Woohoo! I've got an allotment.

[snorkle]

Well half an allotment, but still a good size. Hoping to start clearing it tomorrow. Anyone got any good advice or is anyone else a novice allotment holder?

It's raining today, so not done much. It's covered in weeds which need to be cleared before it can be rotavated. I have cleared a small area & it's quite hard work. Some of the weeds have long white spreading roots forming a network underground. Do I need to get all these out (which will be a nightmare) or is it OK to rotavate them in?

me too! half an allotment.

Now what?

Ahh! a kindred spirit! I have grandiose plans Ilmd! I need a shed (hopefully will dismantle the one in the garden & move it) and a water container, and unless I cover the path in a weed-proof membrane (which may well be cheaper & the way to go) a petrol lawnmower.

I'm thinking of dividing the area into 6 - a little one at the end for the shed, water and compost; one for permanent stuff (rasberries, gooseberries, rhubarb) and 4 more to rotate (one for spuds; one for onions, leeks, garlic + sweetcorn; one for carrots, parsnips, celeriac, beetroot and brassicas; and the last for squash, courgette, peas and beans)

If I can get my act together this autumn I want to grow broad beans & winter peas.

What are you hoping to grow?

Congratulations!
I'm very excited for you.
I have one too which I got in June.

We were strongly advised not to rotavate as it chops up and therefore multiplies the weeds. If you are going to dig them out first you will do the job of the rotavator yourself.
If you poison first with something like glyphosate ( brands like Round-up) you have to make sure it kills all the types of weeds present, then leave it a few weeks to work before you could rotavate.
There is a question about the organic-ness (?) of glyphosate - it allegedly neutralises on contact with the soil.

If you have a lot of weeds you may want to strim first ( if you have brambles def. use a metal blade strimmer), wait for regrowth, Round-up, wait for it to work then dig or rotavate.

You can plant safely according to RHS after a couple of weeks of using glyphosate.

We strimmed and covered the lot with black plastic and black membrane - whatever we had really. If the ground is wet under you can use black plastic to rot it down but if it's dry membrane lets through water so is better. Allplas
online is very cheap place to buy either.

Try getting a shed for FREE from Gumtree.
Bosch make a battery powered mower, seen cheapest on ebay about £189. Perfect for an allotment.

I'm opting for membrane and bark chipping paths as we get chips delivered free to the allotments.

This is my blog I have started to keep a record of what we do. It's only the beginning for us too!

I could go on all day.

Oh btw we are not poisoning at the moment but never say never.

Pulled my 1st carrot proudly yesterday!

I want to plant Raspberries next month... my dream to have loads for my boy to eat.

broad beans - yep, more carrots, jerusalem artichokes, garlic and onions.

I really think it's important to grow what we eat a lot of (carrots, rasps) and what are relatively un-pestered (butternut, onions,garlic, beans) - there's no point in spending loads of mony building frames for a cabbage you can buy for 79p!) and what tastes better grown than bought (rasps, toms).

I could go on all day...esp as the rain is tipping down to much to go to said allotment now!!

congratulations am very

here the waiting lists seem to have waiting lists and they are closed

I have one. Full of brambles and nettles and my gardener (my dad) has broken his leg so not much is happening at the moment .

Leoness's advice sounds good - I'd been thinking about the plastic membrane stuff. I don't want to use pesticides as our allotment borders that of a my friend's, and she's hyper-organic.

Did anyone listen to Gardener's Question Time on Radio 4 where they were discussing the issue of contaminated manure? How does one ensure it isn't contaminated?

Think I'll keep it simple:

onions
potatoes
herbs
garlic

have fantasies about globe artichokes though...

Oh i reall want an allotment but its a 2 year waiting list round here!

Thanks leoness - I looked at your blog - nice carrot! I think you are right about the rotavating - they do it for free for new allotment holders too, but looking at the weed roots it probably would be a false economy. I may do half by hand and get half rotavated to compare.

Spent another hour and a half this evening when the rain stopped and uncovered two big compost heaps and a comfrey patch at the bottom.

How much does the weed membrane cost does anyone know?

Message withdrawn

Don't be put off the rotavating! There are loads of myths about it, but it really can help. It is massively easier to dig out the roots once the ground is broken up. I would do the following (having dealt with too many overgrown plots in my time!)
a) Clear off all the above ground vegetation (I would start with a slasher for big stuff then use my digging hoe/azada) and compost (or burn if full of couch, brambles etc) as a strimmer doesn't really go low enough to the ground
b) rotavate really really thoroughly - start by going round in a spiral, then back and forwards, then side to side, possible finishing with another spiral if not thoroughly broken up
c) cover with black plastic/membrane
d) a bit at a time as you want to plant up uncover and fork through the nice loose soil taking out what you can of the weed roots.
e) be really religious about hoeing regularly through your first season, and keeping the soil covered either with plastic or with a green manure when you aren't using it.
f) if your slugs aren't too bad, try and get a few straw bales and mulch bigger plants with a thick layer of newspaper overlapped at the edges with straw on top.

BTW if you are anywhere rural you can usually get used silage plastic for free from farms, make sure you get the thick stuff from a clamp though, not the clingfilm type stuff from bales.

And congrats on your new allotment!!!

the white roots could be couch grass or bindweed. If they are thin - couchgrass, if they are very cylendrical and thicker, bindweed. EWither are a nightmare as if you chop the roots, they multiply. You need to dig and dig them out

Yes, bound to be couch or bindweed. Either are easier to dig out once chopped up - almost impossible to get out if in a tangled mat . . . Have got out both with rotavating, covering and digging.

Allplas is the cheapest weed control membrane that I have found online I can recommend the staples too - endless use..

LBS are pretty good too - their staples are cheaper and they do 50cm fabric which is good for paths (but I think you need to add on VAT to the website prices)

Very good price on staples there Takver thx for the tip

no probs - my line of work so I go through a lot of them (growing not staples that is)

DH has an allotment. He finds this forum quite helpful and has his own bloggy/website thing here. You might find some useful tips etc there.

I think Gardeners' World tonight is going to go over the highlights from Jo's Allotment. BBC2 8:30pm