Hello to everyone

[Doug]

Well after moving house we have aquired much to my wifes joy and a little trepidation something called an allotment. At present it has a very impressive array of nettles.

Litrallay 40 yards by 20 yards approx of nettles about 4 foot tall.

Now having worked 25 years in IT and the closest I have ever got to this sort of thing is watching The Goodlife (1st time around) "coughs as it shows my age".

I will throw myself up the what hopefully will be this digital compost heap of goodness.

Arghhhhhhhh where do I start?

Doug

[DarkCrow]

Hello Doug

Welcome to the vine

[Jeanied]

Welcome to the vine, Doug. Great to hear you have a new allotment too - a prized commodity these days! Nettles are a good sign (they like fertile soil and they are good to start off your compost heap with) - the downside is that they do have quite tough roots to get rid of. There are quite a few threads on here for what to do when first tackling the overgrown allotment - all depending on what you want to do / grow first!

[Two_Sheds]

Hi Doug, welcome aboard.
My plot was 6ft nettles (I'm so competitive ) and I did an hour a day to start with, slashing and composting the tops, then digging out the horrendous roots.

Roots were left out in the sun to bake, then added to compost heap too (waste not, want not).

Pix here: Feb 08 Allotment - a set on Flickr

Take a radio and a packed lunch

[Pumpkin Becki]

Hi and welcome to the Vine from me too Doug.

As Jeanie says, nettles are a good thing - no, honest, they are! I think the best tip I could give you is not to try to tackle the whole thing in one go, you'll only be disheartened when you realise its not possible. Just take charge of manageable chunks at a time.

Also, could we ask you to pop your location into your profile (you don't need to be specific), it just helps with questions that might relate to climate or weather.

[rustylady]

Hi Doug. Welcome to the Vine. As PB says, please add your location to your profile, and tell us a bit about yourself. I remember the Good Life 1st time around, so you are among friends.

[Comfreyfan]

Welcome Doug, just think how fit you'll be when that lot's cleared! Like everyone else says - nettles aren't all bad - the tops will be great in your compost - of course the roots are a pig to dig out, but do it bit by bit and build up gradually - don't for goodness sake over do it too soon - you WILL regret that!
I've lost count of the number of times I've watched the Good Life since it was first shown - still love it tho!

[Florence Fennel]

Hi Doug, welcome to the Vine. The Good Life? First time round too!

[ginger ninger]

Hi Doug and welcome from Barnsley...you don't say where ya from, it would help lot's if you could pop ya location in ya profile with thing's like weather, what's best to grow in your area, advice on when's the best time to cover up for the frost...things like that.