Topic: my poor little allotment...

[emmy1978]

Hello to all. I have just been given my long awaited allotment in Bournemouth, only to discover from other very friendly plot holders that the man who had it before me only came down to sit in the shed (poor chap) and he has allowed it to become completely overgrown. It's in a real mess and I am planning on making just one bed this year with a little patch for my daughters to potter in, while I get on with the digging and clearing. The fire pit is full of rubbish as is the compost heap and all my carefully drawn plans have gone in the recycling!!! I am prepared for, if not more than a little daunted by the amount of prep work involved!
The only thing I can currently find worth saving are 4 little (very sad looking with rotten fruit on) fig trees, which are planted right in front of the compost heap. As this area needs to see a lot of action in the next year I was wondering what to do. I have to move them really, but don't know if they'll survive. None of my books have the answer- I was hoping I might find it here!!

[jennym]

I've moved small fig trees this time of year, and they've done ok afterwards - get as much root up as you can, and be sure to dig the new hole before you start digging them up so they can got straight back into the ground.

[STEVEPARTRIDGE]

Hello Emmy1978, sorry to hear that your allotment is in such an overgrown state. Is the allotment site a Council run site or is there an allotment association in charge, it may well be worth asking if there is any help available to clear away the rubbish as if either the council or the association managed their site correctly there should not be any there now or very little at least, they may be able to offer you a free skip so that you can get rid of it or they may have tools such as a strimmer for you to use, it is definitely worth asking. With regards to your small Fig trees then as was said previously as long as you get as much of the root ball up as possible then moving them at this time of year should be ok, best of luck with everything, regards Steve.

http://www.myallotments.com

[supersprout]

Hello emmy, it may seem daunting but if you take it slow and steady you'll bring your new plot round :) Just think how happy it must be with its new owner!

Have you taken a look at the wiki, middle button above - lots of advice about taking on and clearing a new plot. Best of luck! :D

[ACE]

When you replant your figs ake sure you restict the roots, sink old slabs or something similar around them. They do say this encourages them to fruit better.

[sarah]

Hello emmy, i am based in bournemouth aswell, on the site at lindale road. is that the one you are on or are you in north bournemouth?  i cant answer the fig tree question but would say in regard to the rest of your plot that it can seem very daunting when you start out especially on a rougher plot, but as others have said you musnt panic, it will take time (years probably) to get it how you want it and you wont get it all done quickly. the most important thing is to relax, you have the plot you have waited for so long. Take little steps and you will acheive more than you think.  good luck and let me know if you are on the same site - if you are i will come and say hi.

[Blue Bird]

Hiemmy and welcome - sorry to hear how bad a state your site is but you are doing the right thing by taking one small area at a time and not trying to do it all at once.   :) :)
Good luck

BB

[carouby]

You can't beat a rack of runner beans for a good return on effort in a new plot.Minimal digging,a packet of seeds,some support for the bean plants.
End result at the end of summer,a feast!

[triffid]

Big hug for daunted emmy (()) and a memory from my first season to encourage you.  :)

When I first took on my plot it was April and the weeds were already in mile-a-minute mode. With a babe-in-pushchair and a curious three-year-old, there wasn't much I could do to clear the plot.

So I dug out and hand-cleared one four-foot strip of soil, the width of the plot. That was all I could manage and it took me a month of odd moments while Tiny Triff was asleep in the pushchair and Small was at nursery.

Here comes the good bit:
By October we'd had about eight pounds of cherry toms, four pounds of purple dwarf beans, six pounds of runners, two Crown Prince pumpkins, a family serving of courgettes twice a week for ages, and a stack of patty-pan squash. Plus lots of home grown herbs. And by that time I'd cleared enough

And that's not counting the masses of stuff the wonderful old boys on the site kept giving us through the season, bless their kind hearts...  ;D
Or the free crops of plums, apples, sloes and blackberries from the boundary edge-hedging!

So don't be daunted. Even a little, tiny bit of cleared ground will give you gratifying returns.

BTW, if I'd known then what I do now, I'd have made the effort to get a few spuds in as well.  ;)

[kt.]

If you can get skips, don't get them till you are sure you can fill it or if all your rubbish is collected together. I got 2 skips free paid for by the council due to the condition of the plot and amount and type of rubbish. When they got booked I was there for delivery to stop other plot holders  filling it before me. The committee man told me  that if anyone tried to put rubbish in it, tell them the skip is private hire.

Most of the bramble / foilage you could probably have a bonfire with - depending on site rules.

Once I had done most of the hard work - I found out we have 3 lads on community service,  each day through the spring and summer, to work & dig overgrown plots so they can be given to applicants. Worth asking ;)

[Tee Gee]

Hi Emmy welcome to A4A

I would guess most of us have been at your stage I have attached before and after pictures of my allotment.

The first picture(sorry about the quality) was how it was when I took it over, it took me a couple of months to get it similar to the second picture which was taken last November.

If you look close in the first picture you can just see the outlines of previous bed so I followed these.

Although it was rough the digging was not as bad as it might have been had it not been dug a few years earlier, i.e. the soil below all that rubbish was very good.

So as the others say don't be daunted in the fullness of time you will get there.

A bed at a time is the best approach I found.

[kt.]

You would never of said they were the same plot if you hadnt seen piccies.  :o

[emmy1978]

Wow, thankyou all so much! I'm really grateful for all your inspirational advice, from the trees to all the encouragement. I'm well prepared for it to take a long time to get it as I want it- any garden can't be rushed! I'm so excited about it and can't wait to get started. Will take some pics and post as I progress.
I will definately follow your planting advice, I've grown spuds before and it was ace sending the girls (7 & 5) out to dig them up for dinner. Have also grown toms, peas and beans in the days when we had a garden, but nothing on allotment scale.
Big hugs to you all and thanks again. x

[emmy1978]

This reply to sarah. Yes it's Lindale Road. see you soon!!

[sarah]

great, i will PM you when i get a minute. ;D

[emmy1978]

TeeGee- can't tell you how reassuring those pictures are!! The before picture is pretty much what I'm looking at now and I can't wait to see all that lovely earth below!!
My dad is saying rotivate it and I say nooooo! So we are slightly at war at the mo but hey. We'll see next year when he has 10 billion weeds and I have beautiful carefully dug soil har har!!

[tilts]

I emmy, good luck with the plot and have a peek above at the wiki tab, i have only just had a look and found two really good suggestions.  One of them may help you ~ lasagne gardening (you could google it too), particularly whilst you tame the weeds and want to look as if the work is not so daunting.  Hope the girls enjoy it, my grandchildren love going to the lottie.  Check out your local freecycle and dontdumpthat sites for free stuff to help you get organised.

[emmy1978]

Thanks tilts, will definately have a look at don'tdumpthat. Had such brilliant advice from this site, am now totally addicted. Will be posting pics soon so you can all watch my progress!!