New to allotments and just saying hi.

Hello and welcome. First piece of advice...take it easy. Slowly, slowly, catchy monkey......and avoids backache!

Hi there Martin, Happy Birthday, good gift to yourself joining here 😃. I'm originally from Doncaster, whereabouts is your plot?

My mum lives in Edenthorpe now, I was brought up just near DRI. A

Hi Martin and welcome to the forum. Do make sure you take some photos as you go along, as pretty soon you won't recognise that derelict ole plot you are starting with.

Great to be able to look back and see your progress in years to come 

There is lots of useful info in John's Articles & Advice at the top of the page, which you might find interesting. 

Welcome to the site ... I was in the same position about 2 years ago.

One thing I hadn't really banked upon was the effort needed to keep out the pigeons and rabbits. Most crops need protection if you want to keep the crop.

As a child (when Percy was on Gardeners World) I grew crops in our garden. Nothing was eaten by birds, so no protection was every required .. in face it never really crossed my mind.

Now, most plot-holders including myself have wire mesh sides around our crops (to keep rabbits out) as well as netting over the top. This makes weeding awkward.

Overall an allotment is pretty hard work. When I got my plot, I was offered a small plot, a medium plot or a large plot. Me, being me obviously went for the large one ... on hindsight, maybe the wrong choice, but I suppose I'll eventually be grateful for the bigger plot.

Your plot neighbour must be over the moon that you have arrived! It is horrible having overgrown plots next door. He may well be a good source of support and spare plants too