The Allotment Book

Growing good food remains the main purpose of an allotment plot

Elsewhere stable, thriving sites are regenerated by introducing projects that involve other local residents or improve interaction with the wider community. Advertising, special events, training courses, mentoring schemes and shared work days on tenants’ plots have all helped to revive flagging enthusiasm. Unused areas or merged plots have been transformed into wildlife sites or communal gardens where schools or special interest organizations can have their own facilities.

A growing awareness of environmental issues, social inequalities, sustainability and funding has led to a host of constructive and exciting developments that reinvent the nature of allotment gardening. How much you participate is for you to decide: growing good food remains the main purpose of an allotment plot, and this can bring you both peace and productivity, but you may be surprised just how beneficial it can be to feel part of the wider allotment community.

The perfect allotment (#ulink_b3104d4e-5524-515c-b8e4-0f5f4828f70a)

From first contemplating and acquiring an allotment to choosing gardening methods and tools, there are many opportunities and options to consider before you set out to sow or plant your first crops.

making a start

Why have an allotment?

There are numerous compelling reasons to have an allotment. For some people, it is an instinctive and traditional activity, and even in industrialized countries no one is more than a few generations away from working the land. Others feel that manufacturers and processors have systematically destroyed their food culture, and that the only way to ensure a reliable (often affordable) source of favourite fruit and vegetables without chemical intervention is to grow them oneself. And growing crops close to home reduces the environmental cost of ‘food miles’ associated with long-distance transport.

Fresh, good-quality food is not the only essential ingredient of a healthy lifestyle, however. Regular exercise is just as vital, and working in the open air on your own piece of ground can be a more agreeable and productive way of keeping fit than going to the gym. In urban areas, allotments are vital oases of open recreational space, healing places that soothe the spirit and subdue mental stress.

Many welcome the strong, supportive sense of community (although you are equally free to be peacefully alone, if you prefer). Tending a plot can be a shared activity for families, while the wider community of plotholders, uniting gardeners of varied ages, abilities and backgrounds around a shared interest, offers the kind of support, co-operation and tolerance often lacking beyond the site boundary. You can find sanity and sanctuary as well as opportunity on an allotment.

FINDING AN ALLOTMENT

How you go about finding an allotment depends to a great extent on where you live, but in the UK you should first contact your local authority because most allotments are council-owned. These allotments may be statutory, in which case they are protected by law, or temporary sites on leased or rented land, where long-term tenancy is not guaranteed. Some sites are privately owned – by churches or public utilities, for example – and the best way to find out how to rent one of these is to ask an existing tenant.

A standard full-size allotment is about 250 sq.m (300 sq.yd), but half, quarter, even one-tenth plots are sometimes offered. You may find a vacant plot to take over straight away, or have to join a waiting list if demand is high and the site full. A tenancy agreement, which usually lasts for a year and is renewable, is signed by you and the owner or owner’s agent (such as a site association) and you will pay rent, which the law says must be reasonable, in advance.

In return you can usually expect safe access to your plot, an easily accessible water supply (its cost often included in the rent), and adequate site security. The site will usually have at least toilet facilities and a communal hut for storage, meetings and the sale of materials. Your plot may also be equipped with a shed, sometimes for extra rent, and permanent paths.

The agreement will explain your rights – to grow vegetables and fruit for personal use, and also possibly to keep hens or rabbits and sometimes other livestock such as pigeons or bees, depending on local bye-laws – and your responsibilities. Chief among these is the duty to maintain the plot in good cultivation, with respect to your neighbours and other plot-holders. There may also be restrictions on using hosepipes, lighting bonfires, creating ponds, planting trees or fencing the plot (especially with dangerous materials like barbed wire). You are normally not permitted to sublet or use the plot as a business.

ALLOTMENT ASSOCIATIONS

Well-managed allotment associations welcome new tenants in different ways. You may be given a starter pack that includes all the benefits and opportunities open to you (like sharing in a bulk purchase of materials or manure), a full description of the site as a whole and possibly details of your own plot, and even the offer of assistance from volunteer members to help you clear an overgrown plot and get started.

A key common reason for taking on a plot, whatever the private social or therapeutic motivation might be, is the deep sense of achievement when you harvest your own food. Daily work is often far removed from the basic satisfaction of making or producing something, while increasing pressure on the use of land results in gardens becoming ever smaller. An allotment can be a wonderful place to rediscover a sense of fulfilment.

Assessing yourself Whatever your motivation for acquiring an allotment, it is a good idea to assess your aims and capabilities. Be realistic about what you can achieve – it is easy for idealism to cloud judgement. However, owning an allotment may be less demanding than you imagine.

TIME It is possible to manage a plot well with a single weekly visit, although you will probably want to visit more often, especially when regular watering and harvesting are necessary. Add in your journey time if you live far from the site. If you don’t have your own vehicle, check out public transport links and consider whether you will be able to call upon friends to give you a lift with heavy items. Techniques like mulching can postpone the need for urgent attention, and neighbours will often share the care if you are away.

COMMITMENT Regular care is essential, even required in some tenancy agreements. As the sun doesn’t always shine, this will sometimes mean working in cold or wet weather. Low-maintenance methods, however, reduce the amount of routine tasks. You ultimately decide how much or how little you do, and even sitting out a rain shower in the shed can be therapeutic.

STAMINA Basic physical abilities are an advantage. Cultivating some soils can be strenuous work, and you might prefer to get someone to rotavate the plot for you. Routine skill and dexterity come with experience, and techniques are easily adapted for elderly and disabled plot-holders. And, with the goodwill of most allotment-holders, help with a particular task is often only a plot away.

EXPLORING YOUR PLOT

Before contemplating crops and how you intend to grow them, assess the plot as a place where you would enjoy working and possibly spending a lot of leisure time. Note all its apparent deficiencies as well as its merits and, if necessary, its scope for change. Although you will probably alter or adjust things as you go on, discoveries and decisions that are made now can affect future plans. Don’t rush into anything because time, weather and inclination are all unpredictable.

▸ The condition of the plot may be immediately obvious if it is overgrown, still partly planted up, or empty and cleared. Find some exposed soil and examine its character (see page 115) – plans that ignore the nature of the soil are unlikely to succeed.

▸ Note the lie of the land – whether it slopes and in which direction (this can affect temperature and the amount of sunshine it receives); low ground could be a frost-pocket or it may be waterlogged. Find out about prevailing winds. (See also pages 116 and 169.)

▸ Light and shade are important influences, so notice if existing tree canopies cast deep shadow, which might interfere with growth, or merely light shade, which is a valuable asset for sensitive crops in midsummer.

▸ Identify convenient places for essential accessories like compost bins, a shed, cold frame or manure stack. Try to find a draught-free position for sitting or eating.

▸ Access is vital: evaluate existing paths, their condition and durability, whether they are wide enough to take a wheelbarrow, and if they provide a direct, clear route to important places such as the shed, compost bin and main access road.

▸ Explore your surroundings. Locate the nearest water source, and assess any boundaries, hedges and fences for security, shelter or perhaps wild crops to harvest later. Study other plots for ideas and encouragement. Introduce yourself to neighbours, who can usually add information to your important first impressions.

AMBITION You need an aim in mind, confidence in yourself and sufficient common sense to temper your dreams with an awareness of your limitations, particularly at those times of year when a plot can seem both huge and unmanageable. Remember, though, that every year is a fresh beginning, when you can revise or simplify your plans. A plot that is too large can be shared with others or you can usually rent a part-allotment, and persistence always pays in the end.

COST If you have to buy tools, starting up can be expensive, especially if you add refinements, such as edging beds with boards and a greenhouse, shed or fruit cage. Don’t forget to include rent and travel expenses in your costs. However, you don’t have to renovate or plant up a whole allotment in the first season. You can start on the most neglected plot with just a mattock or spade and a few packets of seeds.

SEE ALSO ▸ Tools pages 54-5 Mulching page 119The allotment year pages 166-215 Resources pages 216-18

devising a plan

Making sketches During your first visit to the allotment, make a rough sketch plan of the plot with the position of all the important features like paths and any buildings, existing beds and perennial plants or remaining crops. Annotate the plan with any information you might gather about soil, aspect, exposure or neighbouring plots. Note any sloping ground because you will tend to take loads of manure or water in one direction more than others, and this might influence your layout.

When you are back home, make another plan, this time of your ideal plot. Allocate space for all your favourite crops and anything else you would like to grow, bearing in mind which need sun, shade or plenty of water and attention, as this could affect their siting. Consider the extra facilities you might like now or in the future – a family gathering place, cold frames or a fruit cage – but remember that you can always change your mind and adapt the plan later.

All this preliminary thought can help you to visualize life on the plot and so translate your dream into reality.

BOUNDARIES & PATHS

These are important, and establish the plot’s shape and means of access.

The edges of your plot could simply be paths or lines on the ground, or a previous tenant may have arranged something more elaborate. However, comprehensive fencing of any kind is inappropriate and a waste of ground; it may also possibly contravene site rules.

A useful way to define boundaries is to make natural boundaries, such as training fruit on posts and horizontal wires (see page 147), which can be very productive while occupying little space. Free-standing fruit bushes or seasonal hedges of runner beans, Jerusalem artichokes, sunflowers or herbs like angelica can confer privacy and relief from wind, perhaps screening an area for a sheltered seat.

There may only be one or two existing paths, dividing your plot from those next door. As these will probably be shared, any changes, improvement or maintenance should be negotiated with neighbours.

Paths within the plot are your exclusive responsibility. For practical purposes, main paths usually need to be straight, weather-proof, wide enough for comfort, and run directly between important points. Subsidiary paths (between beds, for example) can be narrower, even temporary arrangements, planned to allow access to cultivate and tend the various areas.

The material used will vary from plot to plot, although some sites are laid out with a grid of permanent paved paths. They will often be made of grass, which needs mowing or trimming periodically, while trampled earth is sufficient to allow simple maintenance between beds – protect those on wet ground with sacking, bark or waste timber slats. Paving slabs are the best long-term solution, or you could use gravel spread about 5cm (2in) deep on top of a weed-suppressant membrane (but beware: deep or smooth gravel can impede laden wheelbarrows).

how to garden

Methods of cultivation

Plot-holders quickly become very attached to their allotments. If growing your own produce is a new experience, you will probably find that your initial attention is focused on the routine of starting and tending plants, culminating in the anticipation and triumph of harvesting fresh food that you have produced yourself, an experience that never palls.

BIODIVERSITY

News reports document the alarming worldwide decline in biodiversity, the variety and numbers of plants and creatures on earth. How you manage your plot can have an equally critical impact on wildlife at a much more local level, and is more within your power to control. Using sustainable gardening methods and minimizing disturbance to natural life cycles can help safeguard the future for other species that use the plot. An allotment is often teeming with life, whether it is soil-based and out of sight, or more obvious, like the birds, insects, amphibians and reptiles that may be found on any sensitively managed site.

Before long, however, you will become aware of a wider context: life in the soil and surroundings, the influence of local geography and climate, and even the old-fashioned concept of stewardship – your responsibility for the continuing welfare of the land in your care. This could lead you into asking more fundamental questions about the way you are growing your crops, and the implications of simply imposing a basic plan on the plot for short-term results.