Helpful tips for new tenants

Here are our ten helpful tips for new tenants: 

• If you have no tools, buy only the essentials - spade, fork, hoe, rake, trowel and water can.
• For your back's sake do not rush clearance and digging.  It is best to start in the autumn.
• If a plot is badly weeded over, it is best to skim off the top and then dig it.
• Ensure that you remove the roots of docks, dandelions and couch grass as these will regrow.
• Start a compost heap for vegetable matter.
• Do not start sowing seeds in the open too early, as many are lost in the cold and wet ground.
• You will need to water plants that are being transplanted until they become established.
• Aim for a succession of crops throughout the year and rotate the crops in sequence.
• Plant flowers to make the plot more colourful.
• Fellow plot holders can also give lots of advice.