[Flutterbye]

Hello everyone. I am totally new to allotments, but have just managed to get one.

It was rotovated by the council a few weeks ago, and they gave it to me yesterday. The plot hasn't been used for years. The whole place was
abandoned. Since it was rotovated, a carpet of greenery has sprung up,
so I suppose the first job will be to get rid of that.

So all you experienced people, I would like your advice about starting from scratch.

How would you proceed, at this time of the year, and what if anything can I plant? :shock:

[Gwiz]

garlic, onion sets, broad beans oct-nov thats what i put in now. im sure that you will get plenty of other options from our freindly folk on this forum.
welcome to you from me

[lucywil]

the main thing is to do a little bit at a time. we got ours in may and thought it would be quick and easy to clear it but soon found otherwise. clear some and plant some onions or garlic then clear abit more. we are about half way with ours now. good luck.

[James]

There are about a dozen recent 'hello I am a novice' threads with loads of suggestions of what to plant now.

Are the weeds annual weeds or perennial?  Annual weeds grow from seed, have a short lifecycle (a few weeks, often) and then produce more seeds and die.

Perennial weeds grow from the same plant year after year, e.g. ground elder, couch grass etc. (google images them if you're not sure what they are).  If these are rotovated, each plant is chopped into a thousand smaller plants, each of which becomes a new plant - just like the sorcerer's apprentice.

Annual weeds are great.  Just turn them back into the soil and they will add body.  Perennial weeds must be weeded out one by one; or killed with a  herbicide.

[Alec Powell]

Hello everyone. I am totally new to allotments, but have just managed to get one.

It was rotovated by the council a few weeks ago, and they gave it to me yesterday. The plot hasn't been used for years. The whole place was
abandoned. Since it was rotovated, a carpet of greenery has sprung up,
so I suppose the first job will be to get rid of that.

So all you experienced people, I would like your advice about starting from scratch.

How would you proceed, at this time of the year, and what if anything can I plant? :shock:

I can't really add much to all the other extremely valuable information that other members have said already.
The advice about taking your time over what you are going to do is of the utmost importance. The fact that the council, (in their divine wisdom    ), have rotivated it, may make things a bit harder for you.
Set your sights on as much as you are able to clear before winter sets in and plant as previously advised. If you are meticulous now in your cleaning of the ground then you will find it a lot easier in the future.
Many is the time I have seen potential allotment holders lose all interest through seeing what looks like useable ground become a jungle in 12 months.
The main thing is to enjoy it :!:
Good luck

[Flutterbye]

Thanks a million everyone.

[noshed]

Take some pics as you go along - something to look at in the dark winter evenings... ("Pssst, want to see my allotment snaps?").