Thanks, everyone for your helpful suggestions and sharing your
experience - I feel like I have more common-sense ideas to go on now.
Also quite encouraged. :-)

I've just done my first afternoon's garden recovery onslaught, and
discovered several interesting things:

The bed with the best quality soil also has a large ants nest. Might
have to drag some sterno out there for boiling water, since I imagine
it's not a good idea to plant with them still there? Another bed has
millipedes (are these ok to leave, or will they cause crop damage? I'm
not sure how to evict them). Happily, there are also plenty of worms. :-)

I haven't even gone near the Jerusalem artichokes - I'm too scared! ;-)
I'm not going to expect too much out of that bed this year. There's a
trade shed on the allotment that sells compost and canes and stuff,
which is handy as I haven't got a car, but apparently they only arrange
manure delivery once a year in the winter time, so that will have to wait.

Thanks again for your input,

Misty