So i finally got to the top of the allotment list in Bristol and have been given this plot

Which i think is pretty well kept.

We are starting small and covering up some of the other beds to start but any other tips gratefully received

(god i hate google photos)

From experience of a mate who got an allotment, you know how much time you think you’ll need to spend on it? Treble it.

Oh, and if you let your parsnips bolt, you’ll get an impressive ten foot parsnip hedge.

At work now but I’ll chip in later when I’ve got chance (there are a few allotmenters on here!)

Like you say, that’s a good plot to be starting out with.

Lovely looking plot . Are you planning on giving up cycling?

I always start with what I want to grow , then take it from there . I usually go for stuff that is expensive to buy , hard to get hold of (no so much of a problem in Bristol) or tastes much better when fresh. So for example I don’t bother with potatoes . ( cheap, keeps well, available everywhere)

Salads ( lettuce cut and come again type and whole head) , rocket, ,broad beans runner beans , sugar snap and so on ( very easy and relatively maintenance free, unless you get aphids on your broad beans) pak choi , broccoli , rhubarb ( usually takes a few years of not buying the crown) carrots etc make a great start, work out the area you have , what is there that you want to keep , and get planning.

I also bought a book, which was really useful

https://www.amazon.co.uk/RHS-Grow-Your-Own-Horticultural/dp/1845332938

Turn it down and run away…………only joking

After the shit year we’ve just had where everything was pretty much ruined early due to biblical rain I would not expect too much from the first few years.

Ours is a private allotment and is in a beautiful setting right on the back of the local woods. I enjoy just being up there with a beer listening to the footy as much as the actual growing (that’s her job)

Keep on top of the weeds.

Errrm, that’s it.

I’m just into my second year. What’s their policy on sheds? 😉

For your first season I would really just tidy up what you have and maybe plant a small number of easy to grow things such as courgette and potato and onions.
Don’t try to do too much as it just becomes too much work initially. Take it slow and as mentioned above, they can be great places to just go and chill with a beer….

I’ve got Onions, courgette, sweetcorn, sweet peas, tomatoes, aubergines, garlic, potatoes etc..

I’m going to scale it back next season though and try to do things that need less input and mainly just relax down there. I’ll still grow good stuff though.

I had my first meal the other day where pretty much the whole thing was self-grown. (except for the houmous) 😀

Actually grow something.

Do not tell your other half to clear it.
Then do nothing.
Then get them to clear the resulting weeds again.
Then do nothing.
Then blame the lack of doing anything on the lack of raised beds, because everyone knows that’s how veg is grown, you can’t grow veg in the ground. Thus nothing is done.
Then demand that the whole thing is covered in a small fortune of weedproof membrane (again, because that’s what the countryside looks like, isn’t it?) whilst pretending that this is for your other half’s benefit as it’ll reduce the amount of weeds they need to clear.

Because that really breeds resentment when your other half spends yet another weekend digging it over rather than riding their bike.

What TINAS said.

But with added rotavator hire every 6 months or so and having to fence the whole thing ‘to stop the toddler running away’

Weeds. Dear gods, the horror!

Had an allotment for three years and the weeds were the bane of my life. No matter how much time I spent clearing them, I’d get back from a week away and the place woudl be three feet deep in them.

That said… We had some awesome peas and runner beans, were never short of strawberries or raspberries (both took over one part of the plot) and the squashes and pumpkins worked really well.

But the weeds…

Fill it with spuds and then live on chips.

Cheers for the tips. We have a toddler and took him down yesterday. The fence idea sounds like a plan. Had to stop him from walking on everyone elses plot!

We’ll be using the plot to chill,make tea, have a beer/bbq in the summer as well as growing. Some people have gone to town and put what look like full scale summer houses on their’s.

The guy next to us was telling me about the virtues of growing garlic. he’s putting down 300 seeds which I thought was a bit excessive.

Actually grow something.

Do not tell your other half to clear it.
Then do nothing.
Then get them to clear the resulting weeds again.
Then do nothing.
Then blame the lack of doing anything on the lack of raised beds, because everyone knows that’s how veg is grown, you can’t grow veg in the ground. Thus nothing is done.
Then demand that the whole thing is covered in a small fortune of weedproof membrane (again, because that’s what the countryside looks like, isn’t it?) whilst pretending that this is for your other half’s benefit as it’ll reduce the amount of weeds they need to clear.

Because that really breeds resentment when your other half spends yet another weekend digging it over rather than riding their bike.

Never had reason to suspect my other half of cheating on me until I read this.

More frightening is the fact she has 2 allotments.

As above. Had one for a few years but as others have said double the time you think you need to spend at it. That said I really enjoyed mine when I had it but it was becoming a choice of a ride or weeding so packed it in. My plot was about a 15 min drive away so if we needed any veg for dinner it was a 30min round trip plus pootling. This also meant a fair bit went to waste. Maybe would start up again when kids leave home, for now though I am happy with the 3mx6m bit of garden I have at home for my peas,carrots, cabbage, broccoli, onions, leeks,salad and raspberries. Just enjoy it and grow things you would eat so it’s not wasted. Plant a bit at a time, not all at once to avoid a glut. Take the winter to plan for next year. I have just cleared my patch at home for winter (bar the leeks and some carrots) and will leave it until about April now.

Dig. It’s worth spending the time (and effort) to properly dig out weeds. Dig, pick out all the bits of root, dig over again, repeat. Do that before you plant anything and you’ll have easy to hoe weeds to deal with rather than big rooted things like docks, dandelions, couch grass and thistles. Backbreaking to begin with but worth it in the end. Avoid planting anything permanent like fruit bushes or asparagus until you’ve had a year on the plot and know how you’re going to lay it out long term. Don’t plant anything you’re not prepared to eat every meal for a month (unless it freezes or you have a lot of vegan friends). Don’t be disheartened when something eats that thing you were going to leave ripening for just one more day. Enjoy!

Apologies for a hijack, how much does it cost to rent a standard size allotment these days? I have a 30 x 30m patch of land, which used to be used for growing stuff with good soil, which I don’t get time for these days – was thinking of letting it out to someone locally who might want to use it for this but no idea what’s an okay amount to ask. Cheers

also in the south west, but 40 miles south of bristol on the coast. did look into an allotment locally, huge waiting lists here sadly..

Thankfully our garden is filled with raised beds from my saturday summer job as garden centre taxi, compost lugger and garden oddjobsman. only added one bed this year.. we’re up to 8 now. plus various ‘bag things’, a trug, a greenhouse and a potting shed. 3 raised beds aren’t used for veg. plus we have 8 immature fruit trees in the ground, and 1 mature apple tree of unknown variety. raised beds add costs for soil/compost to fill em. don’t bother IMO.

mrs old house before we lived together used to have awesome courgettes, but even though we’re only 1/2 mile away, on similar soil we’ve not had the success same here. so be prepared to expermient and find out what will grow where your plot is.

everything is in line with ‘on the edge of wild’ aesthetic. probably the best “crops” we get are of cut flowers for the house and tomatoes, even did the mrs sisters wedding flowers last year

my advice. keep it simple, have some kind of plan for godsake..
oh and step up your composting game.
sky+ gardeners world and the scottish one whatever its called.

at least in an allotment they’ll kick you out of letting it get out of hand 😀

Work on a small manageable chunk rather than trying to blitz it all in one go, don’t rotovate it, dig it over.

Spend time getting to know your neighbours, they will be keen to help and give you good advice.

Don’t buy! Borrow, swap and share.

Keep nothing of value in your shed.

last, but most important, cook bacon sarnies there to go with your tea

Beer and hoes. A decent hoe will make the weeding easier, and spuds are a brilliant first crop as q) they do taste better from the ground unlike what he said up there and 2)they make you do a fair bit of work on your soil.

Oh and compost! Spend the time setting up a decent 3 heap system, understand the balance of carbon and nitrogen and enjoy the black gold.

Apologies for a hijack, how much does it cost to rent a standard size allotment these days?

Not sure what standard is but each plot where I am costs £30 a year plus £3 allotment assoc membership.

We pay £10 a year on our private allotment.

And it’s massive.

Why not just do it for some free veg and to know that its getting used by someone that wants to use it?

..and this is what a just few months of neglect over winter does.

*sighs*

*grabs tools*

From experience of the last 3 years of a freinds allotment helping him, dig it, then leave it, youve burnt yourself out, build a shed, get some tools, fill shed with tools, sit near shed loking at weeds, plant some stuff and leave, till they die get eaten then leave after theyve diied.

start again , but then half way through decide to move to another plot, other side of allotment get shed dismantled after it was built to withstand a nuclear wind blast, transfer entire contents to new plot and leave, its to late in the seasoin to do anything, this year start again rebuild shed, it wobbles, rebuild another old shed, dig a bit, start a fire to burn rubbish, neighbours then form a choir to complain about smoke, washing, pollution etc, loose heart and go to Tesco for fresh veg and fruit, its easier.

We’ve recently taken on a half plot comprising of six 1.5 x 4.5m beds and one 2.5 x 5m bed.

The old fella who had it before had kept the smaller needs covered in membrane which he took off when he handed over the keys.

This was two weeks ago and I’m dreading going up there on tuesday lol

We’ve got a ton of onions ready to go in but need another week before French beans and tomatoes are ready from the greenhouse.

One of the beds will be for growing kale and other bunny friendly greens on rotation and another for potatoes and carrots.

The rest will be recovered for now until I figure out what to do with them as I’ve only ever grown in trugs before.