woo hoo!!!

[grogirl]

i got my first lottie!!!! ;D ;D ;D how exiting! i was bracing myself for a long wait as the council site has at least a 2 year wating list, but today someone at work happened to mention another site that i didn't even know was there, run by the parish council, so, i rang them up as soon as i got home and lo and behold....5 plots had become vacant and even though i am just out of parish.... i can have one!!!!yay!!!
happy dance time!! i'll have to wait a few days for admin to do the necassaries and then....it's mine!! can't wait to see what it's like!!! local garden  center here i come!!! ;D ;D happy day for  grogirl and the mini growettes! best wishes gg x x

[grogirl]

[Lauren S]

Grogirl I'm so excited for you.
I know how you feel as I have just got my lottie too. Nice feeling isn't it? Ideal time of year to get one, plenty of time to clear and feed the ground before the major growing season starts.

Lauren  :)

[lorna]

Congratulations, don't forget the before and after pics

[manicscousers]

dancing with you  ;D

[grogirl]

thank you very much for your kind words! i've calmed down a bit now and am starting to feel a bit daunted! going to have a good trawl around the internet for things to plant now! oooh! exiting! gg x x

[cornykev]

Go girl  Grogirl, ain't no stopping you now your on the move.  ;D ;D ;D

[SnooziSuzi]

Congratulations Grogirl!

whereabouts in the country is your lottie?

[grogirl]

glorious cornwal! ;D

[glosterwomble]

I've calmed down a bit now and am starting to feel a bit daunted! ... gg x x

NO don't feel daunted, I went to just view the allotment site with the woman in charge when I got mine. I just casually said 'Is that plot with the old shed free', she said it was, started writing on her clipboard and then handed me a key to the site! (She almost ran out of the site at that point which scared me!)  I was terrified but it worked out ok.

I think when you first take on a plot you feel elated, then terrified at what you've taken on and you worry about the work. I did that when I first got mine but there really is no worry, if it didn't work out (it will though!) you can hand the plot back. You'll be fine and in a few weeks time you'll be totally into it and chuffed to bits with your new plot.

Well done and good luck!!  ;D ;D ;D

[saddad]

Congratulations Grogirl... look forward to seeing some before and after pics...
;D

[Uncle Joshua]

Congrats, hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine.

[Amazin]

local garden  center here i come!!!

Don't go mad on the spending, GG - here's your essential shopping guide:

Wilkinsons
Lidl
Poundstretcher
99p Store
Freecycle
Skip hunt
A4A Swap shop

... only then should you think about going to the Garden Centre!

Enjoy!    ;D

[grogirl]

thank you so much for your wonderfull advice ;D  it's very reasuring knowing the huge resource and comunity of A4A is right there 'rooting' for me! pardon the pun. ;D best wishes gg x x

[ellkebe]

Congrats Grogirl  :)  - looking forward to seeing some before pics.

[grogirl]

weeeell! i went to today to get an idea of where my plot is and  :o :o it is massively overgrown and looks as though it has not been used for years and years  :-[. The overgrowth was more than 4foot high!!

So i got chatting to a lovely lady who told me a bit about the lotties and mentioned that there had been some talk of having the whole row ploughed (mine is the middle one of aboit nine 9 (all in the same state) around january.

So, i'm a bit stuck, the ploughing isn't definate might be waiting into feb....march....even, but as i am the middle plot it would make ploughing either side of me really difficult, and it would save me a massive job. So what to do? wait and see or try and tackle the overgrowth?

advice please! thank you, gg x x

[Suzanne]

It is going to depend on what types of weeds you have got. I was asked if I wanted my first lottie ploughing when i took it on 3 years ago. But it was full of horsetail and couch grass - so decided to grit my teeth and dig it out. Apart from some ver small areas in the paths most of these weeds have gone now. Ploughing would have spread them everywhere. :-\

[cornykev]

Dig dig dig get them weeds out now, cut the growth down to ground level and dig them weeds out, cover what your not digging and them areas will be weakened when you get to dig them parts of the lottie.  ;D ;D ;D

[powerspade]

Having a allotment is the best thing I have had, plenty of fresh air,exercise, fresh veggies, and lots of new friends.
Don't go to the garden centres first- Wilkinson's I find are very good for value, keep your eyes open from June onwards as they begin to seed off many things at reduced prices, I had some great bargins in July as they sold off supplus seeds at half price so I have nearly all my seed ready for next season

[twinkletoes]

Great news Grogirl.  It always brings back the great feeling of elation I felt when we got the lottie when I read about someone else getting theirs - then I remember the digging up of couch and brambles through autumn and winter (when it was not wet!) and know now that it truly was worth every forkful, as I now feel elated when I see how much success we have achieved in the first year and the little failures - which I intend to get right next year.   I agree that garden centres are the very last place to go to buy stuff.  Can I add Freecycle to the list of places to visit please?

Wish I had taken more sensible "before" pictures now - so don't forget to keep your camera handy.

Twinkletoes

[Andy H]

Congrats Grogirl

As said above, depends on the weeds, and cover what not using,
bit at a time Its a sinch by the inch....

New guy on our allotments today waited 2yrs 2months, didn`t know the waiting list was up to 40, got our first one straight away 4 yrs ago.

Good Luck...... :D