Starting Out With Our Allotment

We have been waiting for an allotment plot for just over a year now and amazed to have gotten a half plot in that time space. Admittedly we were the first to be called once two half plots were available and we had the options between a bedded plot and a fruit plot. I picked the fruit plot as I knew that the ones already one the plot were what we'd like and would have taken years to have grown to the size they were now so already we have black and red currants growing on our plot.

Our allotment is in a newly independent area with very friendly and helpful committee who have done a fantastic job in having everything a gardener needs as well as helping local charities (if we have any spare fruit or veg they collect them and take them to a children's hospice for them to make fresh food for the kid's to enjoy) but due to the high demand for allotments all plots are becoming half plots. This is fine for us as we are new to it all and a half plot is more than enough for us to work on.

I don't know the full story of the previous owner but from the way the Chairman spoke it sounded as if he was very ill or passed away. The gentleman's wife also has a plot next to ours and has done her best to care for his land as well and as you can see she has tried to stop growth in some areas. The big busy patch at the front of the photograph is the flower bed which is mostly daffodil's that no longer have any flower heads, shame because I love spring flowers but their time has past now. At the back are a bunch of fruit bushes. Two of these are gooseberries. Neither myself or my partner like gooseberries so sadly these are going to go. I shall probably ask the chairman when I next pop round if he could ask around see if anyone is willing to take them from us as seems a shame to rip them out and compost the whole two bushes.

You probably can't see very well but at the back on the left is our compost heap. It's made of wooden fencing and one thing wood will do is decompose over time as well and that's exactly what has happened, plus rain and such has damaged it badly. We will probably get a compost bin instead to replace these.

Also you may notice we have no shed or greenhouse. We are getting our own shed in a few months time (as is our new neighbour) but we are sharing with the gentleman behind our plot who has kindly been making space for us and organised a brand new lock to be put on the shed as the old one has rusted badly. As for a greenhouse we aren't fussed at the moment and any greenhouse has to be discussed by the committee first beforehand and right now we're just content with what we have.

Our plans? Well we have inspected it so far and lots of weeding and removing dead plants is required. We will be sowing carrots at first and organising a little flower area where the current raspberries have been and passed on. It will give us a sort of fencing between our plot and the one behind ours as currently they look like part of the same plot. But right now we need to get rid of all the weeds and then we can move on to organising the fruit and veg patches. Wish us luck!