[johnnyb]

hi everybody i have just got an allotment and am in the process of digging it out and was going to cover it with black plastic sheets until i start planting in the new year is this a good idea and does anyone have any helpful tips as to what to do next

[Sive]

I just received my Irish Garden magazine this morning, and that's exactly what it advises to do with vegetable beds over the winter......and if you can add a layer of manure to the soil before you cover it with plastic ( or old carpets) so much the better !

[johnnyb]

Thanks Sive I have loads of manure available to me so will do that

[tippben]

Congratulations on your new allotment! You are going to get loads of weeds in the first year, so only uncover the space you need to plant. Don't expect to get the whole space working in the first year unless you have loads of time- you will need to weed, weed weed. You could grow spuds and jerusalem artichokes, and maybe the squash family, as their leaves should outcompete weeds. Use your first year to really improve the soil, and eradicate the pernicious weeds such as grass, creeping buttercup, bittercress, and dock.

Bear in mind that nettles and brambles are two things- firstly a food crop, secondly, a vital resource for the larvae of butterflies- they only eat them, not your cabbages, so don't worry. Either way, don't eradicate all of them. Nettles also make a brilliant liquid feed. When you pull chickweed, don't put it in the bin, put it in your salads- delicious!

Definitely put in any perennial crops you want, like fruit bushes, rhubarb, asparagus, and herbs like oregano, mint and fennel. Don't stint on the ground preperation for these, as they will be there forever. A quick google should point you the right way. Good Luck!

[johnnyb]

Just took off the black plastic and everything seems to be fine no obvious problems .Would now be a good time to put down some early potatoes/onions or should I wait a few more weeks :also is it to soon to put down some early peas