MEETING two new allotment holders taking a stroll around the site, took me back four years when I was in a similar position. The couple thought my plot one of the tidier ones, something they certainly wouldn’t have done all that time ago when dock, bindweed and couch grass ruled.

Taking on 10 rods (allotments are still measured in rods) in January when the soil is cold and wet can seem daunting, but it will soon be March and the promise of warmer temperatures.

My advice to new allotment holders is simple – don’t try and do everything in one go. It is worth making a rough plan, deciding where your composting area will be and deciding if you are going to divide your plot into planting areas or have raised beds, and whether you need pathways.

From day one I kept an allotment diary and all my early entries were similar – digging, clearing and then incorporating our own homemade compost as well as the odd wildlife spotting.

But in March this slowly changed to the magic word, planting (even if that was only for hardy broad beans).

There is nothing quite like connecting directly with the soil, growing your own fruit and vegetables and I hope new allotment holders are not intimidated by the task in hand, especially as it has been so very cold this year. Digging your first new potatoes is like finding buried treasure and more than makes up for all the hard work of chitting, planting, earthing up and weeding. It’s all in the taste and certain knowledge of the vegetable’s provenance. You can’t get much more self-sufficient than that.

Allotments are owned in the main by local authorities and managed by parish councils (in Salisbury it is the city council) and that is your first port of call in your quest for a plot.