Topic: How Much Effort Does it Require to Work an Allotment?

[bluehousehill]

Thanks for that Lauren I will use sheep manure its in abundance where I am. When I see the farmer I will ask him. 

Dale

[hoonteo]

I couldn't agree more with bluehousehill. I'm a newbie, and no, I'm not going to throw money at my allotment, one of the aspects that attracted me to it was the recycling aspect of it, using old bits to make new ones. So far I've only spent £27 and I've been on it a month, that was to get scaffolding wood. My friend has offered me her shed, and I'm always scrounging. Also, what's work? You either want to do it or you don't. I go there when I can, and I plan to enjoy it.

[antipodes]

It depends on so many factors. I admit that i do not spend nearly as much time on the lot as I should, but I don't really have a social life  down there either so I go, do the work and come home. It is a couple of minutes' walk from home.

Last year being first year, there was all the digging etc, all the crop failures which were hard to deal with, etc. This year I know what worked, so I am using this system: dig over and cover with tarps the next plot you want to plant e.g. i did that with onions, now the spuds have the same treatment. That way the digging over and planting are not on the same day. I plant then dig over the next  bed, e.g. this weekend the first earlies spuds go in, the tarp will go on the root veg bed that I will dig once I plant the spuds etc etc.
Mulch where possible. It cuts down on weeding.
Grow some things on plastic, like strawbs, courgettes etc. It cuts down oin weeding.
Do one task at a time, e.g one weekend if the fruit  bed is looking tatty, really give it a good going-over and just leave the rest or give the urgent things attention.
When you take out a crop, e.g. cabbages, really dig over the ground and manure it if possible (if appropriate) and DON'T WALK ON IT. I never walk on the plots and I left them all dug up over winter, now they are soft and crumbly.
My plot is : grassy and weedy in some areas, crops are not all in beautifully neat rows, squares etc, only just getting some decent paths in now after a year (it does look better with them). I do not have nice wooden raised beds, or edges. It is 5 x 20 m and I work alone.
In winter I spend a minimum of time, but at least 3 hours a week in autumn digging over. In summer about 4 hours a week, but not all at once (2 hours on the weekend then small periods during the week, before or after work). In spring, there is work indoors for the seedlings because I don't have a greenhouse, but I guess I don't count that  ;)
I think what I do is the minimum you can get away with.
The important thing is to enjoy it, grow what you want to eat, it's not a tragedy if you don't go one day or don't do what you wanted to do, even if the plot neighbours look askance at you, sod 'em. A little effort regularly can go a long way, and sometimes I just put my foot down and put in a 4-5 hour spurt or take a day over the holidays and that tidies it up for the next while. Once the things start growing, you feel much better than looking at the empty plot in February with a mournful sigh  ;D
BUT AN HOUR A WEEK WON'T CUT IT I AM AFRAID!!!!!!
Good luck to one and all

[lancelotment]

Remember what they say about shoes in the shop window that don't have a price; if you need to ask how much they are you can't afford them!!  Lance

[pippy]

I started my plot last year in April and was lucky that about a quarter of it had been dug the previous year and some more had weed suppressing stuff on it.  With son no. 2 in playgroup only1 morning my predictable commitment was about 2 hours a week.  I did about double this (with evenings)  for a couple of months to get going and after the initial effort  had about a third to half the plot in cultivation by the end of the year.

I guess what I'm trying to say is you have to be realistic about what you can achieve with the time you can commit.  In school holidays I also got behind with the weeding but hey - on an allotment it doesn't have to be immaculate!  The oldies on the site were only too happy to have someone persisting as so many plots are virtually abandoned.

[bupster]

After nearly three years on my plot, and working full time in London (hence no evenings available until high summer), I've got it down to a fine art. I do what I reasonably can, and see it as a long-term project. It won't be how I originally imagined it for a couple of years yet, because I have never had the time to dig it all over all at once.

Every weekend that I can, I get up there for about three hours a day, a bit less when it's very cold and a bit more when it's nice and warm. After that I want to go off and do other things. Sometimes I go away for one or both of those days, so it gets left, but I try not to go away too much in the spring. If by May I clearly won't get it all under cultivation the way I wanted it, I'll cover some of the "beds" in black weed suppressant and plant through them - or not - meaning that it's not getting any worse and it's not head high in weeds, annoying the neighbours. Parts of the plot have never properly been tackled, just brought a bit more under control.

It's a bit harsh on people like me to hear from those who clearly have a lot more time on their hands telling me how I "should" be doing it. I can't do it your way and have a life, and I have no intention of giving my plot up because it's not pristine. I'll get there in the end and I'm quite happy with it looking a bit scruffy and not always producing everything I wanted it to produce. I think one of the reasons newbies give up is the pressure they put on themselves, trying to have a plot looking like it does when you have no full-time job when you can only squeeze a few hours out of the week. I have a lot of things to balance in my very full life; the allotment is an important part of it but by no means 20 hours a week's worth.

[lincolnlad]

IT'S NOT HOW MUCH EFFORT YOU PUT INTO A ALLOTMENT IT TAKES TIME TO GET THE RESULT YOU WAN'T.I AM DOWN ON MINE 7 DAYS A WEEK BETWEEN 2 AND 8 HOURS A DAY WHAT TAKES TIME IS GETTING EVERYTHING IN THE GROUND TO GROW.AND LOOKING AT THE RESULT WHEN IT COMES TO PICKING TIME.AND NOT TO FORGET MY CHICKENS TO CLEAN OUT WHICH TAKES 1 HOUR EVERY WEEK AND FEED AND COLLECT THE EGGS I HAVE 18 HENS TO LOOK AFTER ALL EX-BATTERY HENS.   

[Ant]

seems to have been a fairly emotive subject this one so I'll chuck in my 2 pennies worth  :)

We have a small shared plot (about a third of a full one) which was covered in black plastic when we took it on. Over the course of 6 weeks from end of Feb to mid April we got it cleared and there was only one corner of it that was bad with bindweed. Then it was just a case of planting things and making sure it was weeded. We got loads of beans, beetroot and potatoes as we as various other bits and bobs.

Sure, there was a lot of effort to start with, but after that it was more maintaining what was there.

Then we got offered our new plot... 6 foot high in brambles for a third of its length, and the rest was bindweed and couch grass.

9 months later, and one end of it looks about as good as our original plot did. Maybe with more effort we could have cleared more, but its covered, and with time it will get sorted out.

The point I am slowly dragging myself towards is that you have 2 factors to consider:

Effort and time:
If you go to your plot and work like a dervish for 2 hours, then you will get just as much done as spending 6 hours there messing about picking through weeds, talking with other plot holders and enjoying yourself.

There is no quick fix for getting a ruined plot looking good, well short of getting a JCB in to remove the top 2 foot and then getting 500 tons of free John Innes compost, but thats not going to happen.

It will take effort, and it will take time. Obviously the more of both you put in, the faster you will reach your goal, and if you put neither in, then nature will beat you hands down.  :)

The way I look at it, its not a race. Some days you go down and achieve a fair bit in a short time, other days you can go down for 3 hours and not really do very much.

Regarding the financial element, between us we had a gym membership that was close to £100 a month, thats been knocked on the head fairly sharpish so it doesn't bother me if I spend £10 and build a raised bed for the plot.

Somewhere in there is a point...  ;D

[hoonteo]

How nice does it have to look anyway? I thought the whole point was to enjoy it and grow something.

[amvpugh]

hi
i'm anne
i'm new to this forum
i am currently on the waiting list for an allotment.
i realise this will be hard work and am under no illusion regarding that,
i am a busy mum to 6 children,
the youngest three being 5,4 and almost 3.
i thought it'd be a good idea to show them where their food comes from,
they all like veg and last summer i had to keep a close eye on them as they were eating leaves from the garden thinking they were lettuce,
i think it will be good for both me and the kids
and will look forward to advice from people who know what they're doing
anne

[manicscousers]

hiya, anne, welcome to the site, sounds like your kids are going to have a wonderful time, hope you get a plot soon  ;D