Hi MBJ,

When I first took over my allotment there were 30 people above me on the waiting list and most had turned this one down. It sounds as if yours is in a similar way, so will give you the benefit of what i learnt.

My attitude is to grow as organically as possible, meaning if on occasion i need to use an odd chemical, be they fertilizers or weedkillers so be it. Truly organic gardens can only exist if you have a lot of time to spend on them.

Firstly find an allotment society near you that has a shop.....you do not need to have an allotment to join the society (nominal charge, mine is £1). You should be able to buy weedkiller at discounted prices. Mine sells 'Roundup' at £4 per litre (concentrated). This is my own experience but this is the stuff you need.

You need to decide whether you want an area to plant up this year or whether to leave the growing till next year. Assuming you want to treat all your plot, dilute the weedkiller to a slightly stronger than recommended dose and literally soak it all using a watering can......this is where high street bought becomes expensive! (Keep the kids off) Try and pick a day when it will be dry and hopefully for the following day as well. Over the next three weeks the weeds will turn yellow and die....you can just rake them up usually You will not get them all with one application and new weeds will grow that werent hit by the weedkiller. Some of the troublesome weeds such as mares tail may need to be crushed or bruised for the weedkiller to be effective...but go for the watering can approach for the first month to get rid of the majority.

Once I could see the soil again I started at one end, made a raised bed and double dug it incoproating manure etc as I went. Even though top growth was minimal the root system of these plants was incredible. I think you need this double pronged attack to get them to a manageable level for the years to come. I then worked my way down the allotment. Even if you dont make a raised bed, try to section areas off from one another with timber or bricks etc. Its more maneagable to pick a specific area to concentrate on than turn up and gaze at the full plot and the enormity of the task in hand.

All in all it took about 6 months to clear and dig the plot, make the raised beds etc etc. It seems like a daunting task but my weeding now consists of a little hoeing, the odd bit of mares tail....you will never eradicate it so dont get to hung up, and the occasional dandilion.

Good luck, go for it and hope this helps in a little way

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Geordie

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