Hello all Newbie signing on!

[nick the grief]

...No doubt I will be on here asking stupid questions so apologies in advance but looking forward to it,

No question is stupid Trevor ... its the only way to learn. No matter what state it's in remember, it's not a sprint its a marathon ...all being well you'll be doing this for the next 30 or 40 years.

If it's really bad start by making a drink (YOu'll need some way to make a drink ... I've got a storm kettle its a bit like camping as you can cook a bacon butty while waiting for the water to boil ) and sit back and look ... what sort of weeds have you got? It its chest high then its probably good rich soil and if theyre nettles and docks then its probably acidic as well so you'll need to ad a bit of lime to it as well so 3 sips of tea(or coffee) and you've already started planning.

Are there any fruit bushes or trees? you may be lucky and have a some Raspberry canes or rhubarb on there - so thats your fruit area sorted.

Then to start.
Is there a shed if not where are you going to put it? I suggest on the north side of your plot so it doesn't shade anything - you can provide shade using netting but you can't ptovide sun!
If you can get hold of a strimmer/brushcutter then cut all the weeds down and rake it into a big pile at one end ... you've just made a compost heap. DON'T buy activator - nip into your shed and pee in a milk bottle and put that on it ... its free and full of nitrogen

if you can get hold of some manure ( some allotments have a friendly farmer who will drop a load for a few quid) get some and cover it over to keep in the goodness (You can get some cheap tarps off e-bay) then make another cup of tea ( you can't drink too much tea) and you can start. A patch about the size of a greenhouse (8ft x 6ft) is more than enough to dig over in a day as you want to get all the weed roots outand once its clean put a layer of muck on it and move on to the next patch if you do that once a week you will have you plot fully clear in no time. My old friend and tutor had two allotmens and he went up 3 times a week and he dug one row across the plot every time he visited and he could dig both plots in a couple of months with most of the work being done as he took things out and replanted.

keep doing this and you'll have it looking something like in no time but whaty you can do is get some of the black weed membrane and cover half of it to smother what weeds are in thereand if you want to brighten it up get some tubs from your local pound shop and put some winter pansies in it it will weigh down the membrane and look nice, come spring you can sow carrots in them and grow carrots, get some big pots and grow spuds and all the time the membrane is killing off the weeds.

You can grow your potatoes thru the plastic as well then when it comes to harvest just roll the matt back and get you r potatoes and teh ground is dug as if by magic.

Most importantly, enjoy it ... its supposed to be fun not a prison sentance with hard labour!

And make friends with the old boys up the site - they'll tell you what grows best on the site ( they will have tried them all over the years) and it supprising what you get. my first visit to my old plot I came away with a load of onion seedlings a boiling of beans and a cauliflower and it was waist high in weeds

Enjoy you tea and welcome to the 'vine

[Ms-T]

Hiya and welcome .Remember to take lots of photos ..its nice to see how far you have come..

[Trev-P]

Went for the viewing today, and in 2 minds about it TBH,

It isn't over grown with brambles or anything which is good and position was in the middle of the site so sun should be good but, it seems very small!, he couldnt give me the dimensions but I think it must be a !/4 plot.

it was probably 9m x 3m roughly, half of the site was covered in verbena bonariensis and the rest just small weeds with what looked like autumn raspberries in the corner, access to water wasnt to far or the communial shed, just cant help thinking its way to small to invest the effort.

I know this would be my first allotment and not even sure it would be right for me, but it I do get the bug will regret taking on such a small plot.I guess i need to chat with the allotment coordinator to see my options,

[Plot70]

I would take it on.
It will take a year or so to get it all into cultivation. You can always apply for another plot. later.

[Mr Bones]

Maybe ask if there are any bigger plots available or soon to be available and if not I'd take the small one on offer with a mind to transferring to a larger one as and when. Are there any other allotment sites in your area, you might have to join their waiting list but meanwhile you would at least have some space to be getting on with.

[Nicos]

I agree - take it on if there is no other chance of a larger one very soon.
As Bones suggests- concentrate on relocatable things.
Most things can be moved a bit at a time and if you do need to do that then you could always take on the larger second plot at the same time for a few weeks/months. You certainly won’t be the first person to move plots and the committee will understand especially if you mention it now.
Maybe they don’t have larger plots because of demand? In which case you may want to put your name down at another site and crack on with this one for the time being. It’s all fantastic experience!

Do let us know how you get on.

[Snoop Puss]

I'd take it. It's very small, but maybe they have a policy of offering tiny plots to newbies on the grounds that lots of people give up. Something bigger might crop up on the same site, but I agree with others: get your name down on other sites too.

Don't bother putting any permanent plants in, just focus on things you can grow and eat this year so that it will still feel worthwhile. Grow tall things rather than spreaders to maximise your use of the space and plant shorter things underneath (undercropping). There's nothing like homegrown veg. You can still do plenty with 9 x 3. You just need careful planning. Which in my experience is a large part of the fun.

[rary]

Hello Trev-P and a belated welcome to the Vine, I see that you are new to veg growing, if so my advice would be that you take the plot and learn, some people new to gardening take on a big plot only to discover that it's too much for them and pack it in, you also mention no dig gardening, what I will say about that is that it's a good way to go if conditions are right, by that I mean, no trees or hedges nearby, trees/hedges and no dig gardening are not compatible, I use 2ft. high raised beds and have serious problems with roots from trees and hedges, but if you don't have that problem collect lots of cardboard and newspapers and cover your intended beds with that, you will of course require a growing medium to go on top of this, if you don't have that go the traditional way of digging over a bed, don't be too ambitious, keep the beds a
reasonable size and you will reap the rewards that bit quicker. I wish you well in your gardening what ever way you go

[Babru]

Hi Trev-P, and welcome to the vine. I'd take the plot offered, as it seems to have a lot of good points - and those weeds don't sound too daunting, easily sorted unlike brambles and similar nasties.

I'd use your space to get a feel for what you enjoy growing, and more to the point, eating. Plus an idea of quantities you can use, store etc. These things aren't as obvious as they sound and only become clear when you do it.

If you feel you still wish a larger plot you'll have learned a lot by the time you move to it.

[Snoop Puss]

What did you decide, Trev-P?

[Trev-P]

What did you decide, Trev-P?

I took The Plot on! I started with digging out the dandylions and clearing the some of the verbena but just my luck slipped on the wet path and twisted my ankle so havent been back this week, I did get to measure the site and its 5 mtr x 12 mtr so a 1/4 plot, it is south facing so thinking beans the north end with matbe some potatoes and then as many beds as i can can get east/west across the plot and take it from there.It has got autumn ( I Think)Raspberries the south end of the site so thinkingi of adding some rhubarb with the space left far end,

[Nicos]

^^^^ good for you!….not good about your ankle though

[Mr Bones]

Congratulations on getting your plot Trev, hope your ankle soon mends

[Snoop Puss]

Quite a bit bigger than you initially thought, that's good news. Sorry to hear about your ankle, though. Still, plenty of time to get the plot fighting fit. Good luck.

[Bren In Pots]

Trev congrats on getting your plot, once your ankles better take a few photo so you can track your progress.