I'm a complete newbie at this and don't have an allotment yet, although I am thinking of applying for one. There are none whatsoever in the area where I live, so the closest will have to be 15-20 mins drive away (if I am lucky!), or a longer stint by public transport. I am a beginner at planting veggies - I live in a flat, so all my planting has been in containers so far; I've grown herbs and tomatoes before, but most of my gardening experience lies in growing container roses and other ornamental shrubbery.
I've been thinking increasingly of growing my own veggies on a small plot of land, possibly a half-plot as a standard one may be too large. However, I have a busy job that takes up most of my time on weekdays. I'm concerned that owning an allotment requires too much commitment and time. For the first month or couple of months, I can imagine putting in a few hours of effort once a week - but I am concerned about a couple of things...
How much time does one have to put into an allotment to keep it from getting overgrown? I don't want to be too ambitious, just want to plant tomatoes, maybe some herbs, chillis, salads and beans in my first year. I'd like to know how often these crops must be watered, if I mulch well.... can they survive with a weekly watering or must it be done more often? And what if I leave it for 2 weeks without visiting (weekend time is precious!).
Or am I better off just abandoning the whole idea because of my busy job?? (part of the reason I was thinking of allotment gardening was really as a stress-reliever). I just have one other person (my other half) to help me tend the allotment.
Any honest advice appreciated, thanks!
vegwomble
I go to my allotment every day (4 minutes walk).
The commitment is enormous at first requiring 10-20 hours a week to start with. When established, in the winter it is 1 hour a week and some weeks none, but in the spring it rapidly rises and I am putting in about 20 hours a week and a lot of taht is watering and opening and shutting frames.
Unless you are obsessive, I think a busy job and a 20 mile drive is too much, especially as your weekends are precious.
Why not use some imaginative scheme at home, I have seen people in Nice city centre who have small balconies grow the most extraordinary variety of vegetables.
There are plenty of ideas thrown about and discussed on this site.
See my work on
http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments2_my_allotment_in_liverpool.html
Mine is now low maintenance!
You'll need quite a bit of time to get started because - unless you are really lucky to take on a recently cultivated plot, you'll need to do a fair bit of clearing and soil preparation. I'd recommend taking a few days off work in spring or autumn and get as much done as possible. I did the clearing work bit by bit, but then I live 5 minutes from my plot! I work from home so I can visit my half plot during the week. In summer, I spend about 20 to 30 minutes every other day, harvesting, weeding and watering. During spring, I spend more time, maybe 4 hours a week. I tend to see the same crowd when I visit during the week, but sometimes I see others during the weekend. The weekend crowd tends to come and work on the plot for a whole day/haf day. I am amazed how much work they get done (these are mostly couples so I suppose that explains it!).
I grow a lot of salad crops, which need regular attention and so are not recommended if you don't visit the plot often, but there are other crops you can grow which need less attention (after initial planting). These include potatoes, sweetcorn, onions and squashes.
West Harrow allotments (next to the station on the Metropolitan line) is the biggest site in Harrow and has plenty of vacancies. They're doing a plant sale on 19th May if you want to have a look (actually, a footh path runs through it so you can visit anytime you like.) I don't know what Harrow's policy is on renting plots to non Harrovians.
Link on the plant sale
http://www.harrowinleaf.org.uk/Events.html
I'll miss it because I have to go to a conference in Sheffield.
when I first took the plot 7 years ago I shared with 2 others ,it worked well and as we became organized
we spread our wings and took on whole plots, raised beds help and make things less daunting .Cover in
black plastic what you can't manage this year,bit at a time.You may find you want to spend more time there.
Are there waiting lists?
Good luck!
MM
I have a full sized plot which I took on by myself about 5-6 years ago. I have a full-time job, although it is strictly 9-5. My plot is a 25 minute cycle away from home, although it is on my route home from work. I usually try and spend 4-5hrs down there each weekend, although some weekends it is 0 and others I go down both days. When daylight allows, and I don't have anything else planned on an evening, I often pop down for anything between 30mins and 11/2hrs after work to potter. There is only me tending the plot, although I have had help from friends on occasion in the past.
Although I took my plot on 5-6years ago, I've still only really dug over about a third to half of it, the rest is mostly under weed supressant membrane. I'm just doing a little at a time. I love my lottie, in fact I think I've become addicted to it (so a warning, it is highly addictive), and I wouldn't give it up for anything. Yes it takes up quite a lot of my time, but it also does well when my time is short. I have friends on the site who are happy to help water when I'm away.
Personally I'd got for it, it is a great stress reliever, and as MR says you may find you want to spend more time there. Others have mentioned a big time committment, but really, so long as you are able to spend an hour or so on a weekly basis, and are seeing progress, and not too bothered about getting it all cleared in one go, you'd be ok.
Good luck
SP x
You are in a similar boat as me as I have 2 kids, other commitments and often don't get home before 7pm. Let me explain one thing - a couple of years ago I was sharing a garden with a friend. It was a 15 min drive away. I gave up because it is too far, in summer you will not want to be down there every day yet there are some things that need tending regularly (you'll only get marrows instead of courgettes otherwise). And that plot had been rotovated... But i could not keep up with the work and preferred to hand over the whole plot to my friend who is a more experienced gardener. But I missed the fresh veg.
Now I have a 100m2 plot at the end of my road, I can run in for 15 mins on the way to work and quickly water a bit or throw in a few seeds or rip up a few weeds. But on the weekend I have to compensate for that with a good 2-3 hrs in it over the weekend, and that is full-on, digging, down on your knees weeding, hauling around wood and plastic and cardboard. And the allotment is a mess, with bits under weed suppressant and a lot of spuds growing to take up some space. And it was recently cultivated so not overgrown. I am taking a week off 1st May and intend to spend most of it on the plot just to get it up to scratch and control the weeds.
Now it is addictive but you do have to make some kind of time commitment until you have gotten into a routine or you won't make it, realistically speaking. Those who talk about spending 20+ hours though are not really in the same category. Mostly these are people who are retired or with low levels of other commitments. Which is lucky for them! But skipping weekends etc won't do, not in the growing season, and you will need mid-week visits to check out what is happening and give some urgent maintenance and picking. You grow beans, picking once a week just won't be enough. I don't agree with sweet-pea (sorry!!), one hour a week is nowhere near enough time. The weeds will get on top of you in no time at that rate.
If all you want to grow is a few tomatoes, I don't see the point. I am a newcomer but I will have about 15 different crops by the end of the season.
Otherwise you should look more into a balcony garden. You can easily grow strawberries, salad crops, radishes, herbs,tomatoes, even beans in window containers and even more on a balcony.
I feel I have sent out a harsh message but if you bite off more than you can chew you will get fed up and give in. It might be better to spend your money and energy on a beautiful set of plants at home instead of chasing an impossible allotment project.
But good luck whatever you choose (visit my blog or someone else's to see how many tasks there are to be done and what the result will be).
how about a half plot, some sites are quite willing to let people have them as it cuts down their waiting times..you don't want to get one and resent the time spent there, it's supposed to be for fun and relaxation :)
Quote from: sweet-pea on April 20, 2007, 12:23:34
I have a full sized plot which I took on by myself about 5-6 years ago. I have a full-time job, although it is strictly 9-5. My plot is a 25 minute cycle away from home, although it is on my route home from work. I usually try and spend 4-5hrs down there each weekend, although some weekends it is 0 and others I go down both days. When daylight allows, and I don't have anything else planned on an evening, I often pop down for anything between 30mins and 11/2hrs after work to potter. There is only me tending the plot, although I have had help from friends on occasion in the past.
Although I took my plot on 5-6years ago, I've still only really dug over about a third to half of it, the rest is mostly under weed supressant membrane. I'm just doing a little at a time. I love my lottie, in fact I think I've become addicted to it (so a warning, it is highly addictive), and I wouldn't give it up for anything. Yes it takes up quite a lot of my time, but it also does well when my time is short. I have friends on the site who are happy to help water when I'm away.
Personally I'd got for it, it is a great stress reliever, and as MR says you may find you want to spend more time there. Others have mentioned a big time committment, but really, so long as you are able to spend an hour or so on a weekly basis, and are seeing progress, and not too bothered about getting it all cleared in one go, you'd be ok.
Good luck
SP x
Quote from: antipodes on April 20, 2007, 13:58:44
You are in a similar boat as me as I have 2 kids, other commitments and often don't get home before 7pm. Let me . I don't agree with sweet-pea (sorry!!), one hour a week is nowhere near enough time. The weeds will get on top of you in no time at that rate.
:) I have to admit that I am a bit of an optomist in terms of how much you can get done! And I had forgotten about the harvesting thing ::) That does indeed require regular visits to avoid wasted crops.
Maybe its worth asking around your friends and seeing if any of them would fancy sharing a plot, that way you can share the work too. My plot tends to get pretty weedy, but I don't let it bother me, I just do as much as I can on each visit. But it is true that you should really consider how much time committment you can make on a weekly basis before you take the plunge, and weekends are definitely the most precious time for getting most things done. I know a lot of people end up giving up their plots simply because they have underestimated how much time it will take up.
SP x
Thanks a lot for all your replies so far. That's what I really needed to know... how much time it takes, and how much daily or weekly maintenance a plot needs once everything gets going. I haven't applied for a plot yet because I thought it would be presumptuous to put myself on a waiting list when I am still so unsure about my ability to commit so much time to this project. It doesn't help that I have 101 other hobbies to keep me on my toes! :o
Having said that, I was also thinking of taking on a half-plot that someone else has kindly offered me - instead of applying for a whole plot myself. I'd hate to take up such a nice offer and then leave it in a mess if I find it all a bit overwhelming...
My job is unfortunately fairly stressful so I may get home at all sorts of times... the prospect of having to drive 20 mins to the plot isn't much fun either, I have to admit! (public transport in London is not cheap either :P).
I think I may end up growing aubergines, tomatoes, chillis and courgettes in growing bags on my balcony this year and see how well I get on... I have very little space left though, having filled up most of it with roses and flowering plants! ;)
vegwomble
is there anyone you can share with, we have friends who are sisters and their partners and kiddies, so there are 4 of them all doing a bit ;D
My friends think I am crazy to even think about taking up an allotment... so... no. :(
vw
Quote from: veggiewomble on April 20, 2007, 15:28:57
My friends think I am crazy to even think about taking up an allotment... so... no. :(
vw
I think you should reconsider. We run an allotment in spite of busy jobs and many family and other commitments. It's not the neatest allotment on the site, but with a bit of planning you can have a lot of fun at weekends. We don't attempt to be "organic" - slug pellets and glyphosate are entirely OK AFAIC. We make extensive use of black plastic to keep the weeds down.
If you can spend half a day each weekend, you can keep on top of it. A whole day, and the occasional evening, and you're laughing.
If you are fit and can dig etc,go for it, you can cover a lot of the ground until you know what you are dealing with.If you don't try you won't know. Personally I wouldn't be able to but I am ancient and not fit,so my husband does the heavy work, but if I was younger I would go for it.
Don't try to do it all in one go,and it doesn't need to be pristine, there may be someone on site who will dig for you for a reasonable fee, there is in ours.
You know yourself better than anyone, if you are prepared to muck in when you can you will be OK.
As to your friends who tell say you are crazy, you tell them..so are all lottie owners so you will fit right in...then thank them for showing you the way forward.
Go for it !!!
XX Jeannine
hmm, I have a full time job (M-F) and my allotment is a 45-60 mins drive from my house / work, but only 15 mins drive from OH's house.
I spend most of my free weekends there (am definitely addicted and obsessed) but find height of summer quite stressful, trying to keep on top of the watering etc. OH has to help me water mid-week, but things really suffer, especially during holidays or if I'm travelling with work - at a minimum I try and ensure it is watered every other day - especially the tomatoes.
My allotment was really overgrown when I took it on, and its taken real hard work and dedication to get it to where it is now. I don't allow any weeds to get a foothold, as I think I'd soon be swamped. I've had it a year and a half now and have just under one third still to dig / clear. Its just me doing the work, with occasional visits from OH.
It's a wonderful thing for me at the end of a busy / stressful week, but if you can't put in the time I think you will find it a chore rather than a pleasure. Ultimately I guess it depends on what condition it is in when you take it on as to how many hours your will need to put in.