[Jae Dawn]

Hi,

  I just got a call from the council that the allotment site that I put my name on the list for 3 years ago.  So excited and scared to death cause I am not exactly sure what to do.  Is there any questions I should ask?  I am suppose to meet the council guy at the allotment site on Thursday so that he can show me the plot.  Is there anything I should look for or ask specifically about?  Sorry I'm a complete novice and have planted in my garden but really haven't had lot of success usually have more insect eating then produce for myself!  Except for lettuces and a few strawberries.  I do have a rotavator at least so that aspect of the allotment I'm not concerned.  Any advice is so appreciated!  Thanks....

[m1ckz]

wellcome..well im of a mind,,, if u like it take it,,,see how overgrown it is an see if u think u can do it, probably u wont get a choice,,so its take it or leave it,,theres lots of help on here     just ask what you want  an   good luck    mick

[pdblake]

My first advice would be to leave the rotavator at home until you've assesed what weeds you have. Marestail and couch just love being chopped up.

Congrats on getting your plot. I just got mine last May. Take it easy and do a bit at a time. Weed it thoroughly as you go and cover with cardboard and whatever compost/manure you can get until you need to plant.

[gavinjconway]

Well done - I know how excited you must be. I got mine a year ago and love it.

You probably wont have a choice of plots so just be grateful for what has been allocated. All your rules will be in the form you are given to sign...

If you are extremely lucky you may get one which is in good condition and been worked on recently and no weeds present... ONLY in this case can you use your rotavator... But you will probably find that it is in poor state so you need to dig (preferably double did) and add compost and or manure and get the bad weeds out.. Then after a few years of shallow digging thereafter you could use it...

It's the only way i'm afraid.. do it right from the start. Remember to have fun and enjoy your allotment. You cant get it all prepared and ready to plant in a day!! Just plan what YOU want to grow and eat and do a bit of digging and preparing each time you go there... It will soon be ready..

[stompy]

From bitter experience ask for a diagram of the site and have them mark out the boundry of your plot! (i didn't and arguments ensued to the point of no return with my ground greedy neighbour)  

As stated before leave the rotavator at home "for now" and asses the types you have on your plot.
If you don't mind using weed killer then you can get rid of prety much all the weeds within a month by using Glyphosate as a one or two off aplication, once the weeds are killed off then you can rotavate.
The good thing about Glyphosate is that it kills the roots as well as the top growth, the likes of couch grass and pirenials like docks and thistles will need 2 or 3 aplications to kill them completely ut it will kill them.

If you don't want to use chemicals them im afraid that you have allot of hard but satisfying work ahead of you.
In the meantime just cover it with as said, card board and soil/manure or plastic sheeting, this will help keep the weeds down until you decide what to do.

And finally congratulations  

[seedman]

 Congratulations  on your plot, if its anything like mine was a weed jungle but you will soon tame it im sure

[surbie100]

This thread from yesterday might help:

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=101256.msg1127386#msg1127386

And good luck! Like gavinjconway I got mine just under a year ago and it's been brilliant, although with a healthy helping of couch grass, bindweed and creeping buttercup.

[The Golden Heap]

Enjoy it,  plan it! Obscure weather replan it, pests replan it, just have plan to have fun and enjoy

[gathsman]

It would be handy if you're near the water supply, if your allotment has one that is...

[Jae Dawn]

Well I got to see my allotment there wasn't any to choose from your offered what's available and you take it or leave it.  Which is fine really!  The one I was offered was a 10 stake?  Which looked pretty big it was right next to the water and had a delapadated shed which had a piece if wood holding up the side.  There was also a compost bin right behind the shed. 

There was a woman that had it last year so it does have some weeds but it isn't wild really.  It has a few fruit trees not sure what kind they are dwarf ones and it has a rhubarb.  I would say 1/3 of it was strawberries.  I spoke to the council guy and said it would be fine but was a bit big he said that they were trying to get the bigger plots allotments down to 4 or 5 stakes / rods.  Since I know I am clueless and there is a  big chance that I am going to have to work full time in the next few months instead of part time like I hoped I know I will have a limited time so I spoke out.  I asked if I really only wanted half of this one would someone else on the list (that I know is 2-3 years listed) get the other portion of this allotment?  He confirmed that is exactly what would happen so that's what I did.

  I'm sure many of you think I'm an idiot for giving half away but I know I will have a lot of missteps with this since it is completely new.  Plus I lived in Miami all my life and you couldn't grow much due to coral rock and heat plus no one I knew had a green thumb so I was never brought up on the ins and outs of the soil nutrients or ph balance or clay vs non clay it all gets a bit over welming for me! 

  So I got to,e books from the library and have been checking out different websites and will give it a try but have also realised my inexperienced might prove to have some disappointments as well. 

  I've tried for ten years to grow tomatoes from a grow bag with very limited success 

[surbie100]

Don't worry - you can still grow more veg than you think on a half plot!
Do you get to pick which half at least?

there's plenty of free advice on the forum if you get stuck - just remember we won't always agree 

[Jamrock]

Don't get too bogged down into worrying about ph and soil type. There are very few soils in the world that wouldn't be improved by digging in some organic matter - compost, manure, leaf mould, anything you can get your hands on. Keep it simple and learn as you go - it's the best way!

And remember - it's supposed to be enjoyable, so chill 

[Peas let my pumpkins grow]

By giving up half your plot you will have really made someone's day

Also if someone else is starting at a similar time (I only began in November - novice too  ) then it doesn't seem quite so daunting or all by yourself. When I first got there I thought everyone would be watching to wait and see if I would be useless  but was Soo wrong! Ull find a lot of people happy to help a newbie (at the plot and at the forum) and heaps of advice. Also ask if they know anything about what the previous owner got up to - have they manured recently, was there any blight last year etc

Last thing now ( I do like to ramble  ) stop panicking!! You ll be fine! You sound like your doing your research, uve ensured that you haven't taken on too big a project, and your enthusiastic. Who cares if the first veg u plant doesn't go so well, if you read back on the forum a lot of allotmenteers last year had to sow and re-sow due to the weather. Start simple and with things u buy every week and then progress from there 

Good luck and happy weeding 

[Annen]

  I asked if I really only wanted half of this one would someone else on the list (that I know is 2-3 years listed) get the other portion of this allotment?  He confirmed that is exactly what would happen so that's what I did.

  I'm sure many of you think I'm an idiot for giving half away

Don't think you are an idiot at all.  I started with a half plot because I didn't know whether I would stick it and didn't want to take on too much.  But I did like it and after a year I put my name down for a full lot, which I got.  By that time I had a bit more experience and felt I could cope. Makes sense to me.

[Wiltshire Worms]

half plot is fine..thats all we wanted and got.

enjoy yourself..your neighbours wont want you to fail, if they are like ours they will offer advice and help(you will get conflicting advice and need to do what suits you)

remember its a hobby

and i never rotavate..i do use weedkiller on perenniel weeds as necessay