[Christine]

Runner beans? Borlotti beans? Anything salad like radish, beetroot, salad leaves  ....

[potato head]

Winter squash and borlotti beans sound good! 

[sunshineband]

As long as it something you and your family will want to eat and enjoy 

[Baldy]

ok - leeks and kale might be worth considering - you might need to buy some young leeks at market now though rather than grow from seed
What about soft fruit - strawberry plants from garden centre. Raspberry and similar for next year.

How's the weeding going??? 

Pip pip,
Balders

[potato head]

Leeks sound like a good idea! I was thinking about possibly making a strawberry raised bed!

The weeding is... ongoing... 

My 'neighbour' helped me to cover the bottom half while a dug the top, so it is getting easier!

[compostqueen]

Allotment Jitters is what you get when you can't get to the plot and you start getting withdrawals 

[surbie100]

Congrats on your plot - sounds about the same size as mine and it took me 2 years to get to the same stage as you. Well done!

Kohlrabi is really nice if you like crunchy sweet veg. And they look like aliens. And what about cucumbers? They will happily grow outside, as will melons.

You might be lucky and get some strawberry plants or raspberry canes from your neighbours - about now our site has people asking if anyone wants their spares.

My latest discovery is that bike shops give away the huge cardboard boxes that new bikes come in, and they are brilliant for covering ground and weakening weeds. I'm going back for another couple tomorrow...

I'd definitely recommend reading the diaries too, there are loads of different styles of setting up a plot and you might see something you like the look of.

[potato head]

I've started off some melons in the greenhouse and they seem to be doing well!  We've got a couple of bike shops near me so I'll give that a whirl!

Thank-you!!!

[3759allen]

a diary's a good idea, unfortunately i'm useless at it but every year i wish i had paid more attention to it the previous year.

i would say take your time. i tried to run before i could walk and my mind and body wanted to just jack it in from trying to do too much.

dig as much as you can. what ever you can't use this year cover with some sort of mulch or cardboard to keep the weeds down. it will be easier work next year.

as said grow what you like or what will interest you. bear in mind that fruit will be a long term thing taking a few years before they produce and once established don't benefit from being moved. so if you are thinking fruit get them going as soon as possible and be sure that they're in the right place and that you aren't going to re locate.

[potato head]

Thanks for the advice!!!

[cadalot]

Have you planned your layout? Are you going to be one of those that digs the whole plot over in the summer and carves us the plot having mud paths that change each year or are you going to have standard beds?

My beds are generally 2.4x1.2 and I have a central concrete slab path with weed membrane covered with woodchips off it. My old diary that shows the evolution and development of my plot over the first two years can be found at http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=100234.0  I started a new one for this year so that it is easier for me to review year from year

I find that having paths and beds means I can deal with small areas and I don't feel overwhelmed plus I'm not walking on growing areas and compressing the ground. Like Surbie It's taken me 2 and a half years to get control and the infrastructure in place.

Definitely start a diary on here with lots of photographs, you have a comments thread and it's great to look back on and leave yourself advice - plus if you about to make a blunder the readers will soon let you know.

Definitely grow what you and your family eat. It also makes you try new stuff, I had never tried butternut squash until recently and now I want to grow them because it happens that I like them.

[Growster...]

Good for you, Potato, this sounds like a perfect start!

How about some carrots, perhaps in pots, which you can net to keep the carrot fly away? You'd be surprised how many you can grow in a big pot, and they're dead easy to pick and take care of too!

[surbie100]

bear in mind that fruit will be a long term thing taking a few years before they produce and once established don't benefit from being moved. so if you are thinking fruit get them going as soon as possible and be sure that they're in the right place and that you aren't going to re locate.

I wouldn't agree with that - I've successfully moved strawberries and some old (30 yrs+) gooseberries and redcurrants. It is simple, it just depends on when & how you move them.

[potato head]

I've been trying to plan and have been getting nowhere... :/ Also sounds stupid but what is carrot fly?

[Beetroot Queen]

Maybe getting a copy of Johns book would help. Carrot fly will ruin your carrots so its one to avoid at all costs. I have carrots in black bins at home to CF in his tracks.