Topic: Total beginner - sorry if you heard this all before

[pinklaces34]

Hi, I am going to be hopefully getting a plot at an allotment near me in about 15 weeks and as I am totally new to this was just wondering what the easiest way would be for me to start.  Bear in mind the only thing I have ever planted is some ready grown herbs in a window box.  I would really like to be able to grow vegetables in the plot so any tips on getting started would be greatly appreciated.  Sorry if this is a question you get a lot.

Thanks  :)

[coznbob]

Don't be silly, everyone has got to start somewhere, and ask silly questions to learn!   Especially me ::)

Good luck with the plot and someone who knows a lot more than I will probably answer your questions a lot better. But I guess it really depends on what condition your plot will be in at the time you get it, what you like to eat etc...

Do a search on here and there are a lot of interesting threads and maybe get a few things started off in tubs etc that you can plant out when you get the plot, depending if you can see it for brambles etc

Hope all goes well..... :)

[OliveOil]

Hey - welcome to the best allotment site!

The only advice i have is not to panic or worry. It will all happen and this time next year you will be an expert LOL

[Simba42]

welcome.

Don’t buy too much yet.. I would wait until you actually get your hands on the plot to see that state of it. If your in a popular area then there is likely to be a waiting list which im assuming your nearly at the front of. so you might be lucky and get a site that’s not in bad condition.

I would go down to the sites at the weekend and chat to the fellow peoples see what advise they can give you.. Get some good books and browse this site. many answers found here.

Write down what you like to eat and go to a garden centre and read the back of packets to see when you need to sowing and when you can expect harvest. Some things you may be too late for this year.

Check local supply of free stuffs..... like horse poo... wooden pallets... recycle centres, find out where things are.

if you can get some free pallets, make some small wooden troughs and start growing in your garden, if you have one, then transplant into the ground when you get a lottie.

[weedgrower]

if your plot is properly cultivated then your onto a winner but if not i say just reclaim a bed at a time. no use going gungho at it and then getting p.ssed of with it and giving it up. a good idea is to get 1 good book that tells you about crop rotation, what to plant, how to plant it etc. dr hession (think thats how you spell it) is a good book available from  b & q. if you buy too many books you get conflicting advice. next i would say is only grow what you like to eat. for the last 3 years i grew brassicas (broccoli, cauli, cabbage) and ended up giving most of them away so i wont grow them anymore. i trade some of my veg for a cabbage or cauli when i need them. we've all started from where you are and its all about asking questions, experimenting and having fun. good luck   weedgrower

[sally_cinnamon]

someone who knows a lot more than I will probably answer your questions a lot better

Even if we don't have the answers, we all have similar experiences to share which is all valuable, cos we've all been there at some point!  I've just taken on a plot which was quite overgrown, like many other people on here have done.  Have a look at peoples blogs to see where they started and where they have got to.  I know that Heldi has a thread somewhere showing the progress of her plot and it is fab, and really inspiring.

Good luck and keep posting!  See if you can get some pictures of your prospective plot...

 ;)

a good idea is to get 1 good book

There's a thread about books here...
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,91/topic,29735.0

... and also a wiki section...
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_mambowiki/Itemid,92/

[Trevor_D]

Welcome to the site!

15 weeks time puts you at the end of August or beginning of September, which is an ideal time to start a lottie (we got ours mid-Sept) and you won't need to start worrying about what to plant where, because for most stuff it'll be too late for this season (OK - over-wintered onions, garlic, broad beans and the like). So you can really concentrate on getting the beds prepared ready for next spring and on looking around & asking questions like the others have said.

Aim to get, say, a quarter or a third of the plot ready for planting next spring. If you achieve that, you'll be happy; if you get more than that done, you'll be over the moon! But if you aim to do the lot, and only get half done, you'll get despondent & feel ready to give up!

Have fun! And keep asking silly questions!

[Barnowl]

And remember to aim to grow things you really like to eat (plus one of something odd)!

[antipodes]

Hello! I am just a new starter, got my plot in Jan so it was a bit late to really go gung ho. I am doing a bit at a time.
Dunno what the others think, late August, you might get away with some potatoes to eat new at the end of the autumn, maybe some leeks and sprouts? And maybe garlic to stay over winter for the spring. But you will probably be digging mostly :)
This year I am doing fairly banal stuff, peas, beans, spuds, tomatoes, courgettes, a bit of pumpkin and melon, herbs, carrots, parsnips, beets, radish, lettuce, onions and garlic. Sounds like a lot, but there is only a bit of each. Luckily all these things are spread out over a certain period (the garlic went in in Feb...). Spuds are good because they dig over the soil when you harvest, they keep a while and honestly they are dead easy to grow, you really have to try hard to bugger that up! You can plant them over a series of a few months for a long harvest time. Beans too are dead easy.  Don't grow anything you won't eat!!!
Just do a bit at a time. That is good advice. If a bit seems overgrown, try to smother the vegetation by covering it until you can deal with it properly.
A planting calendar is a good help, tells you when you can plant and when to harvest. Lots of those on the Web.
Oh I also read a bit about crop rotation so I could plan my areas well. That seems to be quite useful too.
The first year you will probably bugger up a lot of it, as I am doing, but some things will grow despite your TLC hee hee And really so what if your carrots are a bit crooked or not so big, or some of your tomatoes a bit moth-eaten and 5 of your beet went woody and the birds got stuck into one of your melons. You will still have the pleasure of eating a FEW really delicious veg, and get some exercise and fresh air. Next year you will know what to do better.
Good luck!

[manicscousers]

try to fnd out sizes and make out an ultimate plan, it makes it easier to work to..bit by bit, you'll get there, and welcome to the friendly site  ;D

[sally_cinnamon]

And really so what if your carrots are a bit crooked or not so big, or some of your tomatoes a bit moth-eaten and 5 of your beet went woody and the birds got stuck into one of your melons. You will still have the pleasure of eating a FEW really delicious veg, and get some exercise and fresh air. Next year you will know what to do better.
Good luck!

EXACTLY!!!   ;D   ;D   ;D

[chlodonnay]

HI we got limited mobility plot (very small) in July last year. We were desparate to get growing so put a few things in- mizuna, rocket, pumpkins, fennel and courgettes. Happy growing!

[emmy1978]

Hello and welcome. It is sooo friendly here. Loads of us lottie beginners to make you feel better and loads of really experienced allotmenteers who are so generous with their knowledge.
So,15 weeks? Bless you, I hate waiting!!
 Can you start some stuff off now in prepartion for bunging it in the ground when you get the lottie? like sweetcorn and toms?
How clear will it be when you get it, ie, will you have a bit of earth to bung it in before you start on the rest?
You can sow lettuce, radish, pak choi, beetroot, spring onion, climbing beans, late variety carrots like Autumn King, late broc and leeks, rocket etc no probs all the way up to July. So that's pretty good for a first years crop in itself!
Hoping the weeks fly by - a book I would recommend while you wait is Caroline Foley's 'Practical Allotment Gardening'. Her Allotment Handbook is also great but the first one is brill for beginners. Loads of pics and plans and very basic advice - paths and compost bins.
Ooh and join your local freecycle group for tools, buckets, straw, pallets and other allotment gubbins.  8)

[Trevor_D]

Oops, sorry - what am I thinking about? 15 weeks takes you to the end of July, not the end of August! (Maths never was my strong point!)

In that case, have a good nosey round at the plot if you can. If any of it is workable, you can plant leeks, cabbages, kale & stuff straight away. And any quick-growing salad stuff, especially if you can grow it in modules at home so that it's all ready to go.

And then you've got weeks to get the ground ready to plant onions & garlic in mid-October and perhaps some over-wintered broad beans in Oct/Nov. Lucky you!

[prink13]

Hi and welcome to the site - only advice from me is ASK!  ???

I knew nothing about gardening last year - and still don't know too much - but every little snippet of info has been picked up from this sute!  :D

See if there is a local group on your allotment site, and just keep asking questions! - Good Luck and Enjoy ;D