How to bring an allotment to life

After two years wait my patience was rewarded in November 2009 with 2400sq ft of prime Surrey real estate on which I intend to ‘veg out' as much as possible. I am upgrading from a small home veg patch to an industrial sized plot (or at least that's how it feels). This is my first allotment which I find quite daunting, but I am determined to make a go of it, which is what I shall be sharing with you over the next year or so - the image attached to this article is the starting point.

Winter put paid to much activity, so January was restricted to planning and organising. The allotment means I need to have a duplicate set of gardening tools, a place to store them securely plus composters and other ancillary equipment I have taken for granted in the home garden. Factor in the fact I want to spend as little as possible, except on seed and plants, it has been a challenge. Two discarded school desks have become an ideal tool store. A visit to the local garden centre resulted in being offered, after my wife exerted her powers of persuasion, as many wooden display units (perfect for composters) as we can take away with us at the end of February.

The allotment, February 2010

 February has largely been a time for reclaiming the land, which has been unused for the best part of a year. I wanted to avoid the problem of distributing weeds and their roots over a large area by using a rotary tiller, so it is down to me and a trusty spade to do all the hard work. Who needs gym membership when a garden workout can awake muscles you would rather have stayed dormant?

So, at the moment, one third of the plot is dug over, potatoes are chitting, seeds have been purchased for sowing and a plan drawn up.

Quite literally, watch this space...