got an allotment!

feel really lucky as there is supposed to be a long waiting list ... a friend who got one on the same site waited 2 years for hers, we have waited just less than a month.
its very overgrown, with a derelict shed and greenhouse, but nothing we cant clear and fix. There doesn't seem to be anything established plant-wise (except grass and weeds!) its a huge site, and on a hill so subsequently is quite private... you can only see over the hedge into the allotment below, other 3 sides are about 15ft high hedges!
when I can figure out how to put pictures from my phone onto the laptop I will post the pics we took this morning.

 

Nice one Sue

 

Nice one Sue, hope you get as much pleasure from your plot as I have had from mine.
Don't be afraid to ask anyone around you for advice or if they know who had your plot and what was grown on it.

 

Yay! Great news. Enjoy!

 

this is the view from the end of the allotment up to the entry gate; there is a gennel runs down the hill (its on quite a steep hill) from a main road. there don't appear to be many weeds, its mainly overgrown with grass - the nighbours said friends of theirs had it but didn't do anything with it after they cleared it so im hopeful. the hedges are heavily overgrown as you can see, and to the right are hedges that are full of blackberries, so cant wait to get at them!



this is the other end, a rather battered old shed and even more battered greenhouse!

The overgrowth looks mainly like grass, but the ground is very uneven with what seem like raised bed borders all over the place ... looking forward to clearing it all and seeing whats underneath!! the shed is fairly solid but the greenhouse is dilapidated ...

will post more pics when we get them

 

Smashing

 

Sue,this plot looks just like mine was when I took it over 16 years ago,what i did was cut down the grass as close to the soil as possible,dug a few sample patches to see what was under neath, and found nothing to bother about,so just let the grass start to regrow then dug it in as green manure.( for taking this plot on I got it rent free for 18month's as it had not been dug or bothered with for 2 years, mind you the rent then for 1/2 plot was only£3 per year,I finished with having a full plot)

 

Well done Sue
I get access to mine on Tuesday, and OMG I hope I do not have to tackle a job like yours, or I may retire early

Regards Jack McHammocklashing

 

hi potash ... will be smashing if we demolish the greenhouse!

fileyboy, that's what we intend to do - industrial strength strimmer to blitz it to the soil and see whats hidden underneath,

jack, I don't think it will be too bad - its just a lot of grass along with an uneven ground - its on a steep hill so we think they've dug it and partitioned it in levels.

 

Sue have you managed to get started on your site yet?
Weather has been off up here, but I have not got my keys yet anyway

Regards Jack McHammocklashing

 

Hi Jack, got the tenancy agreement today so been and locked the plot up (its an open site) - working now so we will be tackling it on Saturday morning.
got talking to a neighbour who said the plots previous tenant was an old chap who looked after it to a basic level, so we are just faced with cosmetic work and not a years' worth of weeds

weather is a bit hit and miss here in Sheffield ... hoping it stays cool as we don't fancy hacking those hedges back in blazing sunshine!

 

Been up today but it was so wet and sludgy we gave up after a couple of hours. its been raining overnight and all morning so we got drenched, but we managed to make the entrance accessible, secure and managed to dismantle the huge metal framework that we presume was originally used as a growing frame. we can now get into the plot and can chain the gate securely. its unfortunately now a mudbath!!
blitzed the first few feet into the plot and the grass/weeds are thick couch grass and bindweed ... combined with a heck of a lot of junk, rubbish, broken glass and old rotten wood and plastic ...
the ground is very uneven, we think the previous tenant had raised beds but they were cobbled together using whatever he could get his hands on so its very haphazard and dodgy to shift...
its going to take a lot of time and effort to get it cleared but we have gleaned some really useful info from here so that will hopefully make it a manageable job!

 

I know it is hard graft, though doing all that will I am sure let you appreciate what you have when it is all neat and producing

Jack McH