New allotment - advice please!

[Lisa3666]

Hi - I've finally been offered and have accepted an allotment of around 150 sq m in Tamworth. I'm SOOOOO excited!!! It's pretty overgrown and I'd like some advice over how to tackle this in the winter months. My plan is to clear as much of the weeds (luckily no bramble or nettles) as I can over the next month but should I then cover with membrane etc until the spring/leave bare/plant up? I have some onion sets, garlic bulbs and broad bean seeds which I could sow but I'm not sure of the best approach. Also as frosts are imminent, will it be OK to dig over or will this damage the soil structure?
Also, I've previously been growing as much as I can in 10 deep raised beds in my front garden prior to getting the allotment. Each bed is approx 60cm deep and 90cm wide and long. Any suggestions for best use of these now I have the allotment. Should I plant up with perennial fruit/veg or use for salad stuff or any other ideas - want to make the best use of the space I have at home and on the lottie....

[Newton]

I'm just 12 months ahead of you. Got my lottie this time last year. I also had beds at home and these are now filled with strawberries from runners off the lottie.

You can weed and mulch year round. Get weeding and mulching.........and welcome to the vine.

[salome2001]

I have also taken on a neglected plot but I DID have the nettles... and grass growing OVER black plastic.

I have dug over the whole plot- partly to remove the nettle roots (12 bin bags full in half a plot), glass shards, rusted tools, chicken wire etc, and partly to open up the soil which, having been stifled under black plastic for God knows how many years-, is pretty compacted.

My plan is to mark out my beds this week and dig in some well-rotted pony poo... although I may cardboard mulch it and put the pony poo on top if I get cut short by the weather
(am doing the broad bean aminopyralid test on it as I've never got any from this place before)

I am going to plant one bed with onions and garlic and also start some fruit bushes - these are getting bagged commercial compost as I don't want to wait for the aminopyralid test

The strawberries seem a good idea for your beds. Why not plant one or two up as a bee garden??

[Fruit&2veg]

Hi Lisa and congrats on your new plot!
Personally? I would get a patch cleared and dug over asap and get your broad beans onions and garlic in, then spend the winter digging the rest of the patch over to remove any perenial weeds. If you can get a load of farmyard manure(well rotten) I would get this dug in as you go-dont forget to leave a patch unmanured for your Carrots, Parsnips etc which dont like freshly manured ground.
The frost through the winter will break down your digging to a nice condition ready for spring planting. I am not a fan of mulching with membrane over winter personally, prefering to let the weather full access to the bare soil to help keep pests down rather than providing a cosy billet for them to hide under!

I am sure many will dissagree, but thats the great thing with allotments, everyone is individual and experience will decide what suits you best over the years- Certainly dont be afraid to try different methods-see which works best for you!

[Corris]

Why not use your raised beds for herbs and salads so they are near your house?

[Aberdeenplotter]

Lisa,
as winter is imminent, I'd be for getting in there as quickly as possible and get as much of the plot dug over as possible. leave it as rough as you like as the winter frosts will break down any clods for you and give you a flying start in spring time. I'm not a fan of covering the ground after digging but it tends to be colder up here and we don't get the same amount of weed germination at this time of year so that isn't so much of an issue for me.

If your onion sets are the overwintering sort, these really need to be planted now as do the garlic.

[donnakebab]

I've had my plot for nearly 2 years now. It has taken that long to clear the perennial weeds. My experience has been that once cleared it's best to cover unless you want to plant something immediately, but even then it's a good idea to feed the soil or improve the structure at least in some way before planting. My plot had been empty for a few years and one of the guys in charge of the site had sprayed it with roundup more than once so just goes to show that this is not a long term method for clearing an overgrown site. You could also consider sewing some green manure over cleared areas. I have sewn winter tares where I grew potatoes this year and am about to sew grazing rye to over winter till spring. I know some people don't like the hard work digging the 'crop' back into the soil but at least you don't have to worry about where the manure is from. The most important thing is to enjoy the rewards of your labour. Good luck.