Just got my first allotment plot :D

Tomtom07

I've just been down my local parish council and signed all the paper work and I now have my first allotment plot :eek:

I just needed to share the news with someone, as the OH is busy at work, and the kids are at school lol

Any suggestions on how I should start out (or any good websites out there) I don't want to look too stupid in front of all the old boys

poppysarah

Get some photos.

Draw a plan and work out what was grown on it before.

wellused

Is it overgrown and neglected or are you lucky enough to get one that has been loved and cared for? If it the former it's a bit too late in the year for weedkiller so I would suggest forking the weeds out and disposing of any perennial roots. Good luck I hope that you are prepared for some hard work.;)

EpsomOldie

How exciting TomTom07! As mentioned above, what kind of state is it in? If it's in pristine condition (ha ha!) you could get some garlic in now. However if it's overgrown and needs a lot of attention, it might be too hard to dig out the weeds given that the bad weather and frost is upon us.

If it's all weedy, it were me, I'd cover the plot with weed suppressing membrane and the lack of light will,over the winter, kill off all but the most pernicious weeds which you can then start to dig out when the soil starts to warm up in the spring.

You also could clear it of any junk / debris and take it to the tip. It's surprisingly satisfying to do this.

A tip from bitter experience: keep the ratty bits covered while you tackle a bit at a time. And once you've cleared a patch, either get some crops in, or cover it with membrane or mulch (old compost from tubs, stable manure etc) until you're ready to plant it up, or it'll quickly be all weedy again as you'll have brought up dormant seeds to the surface. This only takes a short time to happen - a few weeks of atrocious weather in spring - enough to keep you away from the allotment - is long enough for it to happen. This happened to me and broke my heart after all the work I'd put in, and nearly broke my spirit.

The membrane I use is the heavy duty stuff from here:http://www.hedging.co.uk/acatalog/Index_Weed_Control_Fabric.html it's light to handle and reasonably priced for the quality. I've been using it for about 8 years and there's no UV degradation.

Whatever you decide to do with your new allotment TomTom07, enjoy it and don't give up. And like a poster above said, take photos so that you can admire your progress, take measurements, and make plans over the winter.

Hope this helps.

kymrob

congrats, ive had one for 4 years now and love it! get digging best time of year! still time to get garlic in and maybe over winter onions, just start getting ready for spring, what size is it? did u wait long? try looking on (allotments4all) for lots great help and advice

Tomtom07

Thanks everyone above, sorry I haven't posted since the first post, suddenly went made here.

Finally got up there today to have a good look, needs a good tidy up and digging over, but other than that it's not too bad. Think this side of xmas its just a case of getting it all ready to grow next year Have taken some pics and will add them soon. Any more advice would be more than welcome, like I said I need to not embarrass myself in front of all the old boys & prove to my 5 year old I still am the greatest dad in the world

superskintmouse

Ah congratulations, i will be following this thread very closely as i signed up for my first plot today, we have already embarrassed ourselves by thinking ruby chard was rhubarb (rolls eyes). our plot is approx 20ft by 30ft? havent got the measurements yet, think its done in square foot. ours is pretty much cleared apart from some existing raspberry bushes. We are going to get a shed and make a cold frame as ours is quite a windy spot. we dont get the keys until january tho so we have plenty of time to plan what we want to do with it. Have you grown veg before tomtom07? we have only pottered in the garden without much success.

Tomtom07

dawemouse wrote: »

Ah congratulations, i will be following this thread very closely as i signed up for my first plot today, we have already embarrassed ourselves by thinking ruby chard was rhubarb (rolls eyes). our plot is approx 20ft by 30ft? havent got the measurements yet, think its done in square foot. ours is pretty much cleared apart from some existing raspberry bushes. We are going to get a shed and make a cold frame as ours is quite a windy spot. we dont get the keys until january tho so we have plenty of time to plan what we want to do with it. Have you grown veg before tomtom07? we have only pottered in the garden without much success.

Ah I've only done the garden thing (for the last 2 years) done ok with potatoes for the first couple of years but everything else has been a bit hit and miss really

We're taking our time with this and not getting all our hopes up in the first year or so.

So far we have started to clear some of the rubbish left by the last person who had the plot and planned the layout, next thing to do is to get digging and prep for the next spring.

All very exciting really

wellused

I've been working my new plot for a few months now and have got it cleared of weeds and dug about 1/3 of it, at first the digging was fairly easy but since we had heavy rain it has become much harder and messier to dig. I have instead been spending quite a bit of time burning all of the weeds that I cleared, that is a smelly job but it has to be done. I intend to carry on digging up to the half way point and then clear the top which has lots of bramble roots in it using an adza or mattock so I will remove the roots but only break the soil up rather than deep digging as I have done on the bottom half, this should take me up to the spring period when I can then start planting up for next season.