iv just been offered a choice of three allotments tell me what to look for when coosing my plot this afternoon please

[mothersmilkandherchickenseggs]

im so excited iv been waiting and pestering my town council since the begining of the year and iv finally recieved a letter saying i have a choice of three plots we are going to look at them tonight so i have no idea what they will look like i know the land but like many sights some plots are well kept wile others are overgrown can any one give me some some tips for choosing the best plot i farly good knowlage of growing i have are reasonably large plot in my garden but with two young dc's it is taking up alot of ther playing space as the garden is small hence the need for an allotment, i intend to move the two raised beds and soil from my garden to the allotment (we have a van and barrow so shouldnt be to hard) so as not to waste them really oooh im so excited

[gallicgirl]

Not much experience of gardening but I would take a good look at how close the plot is to the water tap!

Mixture of shade and sun perhaps?

[kiery]

Congratulations! So excited for you. Having our allotment has been the best thing for us: saving us lots of money and my dd2 eats so much more veg and fruit when she was so stubborn before. Getting out in the fresh air too.

I would look at how well drained the plots are. At our allotment site some plots have a drainage problem and it can be soul destroying.

What's included in the plot: shed, green house, will you have to pay extra for it? We don't have water provided on our site; so are water butts included too?

You'll get a feel for which one is right for you.
Wishing you all the best and bountiful harvests

[mothersmilkandherchickenseggs]

there are water taps all over the sight one of the main reasons i wanted this particular sight and why i had to wait for it. good avice re shed and greenhouse hadnt thought of that and as we are very poor at the mo i want to spend as little as poss, idealy i think id rather have a greenhouse at home as the site is not to far to tranport seedlings and such like i can keep a better eye on them in regards to water

[mothersmilkandherchickenseggs]

also im just thinking obviously i may have to spend a month clearing it or not all depends but what could or should i put in to fill the ground over the winter and spring i'll probably cover he rest in black sheeting untill next spring but it would be nice to have something in the ground

[mothersmilkandherchickenseggs]

also is it worth doing a scale drwing and really plotting and planning where u shall plant all of next years crops?

[Chestnutx3]

make sure there are no rabbits

[kiery]

Yes, we found doing scale drawings, plotting and planning really helpful; for rotation of crops for each year and just getting organised and visualising what we wanted to plant and what works best planted together (planting spring onions with carrots to help keep the carrot fly away for example!). It also helped to channel some of that enthusiastic energy when all the diggin was done!

We have raised beds and its great for the kids to manage a bit on their own and really easy for rotation and successional planting.