[bashful_badger]

And my word since when did weeds grow at waist height?  ha ha!

My friend and I were wandering about it, trying to identify what things were amongst the weeds, neither of us really having a clue what we were doing :o)

Still, having waited two years for it (well she has!) we have to give it a go don't we.

Very bizarrely it had a tiny little pond in the middle of it, very strange.  And a cherry tree which I wouldn't have thought would be allowed because of casting shade all over everyone else's patches.  Didn't check rootstock on label so could be very small one I guess, need to look better next time I go.

It was enormous as well, much larger than I was expecting, no wonder my friend couldn't manage it on her own.    Must have been 30ft long by about 20ft wide minimum.  Is that normal?  A lot of the other patches looked much smaller unless they'd just grown grass walkways through all their own patches?

Soil seemed very different to my garden which is odd as it's only 5mins walk down road, but good cos isn't all clay!

Has a little shed with padlock to keep things in which is good and is near to the hosepipe.

Was very peaceful down there, really nice and some patches were like little gardens which I was surprised about, I had thought most people only had them to grow veg but obviously not.

And the thing was, even though it's in a pretty poor state on all accounts, I didn't feel like running and hiding so maybe there is a proper gardener in me after all!

[Jonajo]

do a bit at a time. Dig, weed kill if you need to and so on. Also ask neighbouring plot holders for their adivce although everyone will have different and often conflicting advice.

 It is a slow job but this is arguably the hardest part of a plot - taking on a very overgrown one! The planting, the regular maintaining, the harvesting and the like are all very easy to do once you get over this stage, and it really is easy to get on top of everything once it is cleared in the first place.

[Goosegirl]

Sounds like you're going to be a good gardener as you aren't fazed by the sight of all those mega-weeds! Jonajo is right - a bit at a time. Now the temperature's going to get a bit cooler over September, it's the ideal time to start cleariing as they won't grow back so quickly and it will also give you time to stand back a bit and plan ahead instead of rushing it and making mistakes. It sounds a lovely place and the pond should keep you supplied with frogs to eat the slugs etc and, together with the little gardens and your shed, you have your own little paradise garden. Best of luck! 

[dig4victory]

Odd isn't it - 2 yrs waiting then you get a plot which doesn't look like it's been worked in a while - most sites are pretty strick on non-working of site and letting it get in a state.

Good luck though - you are lucky, in some parts of the country there's a 30yr waiting list apparently 

[DD.]

Well done on getting it bb.

In truth that's quite a small plot. One of mine is 95 feet x 35.

[Elcie]

I have just put a small pond in my allotment, it really helps with the wildlife and will attract frogs which will eat slugs.  All natural and great.  I was lucky to get some tadpoles from a fellow allotment holder with a pond.  Perhaps someone has one at your site and would be willing to do the same as now is a great time to do it. 

[bashful_badger]

Well done on getting it bb.

In truth that's quite a small plot. One of mine is 95 feet x 35.

Oh blimey, I think I would run a mile if it were that big!  I was kind of anticipating it being maybe 15 ft square!  I'll have to measure it properly see how big it actually is, I'm pretty rubbish at guessing measurements to be honest but it looks about as long as my lounge/dining room to me.

I might go tomorrow again unless it's raining dreadfully or something.  I was going to back again this afternoon and it started chucking down the minute I stepped out the door, typical!

I do find it odd that it was left so long, when there is such a queue wanting one but the lady in the next plot said apparently it was always a bit of a "wild" garden, so maybe nobody noticed for ages that no-one was coming anyway :o)

[Katherna]

Well done on getting your plot, it's all exciting when you first go to view isn't it. I got my plot aug 1st and had weeds like yours. I've never seen them growing so tall either, but I actually picked the one with the weeds rather than the one with the turf  because it had been worked the previous year.

My suggestion would be to get yourself some willing helpers (maybe offer them some produce for next year), weed, dig, weed, dig, rinse and repeat. The best advice I was given by a fellow plot holder was - each time you come down, dig or weed a square yard, that way you can see that you have done something.

We've eventually cleared and sort of leveled our plot (don't ask - needless to say we've been told tales of the previous holder by fellow allotment holders) and have been given some seedlings to put in by fellow allotment holders so we now have Christmas spuds, red cabbage, spring green cabbage and some leeks. It finally looks like a working alotment.

You and your friend will get there, and like other posters have said the weeds are slowing down growing so you've got plenty of time to get the plot ready for the spring. 

[poodle]

We took on our allotment plot last year which was a just mown grass area. Don't try and do too much, spread out your digging over the autumn and winter, as we did. As the old chinese proverb says' how do you eat an elephant? A bit at a time'.

[Sue33]

make sure you take some photos, great when you can compare "before and after" - enjoy 

[beanqueen]

Always work with your back towards the worst bits

[bashful_badger]

Always work with your back towards the worst bits

Oh that is so funny!! I'll have to do that :o)

The soil is pretty crumbly which will help, not like ours, I can't even get a spade into ours at home, even jumping up and down on the thing! 

[johnfh]

My "allotment" is part of the garden of a friend who is too busy to make use of it.  There must be bits like this all over the country, where the owners are too busy or too old to be bothered with making use of them, which could be used by those frustrated gardeners who can't get hold of a plot. Being someones garden does give greater security and there are no committee rules to worry about but you do both need to know what the terms and conditions are.  I heard something on the radio recently (You and Yours I think) about a national database being set up to put willing donors and gardeners in touch, seems a great idea - can anyone give a link?

[Yorkie]

I think it's called Landshare (or at least one scheme is so called), do a search on  this forum and you'll find some links.

One thing to be aware of with one of these schemes (can't recall which one) is the administration costs - I seem to recall they charged something exorbitant annually to do practically no paperwork, perhaps £100?

[Chappers]

Odd isn't it - 2 yrs waiting then you get a plot which doesn't look like it's been worked in a while - most sites are pretty strick on non-working of site and letting it get in a state.

Good luck though - you are lucky, in some parts of the country there's a 30yr waiting list apparently 

I quite agree, i cant understand why they are allowed to get into such a state b4 something is done about it, esp with the waiting lists.
Anyway hope you enjoy it, mine was in a pretty bad way when i got it in Feb this year, but i must say there is a certain amount of satisfaction to be had from clearing an overgrown plot to planting then reaping the rewards of all the hard work. I evn got 3rd prize for best newcomer which i thought was good considering the state it was in when i started.