# Allotment Keepers



## Noakesy85 (Dec 27, 2008)

Last October prior to deploying my wife and I took on a plot at our local Allotment. As you can see from the photos we didn't have much except a blank canvas to make our own.

In the 2 weeks before deploying I managed to dig up 2/3 of the area and build 4 raised planters.

This is how it stayed until my return in early Feb. From there I dug in 2 larger beds and fenced off the plot. We also purchased a 4m×3m dog run as we intended to put chickens in there.

So far we have garlic, strawberries, rhubarb, carrots, parsnips and broccoli growing. We also have pumpkins, tomatoes, lettuces and onions in the pollytunnel.

We still need to plant our cucumbers, peppers and beans prior for transplanting outside in the next couple of months.

The purpose for this post is to see how many like minded people are out there? I'm interested to see other allotments.

Also for any chicken wranglers... what sort of things have you incorporated into your runs to keep the little cluckers entertained?















































































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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Nice one. It's a lot of work, weeds don't stop growing but it gets you out the house in the evening!

We took ours on circa 4 years ago, it is a large half plot. You are quite lucky, this was ours when we took it on!










A bit of hard graft and we sectioned it into manageable bays and went from there.










We took on the half plot next to us last year, mostly grass and fruit trees, with a bay of good soil. Last year was pants though, very dry, hard work and little reward, although the corn on the cob was awesome.

We must have had a perfect winter for the soil though, we've been down a few weekends this year and the soil is just falling apart. Onions are in, spuds to go in when the rain stops.


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## Noakesy85 (Dec 27, 2008)

That looks propper smart Shiny!! I can tell you have put a lot of time and effort in.

I totally agree too, it is tons of hard work but the end result is worth it when you see something you've planted grow and start to bare fruit.

We've just taken on a second 'Half' plot one down from our large plot, this is going to be our 'Overrun' plot where we plan to plant our Pumpkins, Lettuces and Beans. We've also been gifted a load of bamboo canes which ill be using to make A-Frames like yours as well as frames to protect our Broccoli as you can see from the picture below. Since I took this photo we've planted the second half of the broccoli and covered in the same way.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

It all tastes so much better too. Good luck with the pumpkins, mine were a disaster last year!

Mind you, when you add in allotment rental and cost of the shed, greenhouse, rotavator, tiller, lawn mower, strimmer, tools, canes, tunnels, netting, weedkiller, slug pellets and seeds, it only works out at about £13 per carrot!


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## Noakesy85 (Dec 27, 2008)

Shiny said:


> It all tastes so much better too.
> 
> Mind you, when you add in allotment rental and cost of the shed, greenhouse, rotavator, tiller, lawn mower, strimmer, tools, canes, weedkiller, slug pellets and seeds, it only works out at about £13 per carrot!


Haha totally worth it  i cannot wait to taste what we've grown! Our chickens have just started laying (we've had them a week so far) and i have to say, Fresh eggs are phenomenal compared to shop bought.

luckily we pay 45 a year for both our plots and that includes a spot in Polly-tunnel, the use of the site shed along with all its tools (mower/strimmer/rotavator/shovels etc). As for weeds... the wife doesn't mind getting her knees dirty to pull them up... at least until September after we have finished harvesting, then we will let the chickens out to take care of the rest and to fertilise the soil for next season :thumb:


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Wow, that's a good price. Ours is a council plot, circa £80 from memory and for that we get a water trough that you have to wait to fill up when everyone uses it! Having use of all the tools is a massive bonus and will save you a fortune!

We've bought a lot of stuff from ebay, the rotavator was £60 and is a beast, older than I am, but does the job with a 5hp Briggs & Stratton 4 stroke engine. Most stuff we can easily sell on if we pack up and i'll move the shed to our back garden.

A couple two down have half a dozen chickens, they don't half produce some eggs!


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## Noakesy85 (Dec 27, 2008)

Yeah we're pretty lucky to have the facilities readily available. The outlaws have a plot on the outskirts of Norwich and they're in a similar situation to yourself having to buy all the equipment themselves. Being able to sell stuff on in the future is ideal, especially if you've had your moneys worth from it.

We only have 4 but could get more in the future, so far only 1 is laying but they're still quite young (eldest is 21 weeks). Can't wait until they are all laying.

Ive just noticed where you're from... I'm originally from RWB on the other side of J16


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## JP83 (Mar 6, 2019)

For the chucks, hang a cabbage on a piece of string that they can jump at. 

They love a bit of roughage to peck through, so any old dirt/ leftovers, chuck it in there. Cat food is especially a favourite. 

We keep a couple at home, but they have the freedom of the garden. Great for keeping borders and inbetween bushes tidy.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Noakesy85 said:


> Ive just noticed where you're from... I'm originally from RWB on the other side of J16


:thumb: I've got the added bonus that I talk like a farmer :lol:


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## Noakesy85 (Dec 27, 2008)

JP83 said:


> For the chucks, hang a cabbage on a piece of string that they can jump at.
> 
> They love a bit of roughage to peck through, so any old dirt/ leftovers, chuck it in there. Cat food is especially a favourite.
> 
> We keep a couple at home, but they have the freedom of the garden. Great for keeping borders and inbetween bushes tidy.


Ive currently got a cauliflower hanging from the side of their Coop, I've also dug in an old tyre for them climb on.

Tonight I will be building a small square frame with some wire across the top to allow grass to grow through. The idea there is to allow them to have access to a grassy area whilst still destroying everything else around it. if they cant pull the grass from the root it should keep coming back and give them a constant supply.

I have a few other boredom busters to build so i'll take pics and post here as i build them.

For the Grass patch box below I still need to add a strip across the front to hold down the wire. I'll add that tomorrow.


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

Keep moving the run would be my advice so they can dig and lie in the dirt. Hang weeds and food up on string and they will 'jump-jet' to get to it.

The patch of garden that is going to be our veg patch was a right mess, two sheds gone and 3 rotten compost heaps moved later, the lot was levelled and tidied up by the fencing contractors and their minidigger.:thumb:


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## Noakesy85 (Dec 27, 2008)

ollienoclue said:


> Keep moving the run would be my advice so they can dig and lie in the dirt. Hang weeds and food up on string and they will 'jump-jet' to get to it.
> 
> The patch of garden that is going to be our veg patch was a right mess, two sheds gone and 3 rotten compost heaps moved later, the lot was levelled and tidied up by the fencing contractors and their minidigger.:thumb:


I would move it but unfortunately we don't have the space. Maybe when we buy our forever home we'll have a garden large enough to have a mobile run.

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