Getting started with your veg plot

Some people are lucky; when they take over their new plot the handover is seamless, the previous owner gives it up as a going concern. It’s been dug over within the last year and there may even be a few crops still growing on the plot.  I however wasn’t so lucky. 25 years unlucky in fact, my ‘plot’ looked more like an extension of the woodland that it borders.  Complete with 25 years of brambles, self set trees and nettles.

There are two ways of dealing with a plot like this: the first is napalm, the second is strim and dig.  Unfortunately whilst the first option would by far be the easiest access to weapons grade munitions has been severely restricted in the last few years - besides I got the feeling that collateral damage to the neighbouring plots may result in eviction.  That left me with strim and dig...

Some people are lucky; their allotment association may have heavy duty tools like petrol powered strimmers and rotavators to deal with such tasks.  In my case, this time I got half lucky.  Our allotment association had been given a grant and they used it to buy a strimmer.  Using this made relatively short work of the 25 years of woodland encroachment – and I got to feel very manly by using power tools to boot!

That left the digging – by hand.  Strimming will get rid of most of the stuff down to about an inch off ground level. For the rest you have to get your hands dirty with a bit of shovel work.  Digging is hard work, in fact its bloody hard work.  I’m no softy but days of digging, pulling out roots and lugging away rubbish takes its toll.  It takes its toll in the form of aches and pains, takes its toll in the form of calluses and takes its toll in the form of ingrained dirt in your cracked hands (Tip: buy some gardening gloves and then use them).

But the site of a freshly dug over plot is a beautiful one, full of possibilities and potential.  I was certainly filled with a great sense of achievement, my mind raced at the thought of planting options and whilst I stood there surveying my work I could virtually taste the veg that I was looking forward to planting.

I was promptly shaken from my self veneration by allotment chick who conveniently arrived on the scene after the hard work was done.  She turned up with her own ideas on what to plant, when to plant and what tasted good.  “it’s about team work allotment guy” allotment chick explained, “you dig, I design!”