New Members Advice

And, of course, lots of information on the internet to help get you started. An equally great source of information and advice will be your allotment neighbours. Some of our tenants have been working their plots for up to forty years so we have a wealth of experience. Once you have a plot take a walk around the site and see how other people manage their plots, everyone is happy to answer questions.


Cultivating your plot
Once you have cleared your plot of weeds you can start cultivating your plot. Possibly you may want to cultivate the first quarter of your plot, while the rest is covered up. Each season you can bring another quarter of your plot into production. There are many approaches to how you cultivate an allotment. The two main approaches (as described above) are either to dig over your plot to break up the soil, or the "no dig" approach, where you bring on manure and compost to your plot and let the worms do the rest. Champions of either approach will agree that the quality of your soil is vital to the success of your plot. If you have a dig around your top soil and don't see many worms, it is likely you will need to bring on some soil improver to enrich your soil.


Know your weeds
If you have successfully cleared your plot of weeds you will no doubt already be on intimate terms with some of your plots biggest problems. As mentioned above most perennial weeds can be dealt with by covering up the plot to deny their roots light. Annual weed seeds can be in your soil and can also blow in, so even if you have cleared your allotment you will still have to deal with weeds. Again, the little and often approach is the best way forward to keep your plot clear of too many weeds.

Bindweed needs a special mention. This is one of the perennial weeds that has such long and quick spreading roots that even covering your plot you may still find it in the soil. The best way to gradually eradicate this is to keep pulling it up, with as much of the root as possible and you will gradually weaken the plant.


Clearing your plot
It is likely you will have taken on a plot that is overgrown. Your first job is to tackle the weeds and brambles. Ideally you will want to cut down the brambles and dig out their roots. They are quite near the surface of the soil. Other perennial weeds are best cut down and then the soil completely covered up. You can use black plastic or cardboard boxes. Covering up the soil for at least one year kills nearly all weeds.


Crop Rotation
You will find a lot of advice online and in books about crop rotation, you can make this as complex as you like or keep it simple: each year try not to grow the same thing in the same area of your plot. This is to help prevent the build up of diseases and pests that can accumulate over time if you keep growing the same type of vegetable in the same place each year.


Creating Compost Bins
You will see that nearly all allotments make use of pallets to build compost bins. Making your own compost is another great soil addition, and is a good way of using up cuttings, green waste etc. There is plenty of information online about how to make compost bins out of pallets, as well as many sites dedicated to the creation of compost, or you can just have a look at what other tenants have done.