Shiny, new allotment :)

Today I finally got my first allotment. I'm super pleased with it. It's 10 rods, in full sun, the water is on the other side of the path, it's quite well dug already with heavy clay - loam soil (better than my garden), got a compost bin with partially rotted contents, got a shed with two rooms, a huge grapevine, a pretty cool log table and chairs set. The only downsides really are that it was sprayed with glyphosate before I got it to clear it, although at least I won't have to deal with the ground elder and couch grass (yet); it's quite far from the compost pile, but the deliveries are only a few times a year, and I won't get the smell of the manure so much; and it is in a part of the site that is prone to water-logging in the winter and is apparently no good for digging after the shortest day, but this means and big clods of earth will be easily broken by frost, and luckily it has already had trenches dug around the beds, and the beds are already slightly raised. I'm not allowed bonfires, but that's OK, I really only wanted them for my own twee ideas of autumn, and they collect any wood for burning anyway.

There's plenty of work to be done, but I'm really pleased. I think I've been quite lucky in what's on my plot, and the amenities are pretty decent - a shop, a community room, free to use mowers and strimmers.

I'm thinking of using it partly to do a project to compare different growing methods, i.e. dig vs no dig, companion planting vs traditional rows vs permaculture ideas, and whatever else I can think of. I'm like a giddy child right now. Loads of ideas.

I'd appreciate any comments or concerns people would like to share about my plot and my plans, especially with regards to dealing with ground elder and couch grass.

I've added another post with more pics below.