Hi everyone my names scott and iv just returned form my first site visit and within a week or so im taken on my first allotment plot. Its a overgrown plot not to bad, grass and brambles approx 2ft high. Cant wait to get stuck in clearing it all is my goal for this year and getting the site ready for next year. Just wonderd if there was any advice anyone could give me as im a begginner and all replys would be welcome. Great to be part of a forum and a totally new world for me. Cheers everyone. Scott :) :)
Do a bit at a time. don't get disheartened and lose faith in the first year. Plant what you like to eat. If you do a search on newbie threads there is loads of advice in archives. Or if you cant find what you are looking for then don't be afraid to ask. Enjoy....... Don't forget before and after pictures ;D
Thanks KT for all your advice, i know your right about taking it bit by bit but you just cant help wanting to get stuck in cant you. Will take loads of pics and post them. thanks again.Scott
Hi and welcome must agree with KT a little and often and do not over do things as you will exhaust yourself and want to give up. Just take your time and do it properly. You will find all the advise you will need with some really great tips
Good luck
Welcome from another Yorkie! You've come to the right place for good avice!
:)Thanks guys its great to have found a new interest and at the same time found a forum full of like minded friends
regards scott
hiya, scott and welcome..make a paper plan, mark out all the paths and work a bit at a time..if you're not planting into cleared land at once, cover it so's the weeds don't grow back ;D
welcome :) this is a fab forum, and ditto really, KT is right plant what you want to eat, do little and often, but mostly have fun ;D
Welcome to the asylum Scott, as KT says bit at a time, mark out a small area and aim to clear it in one or two visits and so on, happy digging. ;D ;D ;D
Hello and welcome - Congrats on your first plot, sounds like you're well up for it! When we got our plot we got stuck in with clearing and digging. We used a fork to dig out couch grass but were lucky, that was the worst there was.
I set small goals like 4'x4' patch for a visit and if i went over then all the better. We covered the bits we weren't digging with many things ranging from an old rug we found in the shed to cardboard and weed supprssant - which by the way is available in poundland for 7mx1m. Bargain. ;D
We'd cleared about a third of it (half plot) in about a month doing an hour or two here and there around kids, work and college. I started planting as soon as i had a clear patch, sowed radishes, lettuce and stuff like that which you can still do now and all over the summer. I found loads of reduced fruit canes, plants and bulbs in wilkinsons today. Got an agapanthus for 25p and pack of 30 summer bulbs for £1.25 ;D
I had a plot like yours last year, and I am still trying to clear it. I covered some of it with black thick plastic, which was great as it killed the weeds and kept it moist so it was easier to dig than when it has dried out. I have cleared about 1/2 the allotment now, each time I go over I do about a 3 x 4 feet section. If I do to much I find that for a few days after I have back trouble. But each time I clear a small patch I plant sometime and the pleasure I get from seeing everything grow is fantastic, although I know I am probably doing everything wrong, it still grows. The help I get from 'Allotments 4 all' - just reading other peoples questions and answers is tremendous help. Jan :)
:) Thanks every one iv really dropped lucky ive found a great plot 2day and also a great source of advice from you guys.
thanks so much
hope to chat about many subjects in the future
regards scott :)
Hi Scot and welcome.
Your first step to success was finding this friendly forum :)
The things I have asked and learned from here have been fantastic and I'm still not a *Dottie Lottie* yet ;D still waiting (fingers crossed it won't be long.)
Having a teeny tiny veg garden certainly hasn't stopped me from growing veg, herbs and a few flowers. Reading people's advice and tips has inspired me to grow stuff in containers I don't think I would have even contemplated trying without this site.
One sentance of warning...This site becomes addictive, very quickly. ;D
Lauren