[nickmcmechan]

Hi all, I will be getting my allotment in January.

First time I've ever had one and I'veno idea what to expext and where to start...in fact I don't even know how big it will be!

I guess I will be looking to set it up well and then growing lots of veggies for cooking. I'll probably be looking for relatively low maintenance, whatever that means!

And I thing I'll begrowing things like - brocolli, brussels, green beans, cabbage, cauliflower...

Any hints and tips where to start when I get it in January?

Thanks! 

[Yorkie]

It will help generally if you could edit your forum profile (click your username) to add your location - sometimes things are very different in the Shetlands from Cornwall 

If you click on the Growing Help link just underneath the banner at the top of the page, you'll find loads of useful articles, including monthly guides, sowing & harvesting chart, & clearing / planning your plot.

The site owner, John, has written some really good books - see the Our books link or other internet sites.

And don't forget to take piccies of your plot as you go along.

[blue_seeds]

Johns book is a great starting place while the weather is like this - get another book too as a comparison though, more reading whilst indoor and hit the ground running when you can - as long as it is not too wet get your soil ready now for the frosts and away you go! Enjoy

[nickmcmechan]

It will help generally if you could edit your forum profile (click your username) to add your location -

thanks for that, will do!

i was thinking today, and forgive the dumb questions, but do plots generally come with an electricity or water supply?

[Yorkie]

Repeat after me, "No question is dumb" 

(Some of the answers might be, mind you!)

Very very unlikely to have electricity.  I'd guess that water is probably available on more plots than not.

[NASH]

I have a low maintenance plot as I dont dig it, I use hd weed membrane between rows, I plant brassica plants with a cordless drill and a 30mm flat bit, for direct sown surface growing veg I use seed compost half inch deep on the surface then fertilise with blood fish and bone as they grow on, for root veg like carrots and Parsnip I dig a v shaped 2" wide trench lined with weed membrane and filled with multipurpose compost and sharp sand which I change every other year for rotation. For every other type of things like Corn Beans which have been grown on from seed in trays I grow in one foot deep rotted manure just placed on the surface of the soil.

When I started my plot I weed killed the whole of it with Glysophate as digging I found just spread couch weeds as you cut the root into so many pieces, I also weed very infrequently as  there is so few of them now.

[fatbelly]

Getting your new plot is a exciting time.

When you get it in January the good will probably be frozen so not much digging can go on but if the soil is workable then get digging.

I am a great believer in digging, digging and then digging again, it gets a lot of the weed roots out an gives your soil some air so the frosts can get to it. I dig my plot in the autumn with a spade getting as much weed root out as I can then leave it in big clods for the winter to break down, then in March I go over the whole pot again but this time with a fork and again get the weed roots out. I then use a three pronged cultivator (sorry don't know its real name) to break the soil into a tilth. Then rake over when I plant and the soil is great.

You could if you need to use a rotavator but for me the tines don't get deep enough and you rotavate all the weed roots back in to the soil to grow again. Which is okay if you are prepared with a sharp hoe and are down the plot often enough to hoe the beggars off before they take hold again.

Nash advocates the use of Glyphosate and I agree, it is a weed killer so not organic but you can use it a couple of times at the start of the next season and then give yourself a good start. I used Glyphosate when i first got my plot and would use it again if I had a patch of uncultivated ground that had a lot of weed in it.

Good luck with your plot and enjoy it.

[mumofstig]

good advice here if you haven't found it already

[Trikidiki]

Agree with the 'lots of digging' reply.

As for the weedkiler, if you're using glyphosate then you are best waiting until spring as the weeds need to be growing well to have maximum effect. However you could use a contact weedkiller now, which will knock back most of the weeds, then you could use the glyphosate in the spring to deal the killer blow to those pernicous weeds that dare to show their faces again. It may buy you an extra week or two in the spring.