Topic: Any tips for a complete amateur!

[Digitalis]

I'm getting my hands on my very first allotment patch soon.

What is the first thing I should be doing on the plot? It is 325 sq.yds. I'm not quite sure what state it is.

I am a complete amateur, but have been doing a lot of reading online.

Any tips would be great!

[saddad]

Congratulations, and welcome to this site and your own plot...
 ;D

Have a look, see which bits, if any, can be turned over and cultivated first...
Cover or "poison" the rest.... until you can get to it... Spuds, onion sets and cabbage types are a good place to start...
Have a read round in the site...  :)

[daileg]

make a drawing of what and where you want to plant
decide if it will be raised beds or standard planting

start at one end dig over and plant up as summer is comming its a good spur to see something come to fruition then continue along the plot
clearing and digging over as you go
if you can get your hands on some well rotted manure from a reliable source as to establish where and what the animals were fed on and whether pesticides were used on the hay or straw if the answer is the manure checks out use to bulk up add water retention and nutrients .
start by sowing some tomatoes spinnach cabbage and couliflowers, leeks
onions sets can go in now as garlick

that should get you going for now

[lewic]

If the plot is overgrown, get a garden incinerator - much more effecient than a bonfire for the weeds

[Eristic]

Make sure you have a basic shelter or shed complete with tea-making facilities.

An old fork and spade from the car boot sale will outperform the entire range of pretty tool imitations in the shops.

An hour three times a week will get better results than a whole day on Sunday.

Until you have more experience, follow the instructions on the seed packets religiously.

Only grow things you like to eat.

Remember that most crops mature en masse and do not keep. Only grow what you can eat.

Plant some flowers.

[Tee Gee]

I put this on my website the other day to help people such as you;

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Allotments/Introduction.htm

Follow all the links and you will lose your amateur status.

[asbean]

Take plenty of photos to record your progress  :) :) :)

[thifasmom]

An hour three times a week will get better results than a whole day on Sunday.

is that because once you get started you forget about time until you realise you are having trouble seeing and when you take stock it twilight and getting dark and everyone has gone home ;), then that's what happens to me in my garden, i look up to figure out why i can't see and notice the sun has practically set, my neighbour another avid but older gardener has more than callled it a day and my kids are peering at me through the windows instead of at the TV cause they are hungry and want their dinner ::) and yep Eristic is right you certainly get more done this way ;D.

lots of good advice so far welcome to the site and wishing you a great growing season :).

[Robert_Brenchley]

That's probably true. I'm still affected by ME from years ago and I'd have trouble doing a whole day. Short bursts seem to achieve a lot more.

[Digitalis]

Thanks for all the replies, people!

I've just had a look at some pictures of overgrown/neglected plots online, and it has made me quite a bit scared of taking one on in that state!

I have also read the various websites tips on how to clear a plot, and this has daunted me, too. Do I really need a rotovator??

Am I allowed to bring a couple of people onsite to help me with the clearing?

I'm having second thoughts about the whole thing now.

[cornykev]

Hi CD we've all been where you are and it is daunting, I had my Dad and mate to help me get started so that shouldn't be a problem, but wait until you've seen it first and don't use a rotovater it will break your weeds up tenfold and will be harder to weed in the long run.  ;D ;D ;D

[Tee Gee]

Do I really need a rotovator??

No not really, sometimes they cause more work than they are worth, i.e. in certain circumstances they can increase the weed problem rather than reduce it!

Am I allowed to bring a couple of people onsite to help me with the clearing?

Of course you can!

I'm having second thoughts about the whole thing now.

Go for it!!  the feeling of achievement after it is all done is tremendous, and remember this;  many of us have been in a similar situation, including me!

Go for it!!

[Weed-Digga]

Don't be put off!
Yes, allotmenteering(?) is hard work and time consuming, but I love the time I spend there, so it doesn't seem like a hardship.
We have made our plot into a series of raised beds with weed-suppressant fabric and bark covered paths between them. We chose this option as we all work full time so can only really manage to get to the plot for a good 'stint' at the weekend,and it keeps the weeding to a minimum.
However you choose to layout your plot, plant up the beds as you go as it gives you encouragment to see something growing whilst you a toiling away on the next patch

Weed-Digga

[Barnowl]

Absolutely. When clearing a site the more the merrier and don't worry: we've all faced it and we're still here :)

Wait until you have your first bonfire - you'll feel great.

If you can;t do more, the golden rule is a bit at a time,  planting as you clear areas.

You don't need a rotovator - I've never even see one on our allotments and as Joe on GQT found, they can do more harm than good by chopping weeds into little segments which grow back thereby multiplying a weed problem.

[Old bird]

Don't fall at - well - not even the first hurdle!!!

See what you have first - then think long and hard as to whether you really really want to commit some time to it!

Until you know what you are likely to get - It may be perfect!! - or not as is more possible.  You can have any number of people helping you!  Go on - give it a go - and if you then decide you don't like it (I doubt it if you will as the veggies that you will produce will be superb) then at least you will have tried.

Nothing worse than getting on in life and saying "I wish I had done that"!!

Good luck - anyway.

Old Bird ;D

[Digitalis]

Thanks for the encouragement people!

I know you are right- I should go and look at the plot I've been assigned before panicking!

Can I ask one more thing?

I'm thinking of splitting the plot up in to, say, eigths, and attempting to clear and prepare one segment at a time over a period of months. The segments that are waiting to be cleared will be covered with black bags or black plastic, and possibly sprayed with weedkiller. I would then get to work at planting in the prepared area(s) with the tomato and strawberry plants I have growing at home.

Does that sound ok? Do I simply cover the weeds/grass straight away, or should I be cutting them back to ground level before?

Will the allotment manager allow me to only use, in theory, one eigth of my plot for the first few months (provided that I keep the weeds under control)?

How long will the covered areas take before the weeds are dead?

And- finally- is there any need to cover the area(s) that I prepare with black bags/plastic, or do I leave it open?

Thanks again!

[pippy]

I think what you are suggesting is actually the best way to approach it.  I did my plot in stages just like you are planning.

Aim to dig beds into it and then get something planted in them as you dig them.  I did 4 foot beds and had four beds up and running in my first season.  I'm on year 3 now and have only this year dug over the whole plot into all the nasty corners ;D

Rome wasn't built in a day, and they certainly didn't lay all the foundations before finishing any of the buildings - talk to your committee/council but if the plot is overgrown I bet they will be happy to see it taken on in stages.

Best of luck - looking forward to hearing your progress and successes!

[saddad]

and seeing it... pics please...  ;D

[Digitalis]

There will be pics aplenty, I assure you!

[DaveR]

Best of luck - I'm in exactly the same position as you, except I'm 3 visits to my plot ahead of you!  ;D  My blog details the progress I've made so far, but basically I'm starting at one end, and hope I get to the other end of the plot sometime before the next millenium!

Enjoy yourself!