Hi, Broken rake here!

[Broken rake]

I am new to all this but hopefully getting a new lawn soon and a small allotment.

P.S. I don’t mean I have a broken rake.

 

[Tetters]

Well @Broken rake , welcome to our forums, and I hope you will find you came to the right place We will look forward to hearing about your new gardening projects, (and looking at photos too, maybe) and hope we can give support and advice if you find you need it.

 

[zigs]

Welcome to the forum

Got my first allotment when I was in my early twenties. I'm old now

 

[Broken rake]

Well @Broken rake , welcome to our forums, and I hope you will find you came to the right place We will look forward to hearing about your new gardening projects, (and looking at photos too, maybe) and hope we can give support and advice if you find you need it.

Thank you for the welcome and I think your avatar is amazing. Did you make that all by yourself?

 

[Tetters]

That's my groot - I dress her up. This is for when she goes shopping. I was born daft
Old and silly !!

 

[Broken rake]

That is truly remarkable, do other shoppers give her/you weird looks? I mean that in a nice way.

 

[LouisFerdinand]

Bonjour, @Broken rake! What type of grass will the new lawn have?

 

[Broken rake]

Is there more than 1 type? I thought grass was grass, I have a lot to learn. I have heard of bluegrass and pampas grass (I think) but you don’t mean that do you?

 

[LouisFerdinand]

Is there more than 1 type? I thought grass was grass, I have a lot to learn. I have heard of bluegrass and pampas grass (I think) but you don’t mean that do you?

I do not mean decorative grasses. I am referring to regular lawn grass.

 

[Broken rake]

Hi my fellow green fingered friends. I have now acquired the new lawn. I think there may have been some confusion (due to the way my post read).

When I said, I was getting a new lawn and small allotment, what I actually meant was that they would come with the house.

The lawn is much bigger than anticipated but it already has grass on it. Don’t ask me which type because I don’t know. I also have this small allotment and a new bucket.

Not sure what I should be planting this time of year? Perhaps sugar beet or something.

 

[Marck]

In Zone 8, try a Fall planting of cole crops, such as cabbage, kale, and Brussel sprouts. A particularly fine one for winter is Tat Soi. You can order seeds of it online, if not locally available. Other Fall to Winter crops to consider would be leeks, onions, parsnip, carrots, etc. Yes, do try garden beets too. Growing sugar beets would be odd for an allotment crop, but it could be a fun experiment.

It is best to consult with other nearby gardeners to learn more about your particular local conditions.

 

[Broken rake]

Thanks for the advice, I didn’t appreciate that you could grow so much in winter. Particularly onions, I thought they liked hot weather being associated with France.

 

[Marck]

Thanks for the advice, I didn’t appreciate that you could grow so much in winter. Particularly onions, I thought they liked hot weather being associated with France.

Onions can do well over winter. Of course, a Winter vegetable garden is really a Fall to Spring garden. Prepare your beds and plant soon.

 

[DirtMechanic]

In Zone 8, try a Fall planting of cole crops, such as cabbage, kale, and Brussel sprouts. A particularly fine one for winter is Tat Soi. You can order seeds of it online, if not locally available. Other Fall to Winter crops to consider would be leeks, onions, parsnip, carrots, etc. Yes, do try garden beets too. Growing sugar beets would be odd for an allotment crop, but it could be a fun experiment.

It is best to consult with other nearby gardeners to learn more about your particular local conditions.

Be advised the UK is on a different scale than USDA grow zones.

 

[Marck]

Be advised the UK is on a different scale than USDA grow zones.

The USDA Climate Zone system is used internationally, and Shropshire is Zone 8 (10º to 20ºF /-12º to -6º C). Of course it is important to remember that the USDA Zones only measure one factor, minimum annual temperature. Other factors such as high temperature and average wind and humidity levels are not considered. The USDA Zones can be used globally as long as one remembers they are only useful in determining cold hardiness.

Of course, there are other classifications: The Royal Horticultural Society does have an equivalent system ranging from H1 to H7. Australia and Canada do have other systems. Canada's is complexly multi-factorial, as are the Sunset Magazine Climate Zones which were developed for western North America. The American Horticultural Society has developed a Heat Zone classification that calculates the number of days when temperatures exceed 86 °F/30 °C. None of these are widely used internationally, though that could be done.