I am writing my own experiences of working on my allotment and how I have progressed over the last few years, and to dispel myths and tales about how hard, boring, long-winded and complicated gardening is.

The first thing I must mention is the probable state of an allotment when the 'newby' comes along to view it. There and then, a high percentage of folk will shake their heads and politely decline the offer of this new plot of land to cultivate. People who do this are either not ready for gardening yet or may never be!

The people who see this as a challenge put before them and relish the work to come are certainly ready. They may be experienced gardeners already, or have become interested through friends or television, but new or not, this is where your spare time takes a new path and the time spent early on decides whether or not you will make a long term investment of both your time, and some money.

My first recommendation is to make yourself some sort of shelter on your plot. This may take the form of a shed or greenhouse or even just a plastic sheet over some timbers to keep the rain off. When I first took on my allotment, I lost count of the number of times I was ‘rained off’, only to find the rain had stopped and the sun was back out as soon as I had arrived back home! A shelter also gives you the place to rest, maybe have a drink or sandwich, and a place to plan your next move.

You will need to buy, beg or borrow some basic tools to start with. Perhaps the beg or borrow options are best at this stage.

You won’t want to keep looking at a pile of expensive tools at home that will get little, if any use if you stop going to your allotment.

Get what you think you will need - a fork for turning over the earth, some secateurs or loppers for brambles and branches. You will get an idea of your needs when you closely view your plot.

Another tried and tested tip I have is to pick an area of your plot, a couple of square yards of overgrown earth or a bush or hedge that needs removal or attention, and just tackle that small part first, stick with this until you have it cleared, dug and weeded, chopped back or removed. Pick this portion of work area away from your place of entry or you may find yourself trampling over your work and spoiling it. When you have done this you will feel that first sense of achievement and probably elation for yourself. Whether new to gardening or an old hand, you will still relish this feeling of accomplishment however long it has taken you.

This leads to the next tip. If you are not in the mood, too tired before or become tired during your gardening then stop for as long as it take for you to get back in the ‘mode’. When gardening becomes hard work you are doing when you don’t want to is when resentment starts and you might even completely drop the notion altogether.

Every allotmenteer will tell you of vast numbers of people they have seen come and go. It’s not that the work is too hard for them, they simply think it is and leave.

After you have proudly cleared this first task area and got a shelter up - either a temporary or permanent structure - earmark the next area for yourself and so on. Don’t rush, and if you can do a little more than your selected area then that’s a bonus. Keep calm and carry on!

Just one thing I have found amuses me - everybody who takes on a plot has had to do more work than any body else to clear it - EVER! Theirs is the worst there has been and they’ve always worked harder than everybody else. I always nod and smile at this.

That’s the thing with us allotmenteers, we don’t argue and fall out, it’s the life.

* Are you a keen gardener/allotment holder? Tell us why you love your outdoor space and share photos of it at the link below or emma.clayton@nqyne.co.uk