Topic: Got a plot!

[ellkebe]

I'm very excited - and still a bit dazed - as I got my allotment site today  :)

I was going to get a five rod one but then was shown a couple of ten rod ones that didn't require too much extra clearing, and had fruit trees!  I'll try to get OH to show me how to post a picture later, once he's stopped chuntering about all the hard work he's in for!  Basically mainly overgrown grass for first part over somewhat uneven ground.  I'm sure there's lots of horrors lurking - one large ant nest at least that I saw.  Then there's a sort of dividing fence that you can't see very well as previous holder has grown roses there, and the fruit trees overhang it.  Behind there's the fruit trees - a couple of fairly mature apples, and a plum - some more grass, a fairly dilapitated shed (one window broken but roof not leaking - and 2 wooden chairs for sitting down for a cuppa!) and an old open frame compost bin complete with compost.

Site has a car park, garden shop, cafe, toilets, regular water taps for hoses and a very friendly, knowledgable steward.  I spoke to several other holders, including my neighbour at the back - and have an invitation to take my son to see some beehives!  Everyone seemed really friendly and welcoming.

All in all I hope it's going to be great - recovering from the excitement at the moment but will up there tomorrow.  Any ideas on what to do first, what to grow etc. will be gratefully received  :)

Ellkebe

[Palustris]

Good on you!

[Marianne]

Hi Ellkebe,

I am so very pleased for you, especially since you also have the fruit trees! 

Not too sure where you should start as I do not have one but I am sure you will find plenty of things to plant!

Good luck !
 ;D :D

[Roy Bham UK]

;D Sounds like you have got yourself a brilliant plottie ;) a shed and somewhere to sit sheer luxury ;D first time I have heard anyone mention a lottie with a cafe, you lucky person you :o and a toilet :o you are going to be spoiled rotten, I'm so jealous ;D well done and good luck with your produce. ;D

[eileen]

I hope you're going to take your camera with you to your new lottie Ellkebe as we're a nosey bunch and love to see others plots.  :P Then when all the hard work is done we like to compare 'before and after' shots and give you all the praise you deserve.  :D

[the_snail]

A Toilet  :o I am dying to get a toilet on my site. (Sorry about the pun :D) I want to do that because I suffer with IBS and iI get taken short very quickly without notice. Where there is no toilet there is no me :D I do still manage to keep an olletment though! It is a 20 min walk from my house so you can imagine if I get the call of nature to do a slack number 2 then it is curtains or a big hole in the ground and cover it up :D The spontanious compost toilet. :D Hey good luck to ya and hope you have great sucsess with ya new plot. Allotments RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

[ellkebe]

Thanks everyone.  I've been up since 6.30 cos I'm excited about getting up there but OH is still slumped in bed from the sheer exhaustion of having to walk round and choose an allotment - plus he *doesn't*  want to get up and face a day there!

I'm hoping to be able to hire one of the petrol driven mowers on site but apparently they're very popular at this time of year and certainly a lot were in evidence yesterday.  And/or mark out one or two raised beds and try to get constructing.

The shed has various bits of junk in it but the steward has said he'll get it cleared if we don't feel up to it, and on reflection I might take him up on that - but will keep the chairs!

When I say cafe ... it sells tea, coffee and squash and provides somewhere to sit down  inside.  It's nothing fancy and is only open for short hours!  But I think I'm going to be grateful for it  :)

Haven't seen toilets yet as keys for these and the front gates (for weekdays and evenings) have to be cut during the week.  I'm hoping a kindly neighbour will lend us theirs if needed today and tomorrow!

Sexy snail - poor you :(   I have IBS as well, but no where need as bad, more like I can't do much when the cramping is bad.  As far as I can see the doctors can't do a thing about it, though I must have had every uncomfortable - and embarassing  ;D - procedure possible!!

OH and LO both took a 'before' photo and I will try to get OH to show me how to post it.  It'll be embarassing though if the four weeks later photo looks just the same  :P

Ellkebe

[maz]

How exciting for you ellk.

Im very impressed with the shop/toilet feature too as we have nothing like that. My brother has a lottie in another part of town and he has a club on site. Im not sure exactly what that is, prolly a load of peeps all huddled into someones shed, lol.

Good for you anyway. Im looking foward to the recurring photo!  ;) ;D

[ellkebe]

Didn't get very far on first day - too much standing round and talking to the neigbours!  We just missed the last of the rentable mowers so will try again tomorrow.  Did manage to dig out three metal poles apparently used for runner beans but in a rather awkward place right by the path.  Also dug over two beds and OH is going to build the raised beds for them tomorrow (cut wood to size etc. today).  Very small beds and I've already had a few raised eyebrows and comments but I'm not prepared to tackle the whole site at once, want easy reach, no dig beds,  and with only the 3 of us I want small crops - not feed Britain sized ones!  Really though everyone has been very friendly.

We're still trying to identify the fruit trees - nearby neighbours think at least one is a cooking apple, and the others dessert.  There are several small plum trees as well as the main one, but maybe too small to fruit.  These aside there are five trees.  Signs also of blackberries and what we think may be a young black current.

There's quite a lot of clearing to do around the trees but it will have to wait.

Then we got waylaid by real life and (with a sigh of relief!) OH pointed out that we had to get son to a friend's party.  I'm also trying to go easy on my back and legs as I have a Tae Kwon Do grading next week, and the inability to bend or kick would pretty much mean a fail  :(

I'm hoping to plant up at least one bed tomorrow and was thinking peas and Kenyan beans.  Pea and bean seeds and then in a little while also plant out the peas that are coming on at home.  Do people think that would be an OK mix?

Thanks for everyone's good wishes

Ellkebe

[clairenpaul]

Well done - sounds like you had a good day. I won't  give any advice about what to plant  -  we' re beginners, just muddling along with our lottie but i'm sure the others will keep us right. Looks like you got a good plot - all we got was grass and weeds!!
To add to what the others have said - you are so lucky to have toilets etc, especially toilets (heartfelt sigh from one who's spent the whole afternoon wanting  a toilet, a bucket or even a small hedge to hide behind...)
Good luck, hope you enjoy yourselves :)

[westsussexlottie]

Lucky you to have a loo!

[ellkebe]

Ah, but I also discovered that we have couch grass too  :(

Nearby holders have suggested that as we don't want to cultivate the whole plot this season, we lay plastic down over the two areas and hope to kill it off - or poison it?  Which I guess might be quicker but sounds very worrying!

This would still leave us with an L shaped area to work on the front part, and the fruit part at the back to organise and hopefully clear.

Most have been quite encouraging - pointing out that most allotments have couch etc if they haven't been worked for a while and saying not to get discouraged - or panic, which was my first instinct!

Any thoughts on what to do about the stuff will be gratefully received  :)   Though looking at the thread about Jap knotweed, maybe I should lovingly embrace my couch grass   ;)

Ellkebe