"Jason" wrote

I'm on a waiting list for an allotment plot but have no experience of
growing fruit / veg. Can anyone recommend a couple of books that may give
me a few pointers on how to get started. I'm hoping to be able to grow
things such as potatoes, tomatoes, brocolli, green beans, onions, salad
leaves, herbs, courgettes, etc.


Too late to grow any of those this season but the sooner you get your plot
the sooner you can get it started, ie getting rid of the rubbish (we had
lots of plastic bag bits and bottles and glass), spraying to rid it of
perennial weeds, digging it thoroughly as deep as possible to see whats
there ( we found a 3ft wide brick path 6 inches under the soil the full
length of ours and more glass and some big stones etc) and what the soils
like, checking pH and changing it where necessary, staking out the rotation
beds (4 year?), incorporating manure etc where appropriate.
That should keep you busy until next season which starts in Sept/Oct with
the Garlic planting. :-)
A book we like a lot is "The Complete Manual of Organic Gardening" edited by
Basil Caplan. We are not organic gardeners (I will use chemicals rather than
lose a crop) but it's an excellent book which is probably out of print now,
no doubt Amazon can find you one.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK