Newbie needs help!

Very exciting time for you then.... and you've come to the right place.

Is the allotment already ready? Or does it need a lot of work clearing weeds etc.? Or is there already anything planted? When I got my allotment, I left a lot of it to see what came up, and ended up with loads of potatoes, more rhubabrb than I knew what to do with, and a pretty good raspberry crop. If it's a blank page, so to speak, it's worth spending some time reading some of the articles on here on crop rotation, and planning what you will grow where.

If the ground is quite hard, I think potatoes are quite good at breaking it up, but also you might want to spend some time now digging in manure or compost.

Some things that (for me) are slightly easier to grow to start with are onion sets (and they can be planted now), peas, runner beans, beetroot, lettuces and salad leaves. But my main advice is just go for it - grow what you like eating!

Welcome to the site and congrats on your new lotty

The others have given really good preliminary advice.

You need to think about:

1. Does the plot need clearing?

2. How big is it - what do you want to grow?

3. Planning the plot

4. Deciding what to grow and when.

If you click the Growing Help link at the top of the page, you'll find lots of interesting and useful allotment articles, including clearing / planning the plot, sowing & harvesting charts, and specific advice for some types of vegetables.