New plot and soil top-up

Hi all,

I just got a new (and my first) allotment from my town council and quite happy with that.
It needs some good cleaning and I am concerned about the soil height. How can I evaluate if I need to integrate and top-up the soil is gonna remain after my cleaning activities?

Here few photos of my plot:



Cheers
Ste

 

At least you got a good bit to start with mine was just 6ft brambles lol
Anyway you’ll find when you dig it over the soil will be compacted so as it loosens it will fill more of the bed up but if like mine you still need more apparently manure manure manure it will fill the bed and do the world of good

 

Take no notice for now of those raised frames. They will give off an illusion the soil height is low.

My advice would be to get stuck in with a fork and turn it methodically. Then chop into what you have turned with the fork, with a spade, criss crossing as you go. Then rake it over.

Concentrate on a bed at a time and set yourself manageable targets. It’s easy to be put off if you start one area, give up and move on. The job list will pile up.

Once the beds are turned, get to work on removing any large pebbles and stones.

Be aware that with it being spring, and the fact you will be turning the earth, you will most likely kickstart weed growth. Which isn’t a bad thing necessarily, because at least then, you can go in with a hoe and remove them.

If the raised frames are salvageable, replace them back to their original place, and you'll notice that your soil height isn’t low at all.

Good luck and keep your thread going as you progress.

 

As @Tinker86 said one at a time doesn’t seem like any work then and in the mean time if you can cover the other beds with black plastic to start killing the weeds o didn’t grow in any of my beds last year just dug over pulled out what I could find then just covered uncovered 3days ago and soil was still lovely and loose and weed free (for now) I also put wood chips down on the pathways

 

Hey, thanks all for your replies.
I know original beds are a good starting point. Planks quality is quite low, they're not new, and probably they were already recycled. I was considering how to replace them. I know about used pallets but what I found is that pallets are becoming 'expensive' and people/companies prefer to sell them rather than throw away.
I will start gradually for sure. My question about soil was driven by plastic sheets I've seen so far dividing soil in the bed from the ground. I supposed that, with a plastic sheet beneath, the height of soil would be only a few inches and maybe not really enough for some vegs.

Generally speaking, I am not sure about how many inches should be available. For lettuce probably just 2, for other vegs maybe more.

I will keep you posted. If weather permits, I am gonna start during the weekend.

 

Are you considering placing a weed membrane underneath your growing medium to suppress weeds?

Allotment gardening is unlike home gardening in that sense, if that be the case anyway. The only time I’d suggest using sheeting would be to place over not under the soil. If you’re considering placing it under, you are going to have to turn the soil. Then move it away from the bed. Then place down the sheeting. Then put the soil back. Soil that will most likely have numerous weed seeds desperate to germinate. And they will.

So before you consider that approach, IF that is what you’re meaning, ask yourself WHY you’re doing that? For what gain? If you find the answer is, not much gain, then don’t do it and save yourself so much time and effort.

Good luck either way. I love getting up the plot. If you progress quick enough, you may still have a pretty successful season.

All the best

 

I think you mis understood Conver the beds in plastic to kill all growth then uncover one bed at a time dig it over and clean out any remaining weeds roots large stones and anything else you don’t want in it
Then recover the bed until ready to plant this helps keep weeds down keeps the soil from getting compact and stops nutrients being washed through I wouldn’t recommend putting soil on any type of plastic/membrane it will cause more problems than it’s worth especially plastic it won’t let the water drain and you’ll end up with just mud
I’m going to uncover one of my beds tomorrow will take pictures and so you what I mean

 

Well, just an update. I tried to do something during the weeked. I have discovered that soil is still too wet, basically is a solid piece of mud. Moreover, the few hedges of grass (probably festuca) are deeply-rooted, so trying to remove them with the current state was a bit hard.
Hence, I tried to clean and hoe the ground of one bed and it took one hour with a miserable result. I will wait few days hoping to have some sun.

S

 

There’s no rush it happens when it happens if you try to much it’s more a chore than a relaxing time on days like today there’s only one important thing to remember and that’s a flask remember to enjoy