiller

I've looked on their website...look like a handy bit of kit....I do have a Merry tiller, but the thought of loading it into the back of the Renault magane each time we need it

 

[Vossy1]

:lol: . IIRC we sold our MT for £60 less than we paid which isn't bad for 2 years use, they hold their prices quite well, especially if you choose to sell it at the beginning of the season
I'm having another pop at a giant pumpkin this year and some exhibition onions which I've never tried before :pray:

 

[Crastney]

with apple trees you ideally need two or more of different varieties nearby as they don't generally self pollinate.
However, you've said there are other apple trees on the site, and if others are cropping then that probalby means that you have the right varieties around. but probably best to check before you buy anything, as you might end up with a tree that needs another type nearby that you don't have, and it could end up fruitless (literally!)

 

[Vossy1]

Just to add to what Crastney said, there are trees (triploid) that require 2 pollination partners, so unless you want 3 trees be careful what you're buying :grin:

 

[tbert33]

This may be of some use about pollinating apple trees:

http://www.ashridgetrees.co.uk/Apple-Tree-Pollination