New allotment - any advice?

[WhoAteAllTheDinosaurs]

I've just taken on an allotment. I had visions of idyllic summertime pottering about growing beautiful fruit and vegetables, while my children enjoy the space too, but I think that might take some time!!
It is covered in weeds, has some raised beds in it that we can see that are falling apart, a patch of rotten wood that at one point was clearly a nice seating area but is now a home for slugs. Lots of it is covered under black plastic sheeting, which I suppose is something...
According to the neighbour there are lots of perennial weeds under the plastic, and the previous people come down a few times and then gave up as it was too weedy.
I must admit I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing, and have no idea where to start. Any tips would be very welcome!!

Sounds as though you might be on the plot next to me! Mine's the one with sunflowers that have just come out immediately next door 🌻.

I would say:

1. Don't try and tackle it all at once, if you can strim away any long grass it will look better straight away, with a cordless strimmer or long handles shears. Leave the black webbing for now and maybe tackle one raised bed at a time, even if they are dilapidated you could buy some veg plants from a garden centre to make a start this summer if you are quick.
2. Talk to your plot neighbours, IME they are a great source of tips and info. Look at what is growing well on their plots chances are it will work for you too.
3. Little and often visits can be better than long ones
4. Don't rush out and buy all the tools at once, I use a fork and hand fork for virtually everything. Hose and/or watering can.

There are quite a few youtube channels that follow the process of starting up a new allotment. Here is one for example, a young woman who took over an allotment earlier this year:

They may give you some ideas, or at least consolation that others are in the same situation.

There is a limit to what you can plant this time of year. Things like perpetual spinach and lettuce straight into ground from seed. Ask around you may still be able to get some tomato plants. Plant some beans indoors now then plant out. I would have a chat with the allotment organiser and check timeframe for having it all under cultivation- they should give you some leaway. For next year things like Jerusalem artichokes, squashes and courgettes are easy.

I've had my half plot precisely 5 days @WhoAteAllTheDinosaurs so I will gladly despair and celebrate along with you!

Mine has absolutely nothing on it other than weeds, mostly annual stuff but a bit of couch grass and bramble tucked in. Weirdly there is a big patch in the middle that is very stony, no idea what the previous occupants used it for but there's no evidence of anything useful.

I've been doing half an hour after work most days this week. I strimmed it in sections so that I could see what lay beneath and then today I've dug out some of the stuff that resisted the strimmer, scraping things off with the spade at ground level too. I also stupidly tried to strim a corner that was full of clover but it ended up in a big mess so I just pulled it by hand (and put it in my compost bag that is doing the job until I build some bins). Next job is to hoe the path so my plot neighbour doesn't hate me 🙂, put up a plastic polytunnel thing, and then put a dividing fence up between me and the other half of this plot.

Once I've got my tunnel up I plan to get some salad bits in as they are a nice and quick reward for all the graft! It will definitely be worth it in the long run but I know the early days will be a slog. We will get there!

Leave the sheeting for now. The longer it's down, the more effective it will be at killing off the weeds underneath.

I'd clear the rotten wood (slug shelter), mark out some beds in the uncovered area, dig them over (or cover with card and compost if doing no-dig), and get some green manure in.

Start actual planting in 1 or 2 small beds so tou can see you've made progress but don't have too big an area to keep in top of. This is the perfect time of year to sow salads and leafy greens - after midsummer they're less likely to bolt. Salad leaves, pak choi, beetroot (before mid August it should have time to grow), rainbow chard will stand through a mild winter or come back quickly in spring if it does get frosted, and radishes. There's still time for dwarf beans, too.

@EasterlyDirections I haven't seen any sunflowers next door - so maybe not, but I can only imagine that the next door neighbours are a bit fed up of the mess! We can't even open the gate to our plot yet due to the weeds and lack of path so have been borrowing theirs for access 🤦🏻‍♀️

@Another2Cats thanks for the recommendation, I fell down a rabbit hole last night watching her videos - fascinating (and terrifying) to watch her plot start to take shape.

@starpatch thanks for the suggestions. I think the soil is not terrible in the raised beds (that we can see) so I think we will start that end and try to weed those and get at least something planted in them soon.

@PensionPuzzle 👋 fellow new allotment owner! I do wonder at the state some of them are in to be honest. We wandered around the site last night, and while some are lovely and obviously productive and well-tended, a lot are in various states of disrepair and massive overgrowth! Sounds like you've done some good work though, well done!

@NoBinturongsHereMate thank you - we will leave the sheeting for now, after we've had a look to see what's under it! For those in the know, is it best to strim/cut down/clear weeds etc before the plastic is down or does it not matter? I'm not sure what the previous people have done, I think in some places they just stuck it on top.
The wooden bit will definitely need to go, but looks like a big job - it's all heavy sleepers. Will definitely need lots of help for that bit!!
Any suggestions for green manure?

Slug central

The whole plot...

Strimming weeds before covering makes for a flatter surface and easier job, but males.little difference to the end result.

Green manure - avoid anything that sets seed easily and gives you a new weed problem (vetch & rye, particularly). At this time.of year I'd go for a 2-stager. Mustard or fenugreek now, which are good weed suppressors. Then in October dig that in and sow field beans - they will stand over winter and feed the soil, and give you an edible spring crop similar to broad beans.

It doesn't look it now but that genuinly looks like a good plot. I took on a plot not dissimilar to yours when I got it.

I....

a) removed anything loose, such as rubbish, plants of wood, plastic sheeting etc. Keep aside anything you think you can reuse and ditch the rest.

b) Then strimmed the whole plot short. I appreciate it doesn't actually make much of a difference to the end result - because it'll all just grow back unless tackled properly - BUT it helped me psychologically. The whole plot looked 1000% neater and so felt like a proper gardening space.

I then

c) replaced any rotten raised bed sides or secured any that were loose.

d) Got a ton of top soil delivered to the allotments and barrowed in it to 'top up' my raised beds. I put layers of cardboard down first.

e) Covered all the beds with weed membrane and left them for the winter. So, in summary, my raised beds were

• strimmed weeds
• a layer of cardboard
• top soil
• weed membrane on top

The following spring I then uncovered each bed at a time. I dug out any persistant weeds that had survived the winter covered up and started planting.

All through the winter, while waiting for spring I spent the time getting a shed in and built, stocking up on tools, securing the fencing etc. It was a long drag but when spring came around, I was ready to get going! That was 2 years ago now and I love it.

Look up no dig gardening...if you've got a bed that isn't too bad then put down lots of manure and thick layers of cardboard and plant through it. This is best if you buy plug plants - you might still get sprouts and cabbages as plug plants.

I was a very keen allotment holder till 4 years ago, I still have it but it's in a poor way.

What was good for keeping it going was visiting little and often. Half an hour every day is better than a whole Saturday....

Don't try and do too much at once.

I got a load of spent mushroom compost delivered...that was cheap and plentiful.

There's a great book called the half hour allotment that I found very encouraging at first!

Don't plant a hedge, think about paths that you won't need to weed or strim...

If I was you I'd tackle a bed at a time and put them to sleep properly for the winter, dig out the perennial weeds, cover with cardboard and compost and black plastic and weigh down. Come the spring they'll be lovely to plant into.