Allotments 4 All

 :D
I am so excited and wanted to share the good news with people who understand!
After 18 months of being on the waiting list, and many hassling emails to the council (!) I have just got a letter to say they are offering me an allotment!!!

YIPPEEEEEE!

So very excited, can't wait to get started. Now just off to check it out - it is being offered rent free for a year "due to the overgrown nature of the plot", so am a bit anxious!!!

Will report back to let you know...just wanted to shout HOOORRRAAYYY!

Will be coming back for lots of tips and advice from you seasoned growers!

Congratulation on the new lottie. lets hope its not in to much of a mess.

well done

Congratulations lucky bear!  You do realise your life will never be the same again!

Don't stress about it being overgrown.  That's all part of the fun and clearing it will help you to get to know your soil and conditions.  I would strim it all then cover most of it to weaken the growth.  Meantime, you can get on with clearing a small area quickly and get some seeds sown.  It's not too late to get some things growing for this year.  There have been lots of recent threads about what can still be sown.

Little and often and enjoy!  

Great news!!
As Ceres says don't worry about it being over grown as you can soon tame it, the important thing is you have finally got a plot  ;D ;D.

Thanks everyone for your lovely posts...will probably be on here every day now looking for more advice!

I have just been down to look and it's not nearly as bad as I thought! My friend cleared hers (different site in Norwich) which was all 6 ft brambles and hadn't been touched for years, so that's what I was expecting. But our new one is "only" grass, nettles and weeds...it doesn't look too bad. (although still lots of work!)

Plus, very excited to find in the undergrowth a left-behind hosepipe (result!) and massive rhubarb - our first crop!!!

Look forward to getting to know you all and swapping tips - thanks for the advice about getting seeds in now...will probably give it a go, why not?! Have several seedlings to plant soon that I've been nurturing at home.

Yay!  Nettles are your second crop - they are fantastic in compost and you can brew an equally fantastic but evil-smelling fertiliser with them.  Get pulling the rhubarb too as you should let it rest for next year around July/August time.  If you need to divide or move it, winter is best.

If you're desperate for a crop, cut the nettles down, then as they regrow, use the tips to make nettle soup.

Congratulations, now for the hard but rewarding work. Enjoy.

Congratulations, luckybear! And good luck with getting it sorted out- if you haven't got brambles or bindweed count yourself lucky! ;D

Hiya
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.  We've had our allotment for three years now and this afternoon we just finished digging and rotavating the last of the 6 massive beds we've made.  We've done it a bit at a time and whilst the bind weed continues to rear it's ugly head this is the first year we've really noticed there's less of it.  Have fun!

Congratulations Luckybear.  Enjoy every moment of it, and the good nights sleep's you're going to get money couldn't buy ;D

It's magic.

Sinbad

Congratulations, luckybear, hope you enjoy yourself  ;D
Hi, Redduck, welcome to the site  ;D

Thanks Manic scouser...i'm getting some fab information on this site.  It's great!!!!

WOOHOOOO
CONGRATS!!!!
Had my lottie for 2mths and just starting to see progress
hard work but worth it  ;D

Lucky you luckybear and welcome.  Enjoy the plot and enjoy this site.