[shelley77]

Hello my name is Shelley.

I LOVE being in my garden and have successfully grown some soft fruit this year....So I start thinking "what I need is an allotment"...I rang a number spoke to a lovely lady and she tell me "yes there is one vacant now but I cant hold it for you".So I snap it up.

Ok so this is where I have a problem.I think I'm slightly in over my head(literally the nettles are about 7ft high).I honestly thought that I'd have a couple of years to wait and mull it over.But no!My plot has nothing except the above mentioned nettles and loads of poppies.No-one has touched it for years!!!

I guess I'm looking for a mentor or something because I have no idea where to start and any help or advice would be more than appreciated 

[allotmentann]

Hello and welcome. Congratulations on your instant plot! There is loads of information on this site giving advice on clearing your plot, the biggest thing is not to panic and don't rush it. Clear a little at a time and clear it well and shut your eyes to the rest until you have time to do it. Covering it with card or weed membrane until you have time will help a lot. Just enjoy it.

[Fairy Plotmother]

Welcome. take your time and do it bit by bit and enjoy yourself. I've certainly got a couple of patches to start off and I'm at the end of my 3rd season.

[BobE]

Shelly, Welcome.  Put a picture in so we can see the plot please.

You could use roundup, but, windless day, don't let the spray go anyware but on your nettles.
You could chop them down and build a compost heap.
You could make a nettle tea for next season.
Like FPM says do a strip or a square say 8 x 4 you could pland broad beans in October.
Chair and a flask of tea, thinking and planning.

[BabbyAnn]

Hi Shelley - chances are the plot has only been vacant a year ... the plot I gave up only last year hasn't been taken on and you'd think I'd never weeded it in all the years I had it.  Grasses and nettles so tall, you'd got lost in it LOL.

Good thing about nettles is that it is a sign of fertile soil    Personally I would strim the whole lot down first (see if you can borrow a petrol strimmer as the stems are likely to be a bit woody by now) and rake everything into a big pile and let it naturally compost down and you might be able to start to using it next year (don't worry about weed seeds at this point - your plot will already be full of them anyway so just take it in your stride and not stress about it)

If you go down the weedkiller route, let the strimmed bit get a bit of growth on (I know - scary, but essential) as most weedkillers will only be effective on actively growing plants (most plants usually bounce back quite quickly to get new leaves out and strimming it first just makes it easier to put the weedkiller down and use less of it)  Choose a day with very little wind as you don't want to upset your neighbours by accidentally contaminating his/her plot, and a day when there is unlikely to be rain for at least 6 hours but longer would be best so that the weedkiller is getting to work)  It can take about 2-3 weeks before you see progress after using weedkiller, and where there are no signs of die-back, give them another treatment.  Be aware that weeds will still come back, and probably with a vengeance as you will have opened up the area allowing more light through to the soil and this will trigger all those weed seeds on the surface to germinate.  They are usually easier to deal with (new seedlings can be hoe-ed or strimmed) but the trick is to keep on top of them.  Things will slow down rapidly after the first frosts about mid-October so will help you to dig and clear the ground without the weeds popping up quite so quickly.   

If on the other hand you want to avoid weedkiller, then this will take longer.  I would suggest you cover areas with something like black plastic to exclude light and this will slow down their growth until you are ready to clear the ground.  Make sure you dig up the roots of perennial weeds like dandelion, dock, nettles and couch grass (as well as the notorious bindweed and marestail if you are unfortunate to have these on your plot)   

Read your allotment site rules that should be with the tenants agreement - it should tell you how much of the plot needs to be cultivated within a certain period, and what structures you are allowed/not allowed to erect (some can be quite fussy)  Get to know your neighbours - they'll be a source of information such as where to get manure and if there is a garden association (my site has a couple of sheds where seed, canes and fertilisers are so much cheaper and more convenient to buy, as well as the potato catalogue due in a short while because orders generally go out in October/November before the site emtpies over the winter months)

Most important of all, start an early Christmas wish list for all those tools you'll suddenly find an interest in - a good quality spade and garden fork, maybe a wheel barrow, hoe, rake .......... 

[mumofstig]

John (the site owner) has some advice here

http://www.allotment-garden.org/allotment/clearing-new-allotment-plot.php

[polly nator]

If the weather continues like this you could see it as a pleasurable experience clearing a little bit every day. As someone else said - dont go mad. If you do too much one day you risk putting yourself off the whole idea! Even the old blokes down on my local  allotment site say that a couple of hours weeding at one time is enough. I certainly find that two and a half hours can pass fairly quickly but then I'm finished! I had to clear some nettle (and mares tail) patches on the friends allotment of which I have been loaned enough space for some pumpkins. In some ways I was amazed at how little I  seemed to have done in each two and a half hour slot but I must have done it properly because its been easy to keep up with now.

One way of looking at it is that if you spend time clearing some patches by hand (hopefully to get something put in this year) you DO get to know the soil and the resident weeds very well.

Howabout clearing some space and getting some fruit bushes in - Aldi had a good range of cheap and healthy specimens a week or so ago - gooseberies, grapes, raspberries, gojiberries, tayberries, currants.  Another thing to try would be to buy some leek plants which could go in now and overwinter.

Good luck!

[compostqueen]

I'm still clearing my plot and I've had it for years    When you work on the plot alone you have to be realistic about what you can achieve. Rome wasn't built in a day 

If you do go ahead with it, just take your time. There's no hurry. It will still be there tomorrow 

[devonbarmygardener]

My plot has also taken years to get perfect and even now 9 years later I'm changing a few things...
Take your time. You have the whole of the autumn to clear and manure ready for spring

[shelley77]

Thank you for all the great advice.I think I was panicking slightly hahaha. It's just the sheer size of it!...440sq metres.
I was talking to one of the old guys up there and he told me that every year someone takes this plot on and every year someone proceeds to give it up.I don"t want to be that person!

I think I will have to borrow a strimmer before I take a pic as I'm not tall enough to see over the weeds.I have given the weed killer route some thought but having little kids on the plot with poison everywhere scares me.

My youngest child starts nursery in Sept so I think I will hit it hard for a couple of hours a day then.

Wish me luck

[BabbyAnn]

Thank you for all the great advice.I think I was panicking slightly hahaha. It's just the sheer size of it!...440sq metres.

Have to say that IS a very big plot - I'm surprised it has never been split into 2 plots (during the waiting lists, many multi-plot holders had to give one up which was instantly split into 2 to reduce the list)   And wow, you could easily use some of that space up with fruit trees (again, read the rules first of how much area can be dedicated to trees), fruit bushes etc.  You must be excited    Good luck with the plot and let us know how you get on.

Just out of interest, if you want to grow raspberries, bare rooted canes are cheaper and become available from about end October/November at the garden centres (Bardills used to be very cheap) - clear a "permanent" bed for them and prepare it ready for planting later.  Also a couple of beds for garlic (mid October) and overwintering onions (mid September - mid October) to lift up June/July next year.  Then you'll have things in the ground already which is always an uplifter 

[Salmo]

I think I will have to borrow a strimmer before I take a pic as I'm not tall enough to see over the weeds.I have given the weed killer route some thought but having little kids on the plot with poison everywhere scares me.

The weedkiller mentioned by several (Roundup, or any others containing the chemical glyphosate) is one of the safer ones as it breaks down as soon as it reaches the soil and is not corrosive to handle. With small children you will need to establish a safe place to store any chemicals, slug pellets, fertilisers and sharp tools.

Roundup is not particularly good on mature nettles. They die best when allowed to regrow after cutting so they are about 6 inches high. Roundup kills right down to the root tips so you only have to dig out most of the roots afterwards. If you decide to just dig them out then it must be 100% or they will soon be back.

If I were to give you just one piece of advice it would be not to plant anything until you are 100% sure you have removed the weeds. This will probably mean waiting until the Spring to plant anything. Fruit bushes with nettles growing in them are a nightmare.

With a plot that size you need a plan of action. My approach would be
 - cut off all growth and remove or burn
 - break up the soil with a rotovator ( hire a big one or get someone to do it, the latter might work out cheaper and is less physically punishing.)
 - purchase some heavy duty black polythene sheet and cover until Spring. Weigh it down.
 - uncover a bit at a time and either dig out weed roots or wait a while and weedkiller any regrowth
 - start planting

I have observed a number of plots that fail. The main reason is usually a lack of any real plan, digging and planting willy nilly. Also they do not listen to advice. Remember that you can always listen to advice but you have no need to take it. If you spend much time on this forum you will soon learn that five gardeners will have six answers to every problem.

[devonbarmygardener]

Good luck Shelley.

Believe in yourself and don't let it get you down - you'll get there

[azubah]

All of the weeds, except grass, will die down in winter, so that should help. You just have to dig up the roots then.
You have plenty of time to get it ready for spring planting.
Best wishes.

[goodtogrow]

I haven't had 100% success with weedkiller on nettles, even after 2 applications and waiting weeks in between, during the right time of year.  Their roots systems are resilient, even if the top growth dies completely.

So agree with others about being thorough when it comes to getting the roots out, which sort of implies it's not worth spraying if you still have to dig out the roots.

Also agree to have a modest expectation of what you can reasonably achieve, bit by bit.  And to give any cleared area time next spring to flush up with more weeds, mainly annuals, but also nettle you've missed, so that you can control them, at least twice, before planting anything.

Personally I would favour planting potatoes in early May as the very first thing you put in.  And to spend the whole of the period from now until this time next year just bringing it under control, calming it down.

Best wishes

Tom