We’ve been offered a half plot to try out in the village allotments and were wondering if it’s worthwhile?

The sum total of plant experience in our house is growing some tomatoes and green beans so we’ve basically got no idea! We’re both vegetarian so quite like the idea of having the better tasting veg people say you get by growing your own

How much time do you need to spend looking after the plots?

Is it worth the effort?

Is it too late in the year to be starting with one?

It is good fun to start with.
It takes more time than you think.
If you leave it for a couple of weeks while you go on holiday everything will die/go to seed/get covered in weeds.
It is never too late to start.
You don’t need to use the whole area immediately so start with what you can manage
The other allotment holders will want to help you whether you want help or not.
Think about what you want to plant and why – fill it with potatoes if you like but they are cheaper and probably better fromt he supermarket so what about asparagus and chillies for example
Yes, on balance I would take it. You can try for one growing cycle ~12 months but starting now you may want to make that 18 months. If you don’t like it then I am sure someone else will have a go instead.

Yes, I’ve got two! Definitely give it a go, you might find you get slightly obsessed like me.

As WCA says think carefully about what you would use and what is best bang for your buck/time.

Soft fruit rasps etc will pretty much look after themselves, climbing french beans are good value. I think leeks are under rated, once you’ve planted them they just sit there all winter begging to be made into soup. A courgette plant?

Now is a great time to start if it needs sorting out, look at charles dowding no dig site for a slightly different way of approaching things.

If its good to go, plant rocket spinach chard or oriental greens for some autumn food.

Good luck!

yeah. My wife loves it and loves spending time there. I’m mostly just involved with it as a labourer but it’s quite nice to pop down sometimes. We made a pond which is the envy of much of the site, and I like to go and watch the goldfish that live in it. Also the pond means one less bit of our rather large plot to keep up with weeding etc!
From observing my wife I would say going in with big expectations of bountiful harvests is a recipe for disappointment, but planting a few things with relatively modest dreams can lead to cheerful surprises. And yeah, agreed with planting stuff that tends to be expensive to buy in the shops.

If you leave it for a couple of weeks while you go on holiday everything will die/go to seed/get covered in weeds.

This is complete BS. I weed my veg patch about 4 times per year and if everything is going to seed that quickly then you’re doing something wrong. And no, it doesn’t have to be that much work – the amount of work depends on what you want to grow – some things are very straightforward, and some are not.

If you make it a family endeavour than it can be a very rewarding group activity, and being vegetarians I would say it will certainly be worth your effort for the produce alone.

It is too late to grow a lot of crops now, but there’s still plenty you can do – things like salads, chard, beetroot and then maybe some autumn sown broad beans + garlic. Plus, gardening is all about preparation and planning, so even if you don’t grow much this year you can have the site in tip top condition for next season.

If you do decide to take it on then check out Charles Dowding’s website/books.

It partly depends how close you live. We had a big plot that needed a huge amount of work to clear (the reason we were able to skip the 100 year waiting list to get it!). when we were 5 mins walk away, it was great and we got loads of fruit and veg. Far more than we could eat. But when we moved a bit further away it became a chore to go so often and it started to get a bit wild. once the grass takes hold its a pain and you get surprise marrows and tough old beans before you know it.

We’re lucky enough to have space in the garden for some raised bed now so its much easier.

Agree with the points about choosing what you plant. lots of people do potatoes, carrots, onions etc but with the exception of new potatoes, stuff you get from the shop will be as good and much les effort. Tomatoes, beans, courgettes, salad, strawberries will give you loads to eat and not all at once. It’s a bit late to start for some of these but some things can be planted for winter/spring harvest: garlic, brassicas, salad leaves, broad beans

Thanks for all the tips. Luckily for us the allotments are only a two minute walk from the house.
I’ve dropped them a line and just waiting to see which plots are available and how much work needs done on them.

I’ll have a look at the Charles Dowding website, it looks like it’s got loads of good info.

If you’ve got the space at home a few raised beds and some large containers can be a good way to start. If ever I see a leaky bucket or broken tub knocking about it’s in my garden filled with compost quick as you like these days.

I like harvesting as I need rather than picking a glut of stuff in one go so if the allotment is close by it will be way more useful.

I’m growing courgettes in old recycling tubs that were replaced by wheelie bins. Gone way better than expected and don’t sprawl out and take up as much space as when in the ground.

Spring onions and Chives in pots are fine too. The bees love the chives too.

In the raised beds I’ve got lettuce (so much better than supermarket and you can cut what you need and it keeps growing back), red onion (we cook a lot of Mediterranean and curries so always get used), carrots (not many but supermarket carrots tend to go to off in the fridge before we use them) brocolli (grew way better than expected).

Next years plan is to add asparagus and mushrooms into the mix.

Oh and fresh herbs, Thyme, Rosemary, Mint and Oregano all growing outdoors in pots and over wintered outside OK too.

we had one for a while but it did take up a lot of time. I’d recommend butternut squash as they took up a large area and the squash can be kept for ages afterwards

Rhubarb – it’s 1.29 for 2 sticks at mozzers.  I bought 4 baby plants for 14 quid at booths, planning on a 50% survival rate.  I planted them c easter, done nothing since, they ‘ve grown into monsters.  I m having to give the stuff away, freezers full.  Leaves are so strong nothing grows underneath them so good ground cover.  Cant remember the type sadly, i ll divide it and plant elesewhere next year.

Gives you the chance of growing slightly offbeat stuff like pink fir apple potatoes

‘eadin down allotment, workin’ me vegetables…

Lots of good advice above.
Mrs BigJohn loves hers. I do a bit in there occasionally. Eating food in season is great. Potatoes need sculpting to get the worms out. You end up with a glut of stuff so you have broad beans every night for a month if you’re not careful. But other than that it’s great.

I’ve got a half plot. Had loads of asparagus, strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb, onions and garlic this year. Onto courgettes, beans, tomatoes now. Squashes starting to grow, loads of spuds, I just chuck wonky ones in the ground to grow.
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Visit a couple of times a week for an hour or so.</p>

We’ve had one for about 8 years. The first 5 were really hard work, but now with knowledge and experience it’s a bit easier. I recommend you treat it as a hobby. It doesn’t profit financially – you could just go to work for an extra couple of hours and buy organic from a farmers’ market but it is quite satisfying/frustrating/theraputic/tasty.

Like others have said, i find it very satisfying and stress relieving, especially as someone who now has a deskjob having always worked outside previously.

A lot is trial and error, keep trying new things and seeing what works for you and what varieties of tomatoes/ cucumbers etc work for you.

If you have a half plot, i would be tempted to put a greenhouse or poly tunnel on one half, best thing for toms/ cucumbers/ chillies etc and for starting plants to plant out.

Also listen to advice of others on allotment, they know what works best in that type of soil and are often a great source for seeds, cuttings and bits and pieces, as they like to share knowledge if they see you putting in the graft.

The other fun thing is once set up, i try to always grow my “staples” but also fun to try 2-3 things a bit different you’re not sure will work, for me recently this has been wild garlic, cucumelons and some unusual chillies

I stopped at the allotment after my run this morning and pulled these out (the garlic and onions are curing on the balcony).

They went into a pan with some eggs and cheese – it’s doubly tasty when it’s minutes out the ground and grown yourself.