We Have An Allotment!

This post probably doesn’t need much introduction, does it? Yep, we finally have an allotment – it’s something we’ve wanted for a LONG time and I’m SO excited to share that we now have one!

It was about a year ago that we decided to put our name down on the waiting list for a plot. Over the last five years, all our free time has been spent on our never-ending DIY renovation, so much as I wanted an allotment before now, I knew keeping on top of one whilst renovating at the same time, just wasn’t feasible.

Over the last year, we’ve been taking DIY at a much slower pace. The big jobs such as the kitchen and bathroom are done and we’re no longer living like pigs without running water to wash pots in, or an oven to cook on.

Yes, our house is still FAR from complete, but we have a large portion of the house finished and for the most part, we can enjoy our house like an actual home. I mean, it’s come a long way from the building site we once lived in.

So about a year ago, we felt it was the right time to put our name down onto the Allotment waiting list, knowing full well it would be at least several months before a plot would even come into reality for us.

But Don’t You Have a Garden Already?

Yes we do, and yes we *could* grow veg in our garden, but it would most likely take up nearly the whole garden. Even a small veg patch would take up significant space. Our garden isn’t tiny by any means, but it’s not that big either.

My idea of a garden at home is somewhere we can relax in the evenings with a glass of wine, somewhere where there’s space for the dogs to run and flower beds to bring colour when I look out the window. To me an allotment is different, it’s more of a working garden and just a different vibe.

If our garden was bigger, I would 100% have both at home, but our garden just can’t fit it all. We have successfully grown a few things in pots, but it’s a tiny amount compared to what we’d like to grow, hence putting our name down for an allotment.

I know it’s a great privilege to have a garden and an allotment – and I know how lucky we are to have been given a plot within 12 months too, especially when some areas have waiting lists several years long.

This amount of outdoor space is more than many would dream of, and being honest, it’s much more than we thought we’d have. But we won’t be taking it for granted and we do plan to get A LOT of use from it. The allotment itself is only a 5minute walk from our house, so we have no excuse for not turning up and we genuinely hope to use our plot to its full potential.

What’s On Our Allotment Plot?

I’ll be doing a full post of the plans for our allotment at some point, but I’ll give you a little sneak peek into our new plot and what it looks like.

We actually really lucky and got to pick from a few plots that had gone up for grabs. I think a lot of long-timers often have more than 1 plot on the go, taking up neighbouring plots as they become available – the guy who had given up the plot we eventually took, had also owned two of the neighbouring plots too. We were apparently next on the waiting list, so we got first pickings from those – plus there was 1 other from another owner. A choice of FOUR in total – I did say we were really lucky!!

Interestingly, not all the plots were the same size and some were a bit more loosely ‘done’ than others in terms of moving straight in and planting up. I asked the guy who showed us around what made a good plot and his advice was picking one nearish to the water tap, which I thought was a good tip.

The plot we picked was I’d say, a good combo of everything. It wasn’t the biggest, but also wasn’t the smallest. It was near to the water tap and it was loosely ‘done’ to the extent of already having wood dividing the plot into beds. This was a complete comparison from one which resembled nothing more than a mess and needed A LOT of work.

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We felt with this plot we could work upon what was already there rather than completely needing to redo the whole area, which we thought was perfect for newbies like us to get going with. We can, of course, change things about and re-build as we learn more about growing.

Size-wise the plot is larger than I thought any allotment plot would be, and it’s probably not too dissimilar size to our own garden! It’s wider but perhaps not as long.

I know it’s hard to distinguish where the plot ends and begins on these photos, but hopefully, when we begin cutting down the overgrown crops, it will make more sense! Until then, this diagram shows the beds which are on our plot (anything either side of these beds are a different plot):

Our plot also has a ready-made compost bin at the front and a broken polytunnel, which we’d like to replace with a shed (I’m already on the Facebook hunt for some freebies!).

As for veggies on the plot, there’s a large bed of asparagus, some berries at the back, and Rhubarb (we think) to the front. The rest of the beds were either empty, full of weeds, or unrecognisable to us. Anything we can keep, we’ll definitely be keeping!

As I already mentioned, the previous owner of this plot also owned the plot to the side and another across from that, towards the back (think a big L-shape!). So we’ll have two new neighbours joining us who we’ll hopefully meet soon!

We did, however, meet some of the other allotment plot owners and everyone was genuinely so welcoming and friendly, already offering tips and advice – which we’ll definitely be needing! Naturally, I’ve forgotten all their names already. I think I’m going to need a notebook…

How Much We Paid and Allotment Rules

Surprisingly our allotment cost just £20 for a YEAR! I thought that was insanely cheap and was actually expecting anything upwards of £30 – thinking even £30 would be cheap!

There are lots of rules for the site, but for the most part, they’re just common sense. It’s all fairly simple, things like: no large bonfires, no glass structures (including glass greenhouses), no fences over 1m, and no livestock – although you CAN keep rabbits and chickens with permission.

Dogs are allowed on site, but only if on a leash and the site has a security gate which only those with an allotment can gain access through. Hopefully, that means any tools and gardening equipment kept on site should be safe!

If you have a plot that you fail to maintain or use, then it may be taken off you, which seems pretty fair to me. “In use” requires you to have two thirds in cultivation, except for new owners who are bringing an overgrown site back to life.

We signed a contract with the council the same day as viewing our new pot, paid our fees and that was it, the plot was ours!

I’m overjoyed to have this space and have LOTS of ideas (and lots of plans for DIYs!) coming your way over the next year! Sadly growing season is coming to an end now, so we don’t expect to get much planted this year, but we’ll definitely be tending to the land whilst planning and preparing for the next 12 months ahead. I can’t wait to share this journey with you!