Hi there!
A few months ago I applied for an allotment at either of the two sites in the vicinity of my house. I was notified a week ago that a patch was free, and could be mine from the beginning of April after paying the rental fee.
With that paid I recently snuck into the allotment to have a look around (which was trespassing, but I had a good reason and didn't touch anything while I was there.) What I found was a plot with a very tall and slim but brightly coloured shed, some panes of glass or perspex lying about, some bolted cabbage, a few deteriorating raised beds, some of that weed suppressing material and a covering of low growing but lush weeds I was unable to identify. There was also a fair size pile of old blue fishing net about for some reason.
I want an allotment rather than a vegetable garden by house because my home is built on top of an old backfilled mining structure called a stope, I have had the occasional experience when digging a soakaway or ditches for pipes of finding lumps of arsenopyrite and various secondary minerals after dodgy metal ores in the ground. I have recently began a diet, a large part of which involves the consumption of vegetable matter instead of fatty foods, I hope to grow a large portion of my food. I intend to use my bicycle for the majority of my transport to and from the allotment, but I do have a small car to help with setting up.
On confirmation of getting the plot, i asked a couple of groups of friends on skype what they think I should grow. One group became increase with carrots while the other came up with a list of good things I could grow. So far the list stands at...
Carrots
Melon
Butter squash
Rubarb
Those long pale Japanese radish
Sweet potatoes
Chili peppers. All kinds
Sweetcorn
Usual range of kitchen herbs
Mint (you can't grow mint! It spreads everywhere and doesn't go with carrots!)
Onions
Garlic
Cherry tomatoes
There are probably others but I can't remember them right now.
Soils around here are all acid and we have a long growing season in these parts. Do you think this is a viable list? What I'm really thinking about right now is what to start doing to prep the area and make it suitable to take plants. I'm thinking pull everything up and start over. What do you think?