Just got my first allotment

[the_bald_man]

Hello everyone, my first post on here.

I am really excited to have got the keys to my first ever allotment, 160sqm of overgrown and unloved space that I can't wait to turn into something special.

I got talking to one of the "old boys" who gave me some good advice about clearing it. I have taken some pics, and any advice about first steps would be much appreciated. It's south facing on a slight slope.

For some reason I don't seem able to attach pictures to this post to share them - sorry!

Operation strimmer starts this weekend!

[Baldy]

Welcome along t_b_m - I like your style

There are some guides to posting images here - I'll see if I can dig out a link for you.

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ine_66381.html

(except you need to crop the size of the photo down and I cant find the info for that - someone who knows what they are on about will be along shortly)

[Cadalot]

Hi TBM and welcome to the vine, here is my guidance on clearing a new allotment and getting started Alans Allotment: Clearing a New Allotment

[veggiechicken]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.
I hope you're better behaved than Baldy who can be rather norty sometimes.
Here's some advice on http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...one_94345.html You may not be able to post them in the first couple of posts anyway so don't be alarmed if it doesn't work. Just keep posting and it will

[Baldy]

... VC, never been so insulted in all my life...

Anyhow - good time of year to get a plot - you can get strimming and get a feel for the site - plenty of time for planning. You could also consider clearing a bit and getting some things planted - Winter cabbage, leeks perhaps and overwintering onion sets... Anyhow - don't work too hard at it as it should be an enjoyable hobby.

[bramble]

Hallo snd welcome.
Like Baldy said and you can slso put in some garlic this time of year.
Looking forward to following your progress.

[Bren In Pots]

Hello thebaldman and welcome to the vine like others have said just keep posting and more options will come available to you.

[the_bald_man]

Thank you all very much for your kind welcome, I hope I can soon be able to upload some pictures as I took some of the weeds on the site and would appreciate some feedback on the best way to get rid of them!

One of the old boys who came and had a chat ("I've been 'ere for over sixty years!") was adamant against rotorvating, as apparantly there's bindweed in the plots and it would be better to carpet it over and then dig them out.

The plot has been unloved and untouched for about 2 years I think. I lifted some of the long grass back and the bottom of the grass is soaked. I suspect this is just because it's so long the sunlight isn't getting down there after any rain.

I would really like to give my son a corner to grow something and hopefully cultivate (no pun intended) an interest. It would also give Her Majesty some "boy free time" to enjoy!

I've been having a good nose around the forums and thread and it's a veritable gold mine of information.

I look forwards to sharing the progress over the coming weeks and months. :-)

[Chris11]

Welcome tbm and look forward to your progress and updates.

I'm cautious about strimmers and rotorvators, so might be worth weighing up your options.
Although I admire your enthusiasm for wanting to get stuck in

[Jungle Jane]

Hello & welcome! Congratulations to you & your new plot! If you're still having problems later with photos & it says 'fail to upload' they need resizing,with a phone you can try cropping the photo. On a laptop you can resize with Microsoft picture manager photo size 800x600 works. Good luck with everything,sorry to hear about the bindweed!

[the_bald_man]

To be honest it doesn't say anything, it's clicks and whirrs, thinks about it and then fails to upload anything. I will try and resize. Thanks.

[Baldy]

I would say that generally strimming will be fine - only problem might be if you are attacking weeds with plenty of seed heads. Rotavating is anothe rthing as far as I'm concerned when it comes to clearing a site - many weeds will get chopped up by the rotavating and each bit will regrow - couch grass and bindweed are likely candidates for this. So, if you rotavated a weedy site it will look good for maybe a couple of weeks, then you will find that the weed infestation is far far worse.
Hopefully 'carpet it over' is a turn of phrase. I took on an allotment that had seen carpet used as a weed suppresent - after 18 months I'd still not cleared all the strands of semi degraded carpet out of the plot. Older carpet may also have chemical treatments that I wouldn't want leaching into the soil I was growing foodstuffs in. Cardboard, weed fabric are the sorts of things I'd be looking to use. I'm about 80% no-dig gardening on my plot and I may a lot of use of cardboard to keep weeds down. Works (quite) well for me. (The bit that doesn't is down to me being too lazy rather than fault inthe technique)

Winter must be coming... I'm starting to write more on the 'Vine' - sorry 'bout that.

[the_bald_man]

Hi TBM and welcome to the vine, here is my guidance on clearing a new allotment and getting started Alans Allotment: Clearing a New Allotment

I've just been looking and it's amazing!

[JMCKG]

Good luck. Go the no dig way, why expend energy on creating more weeds.
Google no dig & Charles Dowding.

[noviceveggrower]

Hello and welcome to the vine