[massa]

hi, as the title says im feeling abit overwhelmed at the moment, i took over a plot in november last year which had not been touched for nearly 2 years and was like a jungle. i am gradually getting there and have so far planted garlic at the end of last year which is doing well in a raised bed and yesterday i planted half my onion sets, my first early spuds (others are still chitting at home), i sowed my carrot seeds straight into the raised bed with the onions alternating the rows to try to avoid the dreaded carrot fly ive heard so much about and i have also started off toms and chillis at home.

i just feel like it is taking me so long to dig over and weed each bed that im scared of falling behind and as its all new to me im starting to feel slightly overwhelmed as there are so many jobs to do. so the question is what should i have done so far as in sowing and planting etc.

[Lulu]

Deep breath - and enjoy it by taking your time.  Life and allotments are not a race and the plants will grow if they are meant to.  I've only just put my early pots, peas and carrots in yet my neighbour has pea shoots already.  I am on holiday this week and am catching up with the planting.  I grow most of my plants in the greenhouse first but this is because I can't usually get to the allotment as much as some.  The allotment is my downtime and I hope it becomes yours too.  Enjoy 

[DavidT]

Massa, we are all running behind, don`t worry. As you prepare a bit of ground put a crop in. Well done you.

[Beetroot queen]

Have a look on here at some of the before and after threads, I didnt think our second plot was coming along at all but when you look back the difference is amazing.

You will hopefully have the plot for many years and Rome wasnt built in a day 

[wyandotty]

Massa, if this is your first year of growing I would keep it very simple, don't try to grow too much at first otherwise it will take the fun out of growing your own.  Choose a few things that are easy to grow like potatoes, carrots, beetroot and broad beans and tomatoes and then next year try different vegetables.

Good luck!

[Dean H]

Just remember, it's a marathon not a sprint! I've got b****r all in the ground at the moment. it's all in pots and trays. I guarantee that at the end of summer I will be eating some produce off what was a weed strewn mess last November, and by crikey it will taste good!
Dean. 

[bigben]

Which allotment site in Sheffield are you? I have just taken over mine and am facing a similar battle. I plan to hack down and cover a bit of it because I am not going to be able to clear all of it until later in the summer. So far I have done about half but am now facing the fight back from the weeds as I expose seeds that were dormant. I started just digging but am now having to dig and hoe the bits I have planted.

[Lardman]

i just feel like it is taking me so long to dig over and weed each bed that im scared of falling behind

Falling behind what ? If you really do miss the last planting date for something, you can put it in next year, its not as if your soil is going anywhere soon 

You're supposed to be enjoying yourself not worrying about keeping up with the old blokes who already have nice weed free soil and 12 hours a day to tend it. 

Dig, weed, sow - repeat ad nauseam. 

[massa]

bigben im at the gleadless town end site where are you?

thanks for all the replys, i feel alot better knowing im not the only one in this situation, i think i just want it all to be how i want it straight away and have got a bit frustrated that every job seems to take alot longer than i expect it too! a half hour job ends up taking all day! i am still really enjoying it and havent regreted taking the plot once i think i just need to be more patient but im affraid thats never been one of my strong points!

[Loubs]

It's well worth putting in the time now to dig & weed the ground thoroughly.

We took on a plot that'd been split into 2 halves. We worked down our half slowly and picked out every bit of weed root we could. In contrast, our neighbour dug theirs over at lightning speed.

Now we're planting, we have the odd weed & blade of grass to pull out. in contrast, the other half is a weedy battle-field which looks as though it could go either way at the moment 

[Janeymiddlewife]

I'm sandwiched between two old boys who spend hours every day - one of their wives has been "womanfully" hacking through the brambles and making impressive progress - I just keep firmly repeating the mantra "the brambles are a fruit crop - I'll get round to them next year"
I have, of course, offered payment if she wants to clear mine, but been politely declined so far.
I will have to do something about them though, or she'll get really annoyed when mine invade her plot - tennis elbow is a B*Łer though!

[Babstreefern]

When I took over our first plot a few years ago (doesn't time fly when you're having fun), it was over 8' in brambles (apparently it had lain empty for over 8 years).  It was my husband who accepted it (I was at work).  When he took me to see it (looking very proud with himself), I nearly collapsed .  My jaw must have  hit the deck .  Luckily, it was in August, so most of everything had been planted and harvested by then, so I didn't bother even trying to grow anything .  So I just got my shears, and started to chop, chop, chop, hack, hack, chop, etc, etc .  We burned the top stuff.  Then we had to dig out the roots.  When that was done, we then dug it all over and pulled out all the weed roots that we could find.  It took us all autumn and winter to do it, but well worth it.  In fact, I found it very beneficial - relaxing almost - if you don't count the blisters .

The good thing is, when you start putting in your stuff, everything grows really well because it hasn't been touched - almost sterile.  So when you start planting, you should do really well.

But like everyone says, enjoy it.  If you don't it becomes a chore, not a hobby.  Also, don't forget your BBQ in the summer months - great with a bottle of beer and/or wine

[bigben]

Massa - I am just off City road, last year I worked a plot for a friend but this year I have my own so can only do half of his. The encouraging bit is that his is really easy to work on now after all my weeding and digging roots out last year- so I am hoping mine will be this time next year.

[fletch]

Hi Massa, this is my third year on my plot and I still have one large bed and one full side covered in black plastic. I'm not very patient either and I had a vision of lovely rows of neat vegetables (I still do!) and the first year I went hell for leather and didn't really do anything properly and by god I paid for it last year.
I ended up being so over faced and getting so fed up I practically gave up as I could never keep on top of anything. It didn't help that people either side of me seemed to have all day every day to work on theirs and mine looked like a tip in comparison.

This year I've had an entirely different approach/attitude. I sat back, made realistic plans and expectations and am enjoying it more now than ever.

So what if those beds stay covered in plastic? I'd rather look at black plastic than half weeded beds (and if you're a tidy freak like me then covering the beds has an instant tidying effect  ).

As everyone else has said, just take your time and enjoy it. Instant things like salad leaves, beetroot and radishes are good as you don't need much space and you get fairly quick tasty results, a couple of wigwams for runner beans maybe and you can still sow carrots and pak choi in June. Spring greens in July too. If you just slowly chip away at it you can still get a fair bit this year.
Good luck  .

[Snoop]

My first summer, all I grew was a single row of radishes, and even that was chomped on by flea beetles. 

Like everyone else has said, it's a question of doing a little at a time and making the most of that, rather than feeling outfaced by everything that's left to do. If you look at even John's blog/diary, he seems to do a lot of catching up too.

As for the brambles, just keep the ends clipped and dug back so they don't invade your neighbours' patches. Then you can forget about them. Just think of the blackberry and apple pies you'll have, the bramble jelly, the gifts of punnets of juicy berries... People pay good money to buy brambles from seed and plant companies. You've got yours for free and ready grown!