Allotment - the Where, When, Why and How - getting started

So, you've got your new allotment - bravo! Of course, it may not be in a condition for you to grow anything at present, and if they are new allotments you may have to accept that it will be a couple of seasons or up to year before you can aim to grow anything at all.

Assuming you can start when you like, autumn is the best time to break up the soil on your patch, using a fork and spade or even a pick-axe if necessary. Don't try to make the soil smooth and even though, you're going to let the weather do a lot of the work for you! You can always buy a couple of grow-bags and get some crops into them, rather than the soil, or tip them into a large tub and grow some potatoes.

Once you've dug the ground over, removing every big chunk of brick or broken concrete and large stones, and you've taken out all the perennial weeds you came across, including digging out their roots, and forked in some manure or compost, whatever you can afford or have to hand - leave the winter to break up the large clods with rain and frost action. On each fine sunny day of winter, you can turn over the soil with a fork, and that will help break up any clods and also reveal any perennial weed roots that you missed in your digging over. Now you can rake it, which will reduce it to a fine tilth, perfect for spring sowing.

Now consider the condition of your soil. If it was previously under grass you probably won't need to add anything in year one, but if it was formerly built land you'll want to get a good all purpose fertilizer into the soil now. Don't add manure at this stage as it will scorch your new crop and may even destroy seedlings.

Get started allotment photograph author's own