A beginner’s guide to allotments

01/11/2020Sean Barker

If you’ve run out of space in your garden, have an unusable space, or are keen to become more self-sufficient – allotments are a fantastic place to grow vast yields of fruit, veg and flowers. However, getting started can seem overwhelming. We’ve put together this allotment guide to help to get you started.

What is an allotment?

An allotment is a space designated for the growing of crops and/or ornamental plants. Generally, they are split into several plots, with each plot being ‘loaned’ to different people. Despite being most likely to find an abundance of fruit and veg on this land, they can also be used to keep animals! You will often find chicken coops, beehives and rabbit runs amongst people’s greenhouses and flowerbeds.

The size of an allotment plot is generally around 250 square metres[i], though this can vary quite a bit.

How to get an allotment

As more and more people become tempted into the world of gardening, it is becoming difficult to find allotments with free plots. Last year it was reported that a staggering 90,000 people were on waiting lists to be assigned a plot in one of Britain’s 300,000 council-owned allotments[ii].

In the UK, the normal route is to apply for an allotment through your local authority, who will allocate you to a plot or (most likely!) add you to a waiting list. You can find your local authority and apply here.

The cost of an allotment

There are various costs associated with allotments. The main cost of the allotment itself is plot rental. Generally, you will have to pay a small amount per year to ‘lease’ your allotment plot. This cost can be anything from £5 to £125 per year[iii] depending on the area.

Other costs to consider are

Equipment
Seeds/starter crops
Fertiliser or anything else needed for soil nutrition
Repair costs (some allotments can be run down when you first get them)
Storage for tools, a shed for example
Anything to assist crop growth – fruit cages, greenhouses, polytunnels etc.

There may also be some additional costs. Sometimes, you will be asked to pay a deposit on a key for the allotment, or a small contribution towards communal resources or water.

Preparation is key

Once you’ve got your hands on an allotment plot, the fun begins. But before you jump in and start digging up random patches of soil, you need to make sure your space is prepared.

Clear your plot

When you get an allotment, you will often have no control over the state it is in. Be ready to tackle the following: –

Weeds and other vegetation (top tip – do not put these on the communal compost heap, or your own! Many weed varieties such as mares tail are incredibly hardy, and can be borderline impossible to get rid of once they are in your soil)
Any materials or debris left behind
Overgrown crops/flowers you do not want to keep
Broken structures such as old sheds or greenhouses

Many allotments will have a ‘site manager’ who you may be able to ask to help you shift non-organic materials left by the previous plot owner.

Plan, plan and re-plan the layout

The layout of an allotment plot is probably where most people trip up. Although gardening is supposed to be a fun hobby, a bit of hard work at the start will take stress away months down the line. Plan out the location of garden beds, sheds, paths, and keep crop rotation in mind.

What to grow

We know it’s tempting to try and grow a dozen varieties of carrot in your newly acquired space, but it’s essential to try and keep it simple; especially for your first growing year.

This chart from RHS categorises expensive to buy, easier to grow plants vs plants that are harder to maintain and don’t cost too much to purchase from a market or a shop.

Cheap and easy to grow, expensive to buy	Cheap to buy, take up a lot of space
Beetroot Broad beans Brussels sprouts Calabrese Celeriac Courgettes French beans Herbs Leeks Lettuce Mangetout peas Mixed salad leaves Purple/white sprouting broccoli Radishes Runner beans Salad onions Shallots Spinach Turnips Soft fruit, all kinds Rhubarb	Cabbage Carrots Celery Garlic Onions Outdoor tomatoes Melons Parsnips Peas Potatoes, except early types Pumpkins Squash Cauliflowers Swedes Sweet potatoes

To avoid overwhelming yourself (and your growing space) consider the following: –

Time – We all have the best intentions, but think realistically about how much time you will have to spend in your allotment, and how much maintenance you can afford to give to your plants
Experience – Key to selecting crops is how much experience you have as a gardener. Don’t aim for tricky crops straight off the bat
Location – Is your allotment in the shade for most of the day, or in the sun? Does it get particularly windy, or is it relatively well sheltered? Considering the environment of your space is vital for healthy growth, and whether you should select hardier crops
Price – If your main goal is to cut down on your fresh food bill, weigh up whether growing the crop is worth it financially

When to grow

When you should start growing in your allotment heavily depends on the time of year that you take it on.

If you’re starting afresh in the new year, it is possible to start your seeds off indoors (or in a greenhouse or polytunnel) from early January[iv] to be transferred outside in May or June. Of course, this all depends on the crop and the weather, but as a rule of thumb you should generally wait until frost is no longer a risk before you start planting out.

There are plenty of seasonal growing calendars online to help you plan this, but here is a rough guideline for popular crops.

Spring

Spring is the best season for gardeners, and a huge variety of seeds can be sown. If you get it right, you’ll truly reap the rewards of your hard work. Just some of the crops that can be started in spring:

Peppers
Salad leaves
Radishes
Aubergines & courgettes
Broccoli & sprouting broccoli
Carrots
Chard
Runner beans & peas

We have written individual growing guides for the Spring months of March, April & May.

Summer

Summers starts as a ‘lazy’ gardening season, but it can be bountiful in terms of harvesting. Not much planting happens at the start of the season. Some crops you could consider sowing include: –

Cauliflower
Coriander
Daikon
Fennel
Kohlrabi
Lettuce
Pak Choi
Beetroot
Strawberries
Turnips
Potato / sweet potato

And here are our guides for what to sow in June, July and August respectively.

Autumn

In autumn, you can carry on sowing a lot of the same crops as you did in the summer. However, these months are best-spent harvesting and preparing your allotment for winter.

To see specific recommendations on what to plant in the autumn months, take a look at our guides for September, October & November.

Winter

You are unlikely to replace crops that were harvested during the winter, so it is best spent looking after overwintering crops[v] such as chard, parsley, broccoli and cabbages, as well as ensuring everything is ready for the next growing season. If you’ve invested in a polytunnel, you can start sowing a lot earlier in the year.

See our guides for December, January and February.

Some top tips and ideas for beginners

Other than following guides and calendars to help you succeed on your allotment journey, there are some additional tips we can recommend you follow.

Learn from the best! Allotments are generally full of experienced, friendly growers who will be more than happy to offer you help and advice when you need it. Help to keep the community spirit flowing with seed exchanges, and even shared equipment.
Don’t be afraid to start again – Failing crops are heartbreaking for any gardener, new or old, but it’s important not to give up. There will always be another growing season!
Add flowers – Attract pollinators to your allotment by planting a variety of flowers such as borage, dahlia, and wallflower.
Recycle water – Investing in a water-butt or other rain collecting system will make your life easier, your allotment eco-friendlier, and limit the trips you have to make to the communal tap
Don’t waste money – Sometimes the ‘best shovel of 2020’ is not worth the £80 it’s being flogged for. Don’t get sucked into expensive tools that won’t do much to improve the quality of your gardening.

As you can see, there’s a lot more to allotment growing than meets the eye. But, with a bit of patience and a lot of hard work, you’ll be sure to have a successful crop from your allotment for years to come.

References

Andrew, 2013. Top 10 Great Overwintering Vegetables. [Online] Available at: https://www.quickcrop.co.uk/blog/top-10-great-overwintering-vegetables/
[Accessed 17 October 2020].

Gill, S., n.d. Allotments & The Law – Legal Aspects of An Allotment. [Online] Available at: https://www.allotment-garden.org/articles-advice/
[Accessed 17 October 2020].

MSE Team, 2015. Can an allotment cut the cost of fruit & veg?. [Online] Available at: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/team-blog/2015/10/can-having-an-allotment-cut-the-cost-of-fruit-veg/#:~:text=So%20how%20much%20does%20running%20an%20allotment%20cost%3F&text=although%20you%20may%20end%20up,some%20areas%20for%20a%20plot!&text=And%20they%
[Accessed 17 October 2020].

Power Sheds, 2019. Allotment waiting lists. [Online] Available at: https://www.powersheds.com/allotment-waiting-lists/
[Accessed 17 October 2020].

RHS, n.d. Seed: sowing indoors. [Online] Available at: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=501
[Accessed 17 October 2020].

The National Allotment Society, 2020. Allotment Info. [Online] Available at: https://www.nsalg.org.uk/allotment-info/
[Accessed 17 October 2020].