2007 Allotment Planting Plan

The planting plan for 2007 was a little different as we began to rotate our crops on a three year cycle and so, plant accordingly to thier PH preferences. The front of the plot nearest the shed was manured wth liberal quantities of well rotted horse manure whilst the strip along the side of the path and a patch in the middle of the plot was left fallow. The rear patch which housed our pumpkins in 2006 was quite stony and weedy and so was not ideal for the root vegetables we put in it. However it did seem the most suitbale place to lime and so these crops were planted there with more soil preparation.

In the manured area we planted very hungry crops such as beans, pumpkins and squashes as well as potatoes. We had heard differing accounts of what to do with potatoes at the time, and we remembered that in 2006 we did have a significant ammount of scab present. In order to counter this we placed them within the fallow area, however this would have been in the same place as 2006 and so, not suitable if we are trynig to discourage the build up of pests such as wire worm. So they were placed in the mainly in the manured area and a keen eye on thier growing progress was kept.

We attempted to keep the brassicas on the fallow areas of the site which were planted with a handful of lime eact to deter club root etc. Carrots were once again intersperced with highly scented crops such as onions etc to try and deter carrot fly although horticultural fleece and some  "earthing up" was also used. A different stratagem for the hot crops like tomatoes, chillies and methods was devised for this season, in particular, the "monolith" (DIY Portable greenhouse) was moved to a new permanent home and they were all placed inside it, which seemed a very good scheme, until blight struck.