hi my names sally and yep i too am a novice gardener, i didnt realise this allotment lark was so popular,, we acquired ours on good friday and since then have spent every weekend clearing digging and weeding so far we've had torrential rain , high winds and its been bloody cold today we spent the whole day in glorious sunshine . not wanting to waste such good weather,, i'm now in agony with my sunburn!! buy we are finally making progress [ i think!] today we [hubby] built 3 raised beds and we have filled them and even planted them up [do you think we've been over enthusiastic?] heavy rain is predicted tomorrow and i'm a little relieved that we can have a bit of a rest tomorrow and someone else can take care of the watering for a change!! would love to hear from any of you just to make sure that we are doing ok