[tiredmum]

I had a phone call today and there is an allotment with my name on it!! hoorah!
Apparentely another woman has had it for a year and has done nothing with it, so he's persuaded her to part with it....    I was told that as shes done nothing it is pretty overgrown, which I was expecting to be honest.
I'm going to view it on Wednesday, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to take it anyway...(I don't know when the next one will come available)
It will be myself and five of the children 'doing' the allotment though hubby has said he'll give us a hand to get started...
Now the questions, as I'm a complete novice, I thought I would clear as much of it as I can to start with, what would be the best things to plant straight away from seed?
I'll have more questions later, I'm just working my way through things...
Thanks
Cazz

[LadyPlod]

Good for you getting an allotment!
Think you're wise accepting what you're offered, these patches of land are gold dust......... still waiting for mine!
LP

[Nikkithefoot]

Congrats on your allotment. I'm still waiting too.

I would only clear a bit at a time and plant up as you go. That way you will keep on top of things, and not get too disheartened thinking how much more to go.

Have fun  

Nikki

[Angelah]

We're clearing our allotment ready for our first round of crops too, so we're clearing a bit at a time and keeping as much as pos of the rest covered.

I don't know how old your children are, or how helpful they'll be, we've got a 3 and a 5 year old who love helping, but are more of a hindrance, so we've made sure they've both got their own spot which we've cleared a bit so they can dig to their hearts content, that and a few child size tools and they're more than happy!

Have fun, we're having great fun, and we haven't planted anything yet!!! Spuds are desperate to go in, but it's been too wet, fingers crossed for this weekend!

[durham_lass]

Still clearing my lottie and I've had mine since November.   Bad weather is the main hindrance.  I have managed to get 1.5 beds dug over so far.  There is still one to go and a broken down shed to dismantle.   Still haven't decided whether to build a new shed or just leave it and use the space as an extra bed. I have potatoes waiting to go in but weather still too cold up here.

I have started tomato plants off on my windowsill and will probably plant them in tubs in my back garden.

[retrorose]

I have planted parsnips, onion sets, letuce, carrots and peas.

[SkipRat]

Congrats on your new (to be) Lotty tiredmum. Lots of hard work in front of you but with five kids and a hubby you,ll soon get through it. Keep us all informed of your progress.    

[GreenOwl]

Here's a useful link on clearing an overgrown allotment:

http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/allotment/allotment-clear-1.asp

Don't try and clear it all at once, you will run out of energy and won't get anything planted.  Clear a bit, plant it, clear the next bit etc.

Potatoes tend to be a good crop to start with.  They have lush foliage which smothers the weeds - keeping your bed weed-free.  You should still be able to get seed potatoes (Wilkos, Garden Centres etc.) but they will need to be planted this month.

Courgettes and summer or winter squash are another weed-smothering veg.  Start off at home on a windowsill later this month to go out late May/early June.

Beans are easy as well.  Runner beans require supports, but dwarf french beans don't.  Lovely crop.  I usually plant in situ but it might be better to start them off at home.

Don't worry if you find yourself putting stuff in late and don't expect to get the whole thing cleared and growing stuff this growing season.

All the best

[Mercuria]

Congratulations!  I'm sure you won't regret it.  We took on our plot (Gloucester Road in Northampton) this time last year when it was pretty grassy and overgrown.  Here's what I learned from the first year:

1. If you are going to have it ploughed/rotivatored- be prepared to get out there and rake it, rake it, rake it over and over again until you have cleared all (or as many as possible) of the bits of cut up weed roots.  I didn't apart from one patch.  The result was that after going away on holiday during the wettest May on record, we returned to find that  a little part of the Amazon was thriving in Northamptonshire.  Where I could be bothered to rake was pretty much weed free.

2.If you are not already, get yourself on Freecycle. Pretty much all the odds and sods you need on the lottie can be found on there and it's so green it competes with your lettuces! Same goes for the Aldi/Lidl/Woolies/Wilkinsons e-mail newletters- seeds for 29p a pack?  Yes Please!

3. If you aren't going to plough the area to clear it, then invest in some of the black weed suppressant fleece (or similar- heavy duty cardboard is pretty good I found) to do the job for you.  Just make sure you peg it down properly as the wind will whip it away.

4. You'll learn more from your failures than your sucesses- like when I 'weeded' out all my parsnip seedlings! Or underestimating the size of patch I'd need for pumpkins.....

5. If, like me, you've got a little person in tow, don't overestimate the length of time they'll be prepared to stay on the plot, even with diversions. If it's just you then you can get some of the heavier stuff done, with them around you might need to limit your plans somewhat.

I'm sure you're going to love it.  Drop me a line and let me know how you get on (and which site you are on as there is a rather large community of female lottie holders in Northants y'know- chances are I can put you in touch with someone)

good luck and happy growing!

Nichy

[summer-sun]

What lovely advise!! I totaly agree! Sounds like you have been doing this longer than one year!!            

I have 2 very helpful helpers! Takes me a big longer than i would like, we're getting there!  asda have a lovely little kids garden set at the mo, complete with its own bag, tools and watering can (I think they get more done than i do!

Summer  

See if your council can rotorvate it for you i know its cutting corners and being a bit lazy but with the little ones it can take a bit longer and they do get tired of digging mud!!

[deezkatz]

Hia

Freecycle advise sounds great - must do that
I can safely say that I saw 'tiredmums' lottie today and 'ooh' I cant wait to see the finished project - bless her.
I'll help when i can honey - once I've got me tyre and attached car out!!! lol x