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Hi Charles
I could do with some advice on a project that I had planned here on the farm which has just been put on hold. I had offered some land to the Parish Council for use as allotments and there were a couple in the village who were really keen and it was all looking really promising. Unfortunately,they have just pulled out due to concerns about the land and amount of work and as I’m really keen to get veg growing in the village started, I’m very disappointed. The soil is very heavy alkaline clay, unlike up the top of the hill where my garden is on acid sand! It is also quite wet and has quite a significant dock problem. As I am organic, herbicide is not an option and the site is about an acre and a half. The couple in question said they were daunted by the amount of work involved and felt that although there was support in the village for allotments, they didn’t feel anyone would come forward until the work was all done and the site prepared, fenced etc etc. So I’m wondering what I could do to take this forward? One thought was to get a contractor to mole plough the field, which should improve the drainage and then to spend the summer religiously topping to try and knock the docks back. I really don’t have the time to dig them up myself as have enough to do up top. I’m sure you appreciate the endless list of things to do feeling!
I’d appreciate any thoughts you might have. I’ve never gardened on clay myself and feel a bit out of my depth.
Yes I know that feeling and garden on clay and had docks, though less perhaps than you. Maybe you should aim to reclaim a small corner first and do it really well to inspire people.
Based on your description and in an ideal world I would buy an http://www.implementations.co.uk spade (sharp, easy and quick to use) and pay somebody to remove docks from part of the plot, say 3 allotments worth. Cutting the top 4-6" of roots has worked for me. Then mulch with 6" approx. of manure, grow potato, courgette, squash; not salad or carrots in first year.
I think that topping the docks does not solve the problem, just stops them seeding, and organic matter will improve drainage withing a year or two so no need to mole plough.
This forum has its moments. Also the order is wrong here, try clicking to reply or add a comment under mine this time to keep the entries sequential.
The Libra shovel is one I would never use for removing docks. It is based on long handled Irish shovels, good for shovelling, not so good for digging out, in my experience. Cost is the same as their Orion spade, all of £130…
The covering ability of ten tons manure depends on its density, anything from a twentieth to a twelfth of an acre at 6" thick. Two to three inches with black poly over is cheaper. A 6" thickness is more viable for smaller and less numerous beds, but you may have access to loads of manure. Apparently one cow produces, with bedding, four or five tons of manure annually.
I have an ‘allotment’ on a site run but a local farmer though not through the Parish Council. I think it is great. We were lucky because there had been pigs on site who ate all the weeds though their trotters do spoil the soil quality and the first dig was very difficult. But everything grows like crazy.
Do you have a local gardening club perhaps they could help spread the message.
Please do not give up.
May I add a suggestion, based on {bitter} experience. If you are planning the layout of allotment plots, please think ‘orientation’. I like my beds to be on a north-south axis so that the plants get the sun over them from one side to the other. It therefore helps a new gardener if the plots are orientated east-west to divide up into north-south beds. Somewhat pedantic maybe, but having a narrow plot which is not in this orientation can be extremely frustrating! I agree totally with Charles, start small, get that plot going and move on as and when. I too am on heavy (Nottingham) clay which is next to the pond of a local nature reserve; the previous incumbent had spent his gardening hours digging trenches to bury rubbish – layers of bricks, glass, old records, oil cans, clothing, a tape recorder and masses of broken concrete! We took on the plot at the age of 60, and had to clear hawthorn and bramble before we got to the rubbish! The site is privately owned and no assistance was on offer, but after two years the plot was laid out and becoming productive. After five years I have all my rotational beds working, and now have the inspiration of converting to no-dig! P.S. I never tread on my soil; I work from a plank on the larger beds. P.P.S. When we have a cuppa I pour the residual boiling water down the top of cut-off docks, as recommended by one of the old school; not sure if it works yet, but it makes you feel better.
Hi Sue, Great to read your story, sounds like you have done a great job on your allotment. Having worked on so many different sites on allotments it never ceases to amaze me what you find underground and sounds like you certainly found plenty of treasure! I would always advise anyone taking on a new garden to dig the whole area over first before converting to no dig. You just never know what you will find. Took 4 large builders skips to get rid of all the rubbish on my last effort not to mention over 1000 bricks which have been reused for paths and hard standings.
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