[Ashley]

OK - I've not got any pics etc yet as my phone died on the way upto the lottie, but OMG. To say it hasn't been touched for what looks like a century is an understatement.

What do i do?! Where do I start? It's just full of random weeds/plants etc, most of which have died. The only veg I can spot are some rhubard. The shed door has been grown over, meaning I know that hasn't been opened for quite a while.

I'll get some pics up, but where do people think I should start? Bag up all the weeds etc? Dig them out? Use something to kill any weeds?

Any help muchly appreciated!

[SnooziSuzi]

Hi Ashley,

Have a read of this article on clearing an allotment.  It's full of useful advice and if you're still stuck then just let us know!

welcome to the site too btw

[FCG]

Havn't a clue, but i would recommend you buy John's book for an in depth way of clearing a new plot. Or just wait for the torrent of advice from here. Congratulations on getting a new plot by the way, how long have you been waiting? Welcome to the forums too of course.

A big decision you'll have to make is if you are going to go down the organic, chemical or bit of both route. Glyosulphate can be used to kill off the weeds, but it's your decision to use it. A good way of going about clearing a plot is to tackle it peicemeal each time you visit and not go the whole hog the first couple of times because you'll just become disheartened. Beat back the weeds to the ground and apply glyosulphate if you want (this possibly could be better done in the spring). Cover areas you want to try to kill off weeds wise and anything you've cleared but don't have anything to plant in. Try throwing some green manure in (grazing rye, mustard, field beans etc) if you want to keep areas open over the winter.

Oh, perhaps i did know one or two things then... if any of that makes sense.

[Ashley]

Cheers for the shockingly quick replies and the welcomes, much appreciated - I like the thought of going organic to be honest, I think I'm going to try being as organic as I can, then if and when I fail, I'll hand it over to the chemicals to kill it all.

To be honest, I think it looks a lot worse than it is because most of it's dried up and dead. It looks like most of it is opium buds (is that right?) which have all died off etc.

I'm thinking of bagging up all of the dried out dead stuff then eventually putting it into compost with some water (will this then compost, or not worth the bother?),  then dig out all of the weeds and lay down some carpets I've managed to get off freecycle, then dig up the whole lot in sections.

Good plan?

I've been waiting about a month - the allotment people in soham have had a few people not renew this year so I think I was quite lucky, what with them not having any waiting list etc.

[Zak the Rabbit]

sounds a good plan to me. I'd probably stick the dead stuff on the bonfire myself. Clear the shed door so you can get in! clear around the rhubarb, then decide on a small patch, say 4 to 8 foot by however wide your plot is, cover everything else and just deep dig that patch, if you can get that bit done this week, then get some garlic, onions, shallots in there! that way you have something started over winter, while you clear the rest. Maybe also buy some spring cabbage plants from a nursury and put a row of those in.

I opened a new patch yesterday, about 15ft by 3ft, plus another 3ft dug over from the existing patch, got 12 shallots, 36 garlic, 50 red and 43 white onons in!

do little bits like that and you will have it done before you know it. But dont work too hard, better to go slow than to do your back in rushing!

[woodburner]

Everyone has their favourite method for clearing ground.
My favourite is a scythe and cardboard.

[corynsboy]

Good luck.  

Make a list of jobs.  You can't manage a problem until you've measured it.

Break all the jobs down into manageable chunks and try and enjoy all the digging!  Don't try to do too much at once and try your best finish one job before starting another.  There are not too many short cuts.   At least none that I was told about.

I got my allotment in mid May this year so I could clear and plant as I went along.  
Fortunately my allotment gurus (my Mum & Dad) have been able to help and steer me through my first season.  This site is also a very good resource of deeply knowledgeable growers.  I wouldn't be without it.

I've kept a pretty good record of my progress.  For me it is important for the first few years so that I can chart the big and little achievements as they occur.  It is important to me to keep checking back to remind myself how far I have come.  

As others have said John's book is an excellent reference guide.  I'm sure there must be a link to it somewhere on the site.   I have a copy and it is money well spent.

Link to my blog is blow.  Check out the "How it all started" label.  I truly hope your weeds are not abs big as mine.

[gregmcalister]

A method I used when I first got my plot was to rake all the dead stuff into a bundle and just burn it. If it's all dry it should rake quite easily and leave you with reasonably clear ground to make digging easier.

[Ashley]

Cheers for all the replies people!

By the looks of your weeds corynsboy, I'm afraid it looks like mine are bigger (not to brag about, I know).

I've called the allotment people to see exactly what my boundary is etc, as I don't particularly want to clear land which isn't rightfully mine and therefore hinder any progress I may be able to make, but I'm excited about it!

Plan is to:

-Clear around the shed
-Clear off anything dead into a massive pile and either burn it or wet it down to compost
-Take sections of weeds at a time, carpeting as I go
-Once the whole plot is cleared, remove all of the carpets, rotovate the ground as long as I'm happy
-Re-carpet and plant bits and bobs.

I don't mind if it takes me a few weeks to clear properly

Think this'll work?

[Christine]

Depends what you find as you go - if it's only glass, rusty nails and such like your plan will work quite well.

Compost if you can - it costs a fortune to get hold of decent compost so you are better to select an area and get started as soon as you can with this game. It also means that you will have one less corner to clear and one less job to do in burning.    Here speaks someone who thinks of the easy way of doing things where possible.

If you find house bricks, rusty bed frames, bits of sofa and such like then you have a bigger problem. Pile up any metal and find your local scrap man. Bricks will be your friends in time to come. As will any decent lengths of wood. Heaven help you if life gets really interesting - couple of plot holders who took over their plots way back in history on my site had to clear old cars which had been buried or covered in compost  :roll: One chap has a decent shed, a good greenhouse frame and a shed with every form of rot known to the human race on a plot he has just recently taken charge of. So who knows what you could possibly find

[Rampant_Weasel]

you would be better off digging this time of year and rotavating in the spring.rough digging it now will enable the frost to make it crumbly for u by the spring and get lots of air in it.just my opinion...as u will soon find out if u ask 10 gardeners the same question u will get 10 diff answers  

[peapod]

you would be better off digging this time of year and rotavating in the spring.rough digging it now will enable the frost to make it crumbly for u by the spring and get lots of air in it.just my opinion...as u will soon find out if u ask 10 gardeners the same question u will get 10 diff answers  

and they are all right! Depends what works for you  

Paula

[Yorkie]

Plan is to:

-Clear around the shed
-Clear off anything dead into a massive pile and either burn it or wet it down to compost
-Take sections of weeds at a time, carpeting as I go
-Once the whole plot is cleared, remove all of the carpets, rotovate the ground as long as I'm happy
-Re-carpet and plant bits and bobs.

That looks a good plan, Ashley.

One word of caution about the carpets - firstly, check whether your site in fact still allows them.  

In any event, they are a nightmare to get rid of, plus they release chemicals into the soil, and either disintegrate into bits in the soil or have weeds growing through them so they can't be moved.  If you can do so, I'd recommend you use an alternative weed suppressant method such as cardboard or fabric.