[Jen]

Hi there....stick with it, we've all been where you are now and like they say it really is worth all the effort, just be pleased with what you've got done not down hearted with what you haven't...yet

[potatopotato]

Hey Rich, I'm really sorry to hear you're getting downhearted. I second what other people are saying - allotments ARE really hard work in the first couple of years. I got my current half-plot two years ago and am only just now starting to reap the rewards. For the first couple of seasons it was very hard work and I got really discouraged at times (particularly when the potatoes I'd put in to clear the ground all got blight the first year and I had to chuck them all away - every single one!!!)  Luckily for me I found an experienced and enthusiastic gardener to be my allotment buddy. He did a lot of the hard digging work so that I could put in green manure like mustard seed and rye grass to stop the weeds from coming up, to get the soil ready for future growing!

For what it's worth, here are my tips.

1. Cover the bits you can't get to yet with carpet. It'll keep the weeds down and stop you getting discouraged. The carpet stops the weeds growing (like any plant, they need light - if they can't have it, it'll stop them in their tracks!) By the time you get to these bits, it'll be much easier to dig those bits over.

2. Cut the grass & weeds back as much as possible. Helps you see what you're dealing with.

3. You will need a lot of bin liners. A lot. Get yourself down the corner shop and buy all their bin liners. Oh yeah, and get a wheelbarrow so that you can carry the rubbish away somewhere away from your plot (the only thing more discouraging than 8 feet tall couch grass? a huge pile of bin bags sitting in a patch of 8 feet tall couch grass....)

4. Mark the plot into small, manageable sections - 2 metre square or whatever.

5. When you dig, dig down the depth of your spade and turn the earth over so that the roots are exposed. Don't bother trying to knock the earth off them at this stage. Just leave them turned over - the wind, rain or sun will get rid of a lot of the clods for you.  After a few days, get your fork in there. Find a grille of some sort, elevate it on some bricks and put the weedy roots on there. This makes them dry out which makes it easier for you to get the earth off them in a few days' time. This might sound like a complicated way of digging but you'd be surprised how much labour and time it will save you - I reckon I get my plot dug over in half the time using this method.

6. Everytime you go down the plot you'll be able to see how much you've done this way - 1 square metre earth turned over, large pile of roots on the grille, whatever.

7. A good way to keep the weeds down in patches you've dug but can't farm yet - put in mustard seed or field beans. Both will come up quickly and slow down the growth of weeds. When you are ready to use that patch of earth, you can just slice the tops down with your spade and dig them in. It's great for the soil.

8. Get a cooler and a little stool so you can sit down with a beer and marvel at what you've achieved at the end of each gardening sesh. And (9) don't beat yourself up because it does take time but it is worth it in the end (I'm just enjoying my first crop of purple sprouting broccoli now.. yum)

Blimey, didn't mean to go on so much there....

[compo]

You could also take photos of the plot before and after, that can keep you motivated, cos you see how far your really getting rather than how much is left to do   chin up, soon be summer!

[Larry the lep]

keep going buddy dont let it get to you we all have to start somewhere just think of what your get out of it in the end

[spudulike]

Little and often. Make it a pleasure rather than a chore. Keep going you will reap the rewards in the end.

[matron]

Everyone has said it really.
Keep on with it - the rewards are huge.

[richiechivz]

Thanks for al the great words of encouragememt guys! Im in a good frame of mind now. My spuds are in, and as soon as they start showing their faces Im gonna get a huge lift. The weather has been great - short sleeves today! I am gonna beat those damm weeds!  :x

[JimG]

Rich


Just to echo what everyone else's been saying, stick at it!  I've had my allotment, which had been derelict for years, for 15 months now and have often felt fed up, cheesed off..., whatever.  

I've found looking at the photos of what it looked like when I took it on to be the best therapy - that and actually getting my hands on stuff that I've managed to grow.  Me?  Growing things?  Many people I know just think I'm winding them up!

Cheers,


Jim

[peapod]

ive got to say, though I do feel for you mate I really do, that this thread has helped me a lot.  Though I havent got a plot yet im hoping (fingers crossed!) that we'll have one allocated down the road from me anytime soon.
Ive been in a bit of cloud cuckoo land because although I know the plot is used and in good(ish) shape, I thought that I would be planting reams of veg and harvesting like no tomorrow very soon.
I know that life (and lottys) are not a bed of roses and theres no rush! I can take my time if needs be, not panic and reeelaaaax :-)
so thanks to you Rich, and to everyone else
All the very best for those spuds!! Think of us when you are making those roasties on a sunday :-)
Paula

[gin3268]

As with the initial post, my allotment too is beginning to look like a jungle.

I originally took this full plot on with  my next door neighbour who is a lot younger than me, fit, and full of enthusiasm. She was the one that brought up the idea. However, it was me who arranged the plot viewing, handing over of dosh and keys, and it would be me who would provide the limited know-how, and who would buy all the seeds and eveything else allotment wise.

I think she visited the plot once, the first weekend of ownership, and worked for about 2 hrs, with me, clearing the tangle of weeds, nettles etc around the compost bins and pre- existing fruit bushes. That was her one and only visit, and now I am left with a full plot on my own. Her interest was fleeting. Had I known that her enthusiasm was only that of the usual, empty headed, fashionable trends of the young, I would have only taken on a half plot, and my woes would be not as they are now. I have tried my best, on my own....literally on my own, and have managed to make about 7 workable beds, and have planted 3 types of onions, broad beans, peas, beetroot, early potatoes, beetroot, garlic, cauli and cabbage. Not bad for an arthritic 50 yr old. There are pre-existing strawberries and aforementioned fruit bushes.

The disheartening bit is the spaces in between these beds have become a high lawn of grass and dandelions, so being ever clever, I purchased a cordless strimmer to cut this down before the laying of plastic/cardboard/me! The first attempt with the newly arrived strimmer was this morning, after charging the battery for 4 hrs. It worked for all of 10 mins - because being the numpty that I am, I didn't realise that because it was the first use, it has to be charged, discharged several times before a full hours use. So imagine my consternation when armed with this bit of kit, a devil may care attitude and the determination to ablolish the yellow peril commonly known as le dandelion, I peaked at 10 mins and it still looks like a derelict site. I could have cried! Days like this come often, especially at this awakening time of year when the growth of weeds out does the rate of veg. I have come that close to giving up, but I sit in may deckchair, with a cup of tea and a fag, survey my land, and say 'tomorrow is another day'  

[gardgydja]

I get this "allotment crisis" too, and my plot was cleared and turned by the council!! I had to dig it over again because although it was too cold to plant anything, the weeds didn´t mind and grew well. I don´t have a car so I still don´t know how I will get manure and compost out there to the middle of nowhere, and the clock is ticking....

But it´s great to be outside, and the other folk I´ve met are lovely. I´m enjoying it even though I feel overwhelmed sometimes.

Don´t give up!!

[jazzbyrd]

Please dont give up! We took on a really overgrown allotment in Febuary. I thought Id made a mistake when I first went to see it!! :cry: But my husband looked at it and said its fine ~~~ we had...
weeds/ bags of old rubbish/carpet underlay everywhere/bottles/etc etc.
It took us eight journeys to the dump on one day just to clear the first lot of rubbish. My back aches ...for one weekend i had to leave the digging to my husband :cry:

However we have achieved so much we have nearly completed one half of our plot ....we have no vegetables yet!!! But I can now see the wood for the trees. 99.9% of our neighbours have been so encouraging giving us some vegetables to plant etc. I had another down moment when another allotment holder pointed out all the disadvantages of having raised beds ~told me that I was wasting space and money. I guess some people dont have an understanding of the *using a system that works for you*  I dont mind someone having an opinion but when i have spent the last few weeks digging weeding clearing to improve a plot the last thing I need is a totally negative comment!!! On Sunday I was at the allotment all day and realised it is worth it. The other half of the plot is still covered and to be honest if I cant see the weeds I am much happier    I have a few beans etc to plant out in June and will sow some seeds even though I am late. I will post some pictures later to show our before and after progress to keep you motivated    My personal tips are as the other posts have suggested~~
Cover the parts you are not working on!
Vary your tasks!
Take frequent rests-I often go for a walk around the allotment and look at the other plots to keep me motivated.
Remember that its not a race.

[Arls0308]

Hi,

I took over a really overgrown plot in March this year, the crouch grass was at least waist height over the 250m2 plot.  We spent a couple of hours clearing the various bits of rubbish and cutting down the teasle and large bramble. We hired a petrol strimmer and took it all down and then a week or so later dug out a few trenches. It just looked soooo much better. It rained for the next month so couldn't get anything in, which was disheartening, especially as the grass and weeds started to come back in the trenches. Over the past few weekends, I've cleared out the sods, weed roots and re-dug out the trenches, planting some bits and we've also planted some bits in planters at one end of the plot to at least have something there. We've put either put old carpet or Round-up on the rest of the un-dug area, both of which are working really well. I still have to sort out a load of rubbish that was dumped at the bottom of the plot, but I'm really positive about it all.

After me waffling, I just want to say don't get disheartened, just aim for a little bit often, take some photos so you can see your progress and you'll be away.

Good Luck!!

Arls

[compostqueen]

It's true to say it's not a race and YOU ARE SUPPOSED to be enjoying it. HOLD THAT THOUGHT    

I'm over 50 and doing my lotty on my own which is where I think such as me benefit as we know our limitations so aren't in a tearing hurry to clear the plot. In a tearing hurry to grow veg though    

I don't dig or rotovate mine either which again I think has helped me (my back is ever so grateful   )  

I've not been to my plot for about a month as too busy with work but I'll take up where I left off.  It'll be weedy but I'm not fussed.

I think folks need to chill, and enjoy their plots instead of constantly being anxious about them.    Love and peas x

[archibtbm]

Had the same problem Richiechivz...massive plot full of brambles, dandies etc...  started clearing slow :-( and planted as soon as a patch was clear :-).  I got the 30 minute veg patch for a birthday...what a difference it made to my way of thinking on how a plot is managed.  

The Half-Hour Allotment, by Lia Leendertz, is published at £14.99 by Frances Lincoln/Royal Horticultural Society