[Ed2681]

Good evening all,

Hi,
  I am new to the allotment world I signed the papers for my allotment last Wednesday.

I'm at a bit of a crossroad so any help would be appreciated greatly.
My plot is over grown so have started to dig it over weed etc (by hand as have read that rotovators are a no go)
I have set myself an aim over having Christmas dinner veg from the allotment but secretly I want more.

I'm hoping to put in;

Cabbage
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Brussels
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions
Garlic

I'm also looking to plant some soft fruit for jams and jellies;
Loganberry
Strawberry
Raspberry

Firstly after any advice hints tips tricks that are going to help
Should I dig the wh.ole plot before I start planting
And any advice at all on growing fruit as I have never grown fruit before!!

Many thanks look forward to hearing from my fellow allomenters

Ed

[snowdrops]

Hi Ed, welcome to the wonderful world of allotments  & the site. Plant as you clear, at least in some parts to give you some rewards for your labours. You could also consider covering areas not cleared to slow weed growth & then recover once cleared if you're not ready to plant.

[Baldy]

In general I'd say don't try to dig/weed it all in one go. Do a bit at a time - the areas that you clear are then bits that you can actually start to plant into - which IMHO is one of the nice bits about allotments. (I'm not someone who finds weeding some sort of holistic therapy ;-) )
Weed suppressant / cardboard might be your friend for the areas that you don't initially clear.
The fruits that you've mentioned are pretty tough so don't need too much help - read up about pruning autumn vs summer rasps etc.  - raspberry and loganberry benefit from some compost, strawberry needs to have runners controlled otherwise you end up with lots of green and not much red...
You'll need to consider netting if you want success with your brassicas. Lots of good info on this site...
Take your time, don't overdo the hard work, remember to enjoy it all.

Pip pip,
Balders

[alancas]

greetings,try to  protect any crops you plant with netting etc then you wont be disappointed like I was when pidgeons and rabbits etc ate them because I didn't cover them your hard work wont be in vain then.

[Tenhens]

greetings,try to  protect any crops you plant with netting etc then you wont be disappointed like I was when pidgeons and rabbits etc ate them because I didn't cover them your hard work wont be in vain then.

I , too was disappointed last year. Took the netting off my plants too early and let the caterpillars in!! They must have had one hell of a party judging by what was left!!   Lesson learnt. 

The netting that I removed was the green 'debris' netting , widely available, including on that well known auction site.   

[cadalot]

Your plot looks really good, you're not having waist high brambles and grass and weed to tackle, as above cover what you can with dark plastic, or weed membrane,  Old carpet may not be allowed on your site and it is a pain anyway, I inherited half a plot load and the weeds had grown over and through it!

Plan where you are going to place the shed and composting area, taking into account not shading other peoples plots and where most people have placed their sheds, you are going to want to store tools and have somewhere to get out of the rain.
 
Decide if you are going for 2.4m x 1.2m beds with paths around or clear the whole plot every year person

Personally for me the allotment is easier to control in beds, with 600mm paths all round so that there is room to get down on your knees. I don't have to battle every year to get on top of the whole thing as the path structure removes a significant area of land that has to be dug and weeded each year. You can cover beds with weed membrane for the winter to stop weeds in the early spring.

Consider a diary on here to record progress and to use to review past performance and plan for the future, you also set up a comments thread and get guidance. Take a look at mine at http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=100234.15 from when I took mine on and you will see that after clearing and erecting a shed, I dug one bed at a time and my first plantings were 4 beds or potatoes

I hope you do decided to keep a diary with many photographs and we can watch your progress, and comment and provide guidance when requested.