Getting an allotment:
You'll probably already know where your nearest ones are, but it's worth checking with your local council in case there are others hidden away, rather than just asking about the one that you know. These days, there are often waiting lists, so you might not be able to get in at your closest site. Having said that, it's not a good idea to take on an allotment two miles away on the basis that you will move to your nearer allotments as soon as one comes vacant: an allotment is a long-term commitment, and the first year is always the hardest. Once you have put in a year's work, you won't want to leave it and start again elsewhere.
It is worth deciding whether you really are going to walk or cycle there every time, or whether you are going to drive: if you admit that you are most likely to drive there, this widens your search considerably. Furthermore, the closest site might not be the best one: a tidy site with good water and permission to have a shed might be a much better bet than an awkwardly sloping, weed-infested site that is regularly vandalised.
So, first steps are to visit your local council, find out about site locations and availability, and have a look round. They should give you a map with the empty plots marked, assuming that there is a choice.
Walk around the whole site, and assess the general condition. Would you like to spend time here? Are there signs of interference from vandals? Don't be put off by apparently shabby sheds and ramshackle fence or hutch arrangements - you'll learn to accept those!
In particular, look for the water points, ask if you allowed to use hoses or not; are sheds permitted (if not, you will have to bring tools to and fro every time), are the other allotments in good condition, are there signs of encroaching horrible weeds such as Mare's Tails or Japanese Knotweed, and is there somewhere to park, if you are planning to drive there. Talk to anyone you find working there: it's well worth getting the inside information from the existing allotmenteers. They'll soon tell you all about any problems, and if they seem friendly, then you are off to a good start before you even get there.
Given a choice, choose one that's close to a water point, that already has a shed on it, that has been cultivated recently, that already has soft fruit bushes growing and a compost heap, and is on the sunniest side of the site.
Of course, there may not be a choice, in which case you just have to make the best of it.
Don't be shy about asking friends, relatives, and other allotmenteers for help. If you are faced with a thicket of brambles, with nettle underplanting, and thistles as features, it really helps to rustle up a gang to go and blitz the area. Chop down all the horrors and burn them - if you are lucky, the site might have a bonfire pile. If not, start at one end, clear a good big space and burn them, using the old dry brambles to get going, while you continue clearing the rest of the plot. Throw all nettles and soft greenery into a pile, this will form the basis of your first compost heap. Once you can see the soil, dig out the roots of any brambles, and burn them, along with any thistle roots and bindweed roots. Challenge the gang to see who can dig the fastest, and get as much cleared as you can. Once the bonfire has burned down, put out the embers with water, spread the ashes over the bit you have just dug, and then dig over the fire area to ensure that you have got all the bramble roots out.
If you can't get a gang together, then don't be too ambitious. Instead of clearing the whole plot, aim to clear the "best" end, or the end nearest the water point, really thoroughly for about 10' (3m) and leave the rest for later. Either spray the other section with glyphosate-based weedkiller, or cover it with old carpets, or black plastic weighed down with bricks or other rubble you might find there. NB before spraying weedkiller around, it's best to have a good inspection of the weeds in case there are any treasures hiding beneath them. My last allotment appeared to be all nettles and Mare's Tails, but there was a full row of mature current bushes, completely hidden! The benefit of covering the ground is that when you are ready to tackle it, it will be worm-rich, the weeds will have died, and the soil will be moist and warm, and should only require digging over.
Decide what you want to grow: most people start with potatoes, which are easy to do, and have the benefit of cleaning the soil. Salad leaves are popular, easy and quick: and I would recommend courgettes as being ridiculously easy to grow, and amazingly productive. (And great in stir-fries). I know it sounds obvious, but only grow what you want to eat! We don't have to grow brussels sprouts any more.... unless we really like them, that is. I have to say, all the brassicas (sprouts, cabbage etc) are very prone to pigeon damage, and can be quite depressing for the first-timer unless you build netting cages. It's often easier to start with the easy crops such as spuds, lettuce, runner beans, french beans, courgettes and so on.
Having made a list, divide them into groups and work out how many beds you need. There is no shame in leaving beds fallow (empty) for a season, and if you cover them with old carpet or black plastic (weighed down of course) then the weeds won't take over. It's better to plant up only half your plot in the first year, and to enjoy it, than to plant up the whole area, and struggle to keep it under control.
Raised beds really are the way to go: especially if you have non-grassy paths between them, so you won't have to carry a mower there once a week. Even trodden earth is easier to maintain, with a monthly squirt of weedkiller: or you can bring in bark or wood chippings, or even paving slabs if you are very keen. Grass paths take a lot of maintenance, and I am assuming that you, like me, work pretty much full time, and are not able to spend all day every day pottering around on your allotment. There's not much more depressing than squeezing in an hour to attend to your plants, and finding that you spend all the time fighting with the grass.
Raised beds can be constructed of whatever you can afford or find: sleepers and scaffolding planks are the standard suggestions, but they are both getting harder to come by as so many people are now after them. Decking planks are perfectly ok, new or second hand: I wouldn't recommend decorative interwoven hazel or willow edges, as the soil will fall through them. Besides, to some extent, an allotment is all about making do with what you can scrounge, and you are more likely to be criticised for buying new, than you are to be criticised for creating something a little bit tatty.
Squares and rectangles are the easiest to construct and the most efficient: triangles and diamonds are more stylish, if you have the time, the materials, and the space. It really is completely your choice. You will probably find that most of your fellow allotmenteers are what you might call Old School, but increasingly you will find younger people growing their own, so don't be intimidated by being the first person on your site to be a bit different.
There are dozens of books on the subject so I won't cover it at length: basically, growing the same root crop in the same place every year depletes the soil, and allows a build-up of the pathogens relevant to that crop. This is particularly disastrous for potatoes and for tomatoes, but to some extent it affects all root crops.
So it's best to get into the habit of crop rotation, right from the start. The target is to have a three-year cycle, so you will need at least three beds. Grow, for example, spuds in one, carrots, runner beans and french beans in the second, and courgettes, lettuce and tomato in the third. Next year, they all move round one bed. You don't have to fill any one bed before you start another one: and you can of course have 6 beds, or 9 beds, or however many you like. I have yet to hear someone complain of having too much room in their allotment......
As well as these rotating beds (not literally rotating, of course!) you will have permanent beds for the permanent crops such as asparagus, if you are that way inclined, and soft fruit such as rhubarb, raspberries, currants and so on which don't need to be moved every year.
I can't overstate the importance of getting a notebook and writing down what you do and when: what you plant and where: and, later on, how it did. It's fascinating to read back later, and it can really help you to make notes of what you want to do differently next year. It's also handy to look back next year (time will fly....) and compare when you planted things out, and when they cropped. Every year is different, the weather is different, the timings are different: if you are keen to get back in touch with the cycle of nature, there is no better way than keeping a garden or allotment notebook.
Write down the names of the varieties that you plant, and later on, write down what sort of crop you got, and what they tasted like. This will help you decide which ones to choose next year. It's also handy to take photos from time to time, print them out and stick them in the notebook. You'll be so proud of yourself in a year or two's time, when you look back on what it was!
Little and often is the trick: it's better to go there for an hour every evening than to spend the whole day there once a fortnight. Weeds grow every day, and they are proportionally harder to get out, the bigger they are. Frequent visits will keep you on top of things. Get into a routine: always walk all the way round your plot first, decide what needs doing most, and do it. Water it as a last job, then you can rinse off your hands and go home: otherwise you are trying to weed under wet foliage, and getting unnecessarily muddy.
Once the summer is progressing and you are starting to get a crop, frequent visits are essential to pick the tender young crops. If you leave, for example, runner beans for a week, they get huge, tough, and stringy. Far better to pick them young and tender three times a week, or more if you can. In fact, although it sounds mad, you should pick over the crop every time you visit, and it is better to throw unwanted ones on the compost heap than to let them grow big and tough. (Of course, it's even better to give them away to friends, family, or fellow allotmenteers.)
As a sort of final word, I would say that allotment growing is not for the faint-hearted: it takes time and commitment, and it's physically quite hard work. Most plots only change owners once they have become seriously overgrown, and it can be quite a battle, going on for several seasons, to beat the weeds. I had an allotment once which was being invaded by mare's tails, and I never quite beat them.
For most of us, being self-sufficient in veg and fruit is not really the aim, as we know it's quite unrealistic: even if we could get together in co-operatives! But, it's worth having a go.
I read an article about allotments recently, and I thought it made some very valid points, so here is the final paragraph, for your interest:
"As I see it, there is another, entirely different battle [having discussed the difficulties of clearing an overgrown plot] to be fought and won: against a lack of social contact and cohesion, a disconnection with the fundamentals of life and even, dare I say it, against anxiety, boredom and couch-potato-ism. Getting out in the fresh air and turning the sod does us all a power of good. Coming indoors with a clutch of delicious, earthy spuds, a courgette or three and a bunch of flowers is a wonderful bonus."
Isn't that great? I'd further add that by going to your allotment, you make friends with a wide range of local people: you swap information and produce: you barter, you do favours, you help others, you learn to accept their help and advice. All good stuff!
Hopefully that should have answered all your questions, but if you think of something I haven't covered, or would like more detail on any item, do feel free to e-mail me .
