Having being warned of the local rabbits and rodents regularly breaking into plots, I could see the evidence of their regular visits onto mine. The fence posts surrounding the plot are mostly rotten, and the haphazard chicken wire is full of holes. I’m going to have to sort my defences out quickly if I want any success this year. I don’t have any of the necessary equipment to hand though (or even a shed at this point), or time to sort this out yet, so it’ll have to wait.

I started digging my first plot today (plot 3 on the chart), with a view to getting potatoes in – I figured that they won’t show their heads for at least a few weeks, and any creatures coming onto the plot in the meantime aren’t going to dig through the soil to pick up a seed potato!

From the outset, it was clear that the soil’s quite heavy with clay – I’ve heard somewhere that this can be a bit challenging to grow on, but was reassured that potatoes will grow in most soil types.

As with everything regarding my allotment, I’ve got to go in with an open mind and learn from my experience – if things don’t go well in my first year then I’ll review my actions, make adjustments, and try again!

The weather’s been pretty wet lately and progress was slow – I haven’t stripped back turf in a while, and it took some trial and error to get the technique nailed.

At this point, it feels like I’ve got a bit of a slog ahead of me – de-turfing, preparing the soil, putting up new fences and hanging a gate – all things that I’ve never had the joy of doing up until now, and I’ve got to do it all quickly – this is going to be a messy first year!

In the meantime, I’ve ordered a cool little propagator and a bunch of seeds to get things growing at home.