Please help cheer me up

[Ian White]

Hi guys and Girls

OK then as you know i am new to all this and i have just got an allotment in November of last year,I went over today with a bag of scraps to put on the compost pile.

As i stood there i had a feeling that it's not for me all i have done is bulit a compost bin from pallets strimed the plot down and dug some of it over.
I just feel i should by now have much more done by now and dont think i am going to be ready to plant any thing soon

Or am i being to hard on myself

All the best,Ian

[jackie j]

Its been a hard winter so dont feel too bad, Give yourself at least a year before you say its not for you. Once the better weather comes it will get better. When I took on my plot it was october and like you I felt like I wasnt going to be able to plant anything, next thing I was running out of room lol so keep at it.

[HeyWayne]

Being too hard on yourself dude - taken me three years so far to get where I am (which is woefully behind).

If you only took it on in November you've yet to see what it's like in mid-summer. That'll lift your spirits.

Of course, you've got spring to go yet and once you start getting things germinated you'll get the bug all over again.

Hang in there dude, you'll be reet.

[piskieinboots]

Don't be so harsh to judge yourself Ian

It isn't a race, do short visits to the lottie as often as you can, tell yourself you are not allowed to stay longer than xx amount of time, do little bits each time you go. I (pretty much) guarantee you will find yourself staying over your allocated time-slot.

No one is judging you, you are in it for you - take it easy and slowly, the warm(er) weather will help you and us all

[Pumpkin Becki]

Don't be so tough on yourself Ian, the Autumn and Winter we've just had have been rubbish, and this years growing season has bearly begun. I haven't sewn a single seed yet this year, but I know that once I do I'll get itchy feet to be outside again.

If you've got room, and you want to get a head start, you could sew some tomatoes and chillis indoors (with a view to moving them onto the plot later in the season). I'm sure that would make you feel like you've achieved something.

[zazen999]

Cor - you're hard on yersel!

Make a cuppa and chillax! Potatoes don't have to be in for another 5 weeks yet....plenty of time to get more ground dug.

The idea is to dig a bit, and then plant it up as you go. Rome wasn't built in a day!!!

[Nicos]

The others are spot on.
To be honest I'm more of a fair weather gardener and looking at a plot of land which needs attention when the weather is cold/windy/damp really puts me off.
BUT- I love growing and cropping and cooking and eating my own produce.

So- don't be hard on yourself- it's too early to start digging etc- just make plans and do what you can when you can. Little and often is better and don't try and do a bit here and a bit there- it's not rewarding enough...just prepare one bed at a time.
This is just the time of year NOT to give up...it's just about to get all exciting!!!

I think it took us 2 years to get our plot as we wanted it to be....tis early days yet for you Ian!

[rustylady]

You're being way too hard on yourself. At this time of the year all you can do is clear the ground. Specially this year as it's still so cold. You can't really start sowing or planting outside until March at least.

[stella]

The weather has been so awful it is really hard to get out and get anything done, in fact it can be bad for the soil to be on it in this weather. At this time of year though when you can feel spring just round the corner it is easy to think I should do this and that but sometime you can start later and still catch up. Dont worry, just enjoy it.

[Flummery]

March is the main time to start planting - April and May are fine for many things. You aren't behind at all. Get a bit of ground cleared and dug and you can plant some spuds in 6 weeks or so. Once you've got something planted you start to feel you're getting there. If you can rake a bit of ground down fine you can sow some salad stuff next month too. Or some broad beans. A bit at a time, that's the ticket!

[Pies]

If you only got the plot in November im surprised you have been able to get anything done,When the better weather comes you'll be able to get alot of stuff done

Just dont try to do it all at once clear a bit and then plant something,onions shallots and broadbeans will be able to go in soon if you like them that is.

Then clear a bit more for other crops and so on,if you try to clear the whole plot it can become overwhelming so stop being too hard on yourself

[piskieinboots]

so how are we doing Ian? are you cheered?

[Ian White]

We're getting there just needed to be told not too be too hard on myself i think it started because i had today off work and wanted to get some bits and bobs done,and it then snowed :-(

Thank you all very much,Ian

[sweetiepea]

It can all be a bit daunting to begin with, but don't be disheartend. You should see my garden (please don't look!). To me its terrible (because I haven't been able to do anything major with it - weather, time etc, since the autumn ), but to a friend who called over yesterday it was (to quote) 'a plot of potential paradise'. I liked that. It made me feel great and made me look at everything with new eyes.

Don't be hard on yourself. Do a little at a time and you'll get there by degrees. Good luck.

[quark1]

Ian - I don't have an allotment or plot as such - just my garden and frontage - don't beat yourself up over bad weather foiling your best intentions.

Just do what you can, when you can - bit by bit, little parts of your 'dream' will come true. If you have the energy for the 'full monty' in one season - well hats off to you - and anyone else who may be reading!

Make yourself achievable goals even if small and build on them in positive fashion year after year.

AND good luck....!