I took over an allotment 2 years ago and although I'm loving it, I do get overwhelmed by the weeds, grass and the amount of work it needs. If the ground was flatter I could lawn part of it off. I've got lots of soft fruit buses but the grass overwhelms them. How do others manage to keep control of their plot?
Don't get overwhelmed. Allotments are a lot of hard work but it is very rewarding. Personally I think black plastic is essential. If there are areas of your plot that are not yet under cultivation then cover them in the plastic & that will help to keep the weeds at bay underneath. It also helps to divide the plot up into smaller bits both mentally & physically & tackle one of those areas at a time rather than looking at the whole thing & despairing. I don't know if this is of any help but don't give up. We see so many people come & fiddle around on a new allotment for a year & then abandon it! We've had 1 or 2 allotments for nearly 20 years now. Still hard work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with Beejay!! We've only had ours for approx. 6 weeks so you're an old pro compared to us Marianz :) But I couldn't face going over there if I didn't know that vast areas of couch grass are quietly rotting under black plastic and are therefore not in immediate need of any kind of work! This allows me to worry about all the other things - like not really knowing what to plant or how, or how to keep the pests off it once it is planted  ;D
Patience and persistence! Mine is still nowhere near what I'd like after six years. As long as it gets a bit better every year, that's all I ask.
Don't fret about weeds, they're a fact of life we just learn to live with
I once read a post from somebody on this forum that said if you put your plants in they would keep the weeds down ???. I think they must have different weeds from mine,as mine delight in hiding under the plants and thrive on the shelter they provide. Just keep on digging ;D
Rosemary
By the way what has happened to the spell check we used to have,next to 'preview' mine has disappeared. I found it invaluable,can I have it back please.
Many thanks to those of you who've been kind enough to reply. I'm hugely reassured. Off now to invest in many yards of black plastic...
Marianz
I agree with MT. Weeds are inevitable and you'll go insane if you don't stop worrying about them. I've got vast tracts of weedy grass which we mow and use it as a sitting area and for playing cricket. It will get done eventually but for the mo we're enjoying it. It looks lovely with buttercups and daises in it. :) A good deal of the rest of it is under plastic and cardboard while I get round to it. My lotty neighbour has gone for digging only. He weed killed the entire plot and is digging it but he only comes once in a while and the area he has dug is again covered in weeds. Where's the fun in that? I used reverse logic of putting in as much as poss with minimum hard work ;D Time will tell :)