I have a new allotment, I need advice!

[Bumperlicioso]

DH and I have just been given an allotment. Unfortunately it comes at a time when DH is feeling really poorly so despite having a long weekend we've hardly got anything done.

Basically it is all covered in grass at the moment and the soil is quite clumpy. We have managed to clear about 2 2x1m patches so far. I haven't put any seeds in propagators yet, is it too late? What do I need to do to the soil to make it suitable for planting seeds or seedlings?

Any tips? What should I be concentrating on doing first? I would be really gutted if I don't get anything in this year, we could have done with getting the plot a month earlier.

Any tips greatly appreciated.

This is the order i would do stuff in. I got my plot in September and it was covered in 6' high weeds and brambles.

1. I would recommend measuring your plot and planning out on paper to scale the layout. This way you can plan where to have your shed, compost bins fruit trees ect. Take note of what direction your plot faces. I have my shed and fruit trees on the north side so they do not shade any of the plot.

1. Sow seeds in pots ect so they can be growing for the next couple of months while you clear your plot.

1. Mark out your beds and only walk on your paths. Place black plastic on the areas you have marked out for beds, this will be killing of the weeds while your clearing and prepering other beds.

1. Start a compost heap. Bring all the paper shreddings, grass cuttings and waste food (not meat) from home to put on the heap.

1. Check out all the local skips for wood,sand, blue water pipe ect people have in their front gardens. (Sand/manure can be placed on your beds under the black plastic and the worms will do all the work, by the time you need to work on the beds the clay should be broken down).

There is plenty of time still to sow seeds. Take your time and do one bed at a time making sure you get rid of all the weeds. One good bed is better than lots of crappy ones. In Autumn you can start growing winter onions, cabbages and cauliflowers and they will be ready to harvest this time next year.
Join an allotment forum, i use www.allotments4all.co.uk

Hope the above helps.

You are right that a month ago you'd have had more time to clear the ground before the weeds really got going, but it's not too late.

I second the idea for an overall plan. Then maybe aim to get half (or less) under control & in production this year and the rest next. Cover the ground you won't clear this year with a tarpaulin and the weeds under it will slowly die and make clearing it this winter much easier.

For the rest, it's a real chore clearing by hand - Is it possible to get someone to skim off the top inch or two of soil (weeds and all)? Or how do you feel about weedkiller like Roundup? Either method will save quite a bit of work, but you then need to dig your beds and plant stuff out, clearing as much of the roots of the pernicious weeds as possible.

You are probably a bit late to buy seed potatoes, but if you do see some around you could plant first or second earlies as late as June/July not maincrop ones though - they need to go in now(ish). Potatoes are a good cleaning crop for the soil - digging them in & out & earthing them up etc all helps clear the weeds out of the soil, so it would be good to grow some if you can.

Now is a good time to plant runner beans/french beans inside in pots. Or you could plant direct outside from 14th May (a bit later if up north), but the soil needs lots of muck dug in.

You could get away with planting onion sets now I reckon, but don't leave it much longer. You can plant carrots, beetroot, kohl rabi, lettuce, radish all sorts in fact etc now and on succsessionally through the summer. Parsnips are traditionally the first crop to go in, but can still give good results if sown in April or even May. Cabbage, Sprouts, Brocolli etc. can go into seed beds now & then put into final position in June (or just buy small plants ready to go in June) - you would need to lime the soil pretty much now for brassicas.

Sweetcorn can be sown inside in pots later this month - don't put outside before June though as it's very sensitive to the cold and the same goes for courgettes and squashes.

So lots that could be planted, maybe choose a few crops that you really enjoy (or that save a lot of money) & focus on them this year?

Thanks both, that is a great help and really reassuring.

We have made a plan. We already have a compost heap on the site, and actually there is a huge compost heap with lots of mature compost that the council nursery creates.

We need to fence it, mostly to keep rabbits from the neighbouring field out and partly to keep DD (22mo) in.

I actually do have some seed potatoes, and everyone says they are good to chuck in as they break the soil up.

We are really trying to avoid the round up/rotavate route, and not sure if anyone could skim it. What does that involve? I'm not worried about the hard work, it's quite theraputic actually, it's more of a time issue, plus the hassle of a young DD. But we have a good sized couple of patches to start with, they have been dug over once, MIL say they need a bit of weathering to break them up then raking and I'm going to chance my luck. Will start on seeds tomorrow.

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated

I'm not really sure how you go about skimming the surface, I just know that one of the allotments near ours had half of theirs done a week or two ago - the 'skimmed' weeds/soil were heaped up in a mound to rot down and what was left looked ready to just dig & plant (though the deeper tap-roots must still be in it I would think). I'm sure it needs a specialist tractor attachment or something to do it though.

We managed to avoid roundup & rotavating so it definitely is possible. You do have to be very vigilante with weeding the first year, as inevitably there are bits of couch grass etc that escape the first dig-over. But it is theraputic - hope you enjoy it as much as we do.