Last weekend plot 11w had some visitors. Armed with power tools and plenty of enthusiasm my lovely dad and OH came down to the allotment to give me a hand making raised beds. The weather was warm and sunny but with a fresh breeze, I call it perfect allotment weather. In return for their time plenty of tea was consumed, oh and biscuits too of course.
I took on the half plot in January this year and spent a lot of time clearing rubbish, mainly plastic sheeting buried under a foot of top soil which wasn’t fun I can tell you! The plot was abandoned for so long the weeds really took hold, I find myself constantly weeding but annoyingly they seem to reappear overnight. The plot also has terrible drainage due to very heavy clay soil which has never been improved since the allotment site first opened 10 years ago, water pools for a long while before slowly running off. I decided raised beds was the way to go with this plot, completely different to my other plot which is a traditional allotment style.
As you can see it’s taking shape! The raised beds are made from untreated scaffold planks which are really sturdy and a good height, I used a non toxic wood stain treatment which is completely safe for contact with garden soil. I have blogged about this in more detail here.
The beds will be no dig which is why there’s cardboard on the bottom, this will supress weed growth and weaken any that do make it through once the cardboard begins to biodegrade. The rocks and bricks etc are there just to keep the cardboard in place, they are removed before adding soil. For the paths I’m using a heavy duty fabric membrane to prevent weeds coming through, once this is all in position I will top it with wood chippings.
It will look so much nicer once the paths are down and things are planted, this will help soften the ‘boxy’ look going on at the moment.
Allotment Haven 
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