Allotment Time Commitment: Advice please!

[Becca]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that I always say a cheery hello to my pair of robins each time I go down there they're getting quite bold now.. when I first started I had to wander away every so often so then could forage in my newly dug earth as they were too worried if i was too close but yesterday one even popped into my car so they're getting used to me

[HeyWayne]

I'm not sure you can put a time to it to be honest, some people work harder and faster than others, some just keep on truckin' and go for hours without a break.

1/2 a plot would be a good idea, but then, even if you have a whole plot you don't have to use it all at once. Just do what you can, when you can, you'll soon find what suits you. Nothing's set in concrete, so even if you don't get on you can give up half the plot, (or offer it to one of your friends).

One thing I would say is that the offer of help can be as seasonal as the vegetables/fruits you grow.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Winged one]

We have what is a quarter of the original plots in our site (now being marketed as a half plot, but there are still just a couple of the original full ones around). Ours hadn't been used for a number of years, so couch grass infested when we took it over last spring. But with about 2-3 hours about once a fortnight, we managed to get it productive and had almost half the space giving us crops (in fact, all that space was cropped and cropped again over the spring/summer/autumn and a lot of it overwintered!). During the summer, we still didn't manage much more than that, timewise, but just went when we could. (Last year, ad mittedly, we didn't have that many crops needing much attention).

This year, we have managed to strim back and kill the grass on the whole thing, and have already dug over all but the very back piece (less than a quarter). There is a portion dug for the rest of the spuds, but the only other bit with nothing growing at the mo is the undug bit (but I will have more soon when winter crops are harvested). So far this spring, we have again only been able to devote about 2-3 hours about once a fortnight, but I have a lot more plants sown at home this year so I hope to get lots more results this year too.

I am also aiming, once other committments finish and the toddler is happier with warmer weather, to get there for about an hour every week, and a longer visit every fortnight. With any luck, I am planning on picnic teas there on the way home from work (I have to collect the toddler) about once a week also to allow harvesting and watering during the week.

[Snadger]

If you erect a greenhouse the time comittment doubles instantly!

I think it's a case of 'how long is a piece of string'. Are we looking at the minimum time committment, then if so the smaller the plot the less the time requirement.
If we are to justify having allotments we must be able to show a considerable time commitment or else we are just absent landlords.

During the summer I visit my allotment every weekday evening and one of the weekend days.
During the winter months I will probably visit both weekend days but rarely after work on weekdays.
An allotment is a way of life and you should enjoy being there and try and get as much out of it as possible..........not try and get away with the bare essentials!

[pukka.tukka]

Hi

I have half a plot and at the moment spend a few hours there at the weekend. In the summer I go each night to water and spend 1/2/1 day there at the weekend and that works fine for me.

[Neek]

Hi there everyone,

I am new to the site, so I hope I am posting in the right place.

Having lived in a big city for quite a few years now, me and my boyfriend are planning a move to somewhere a bit more rural to have a bit of a quieter life. And to be honest, I cannot wait!

I am planning on putting my name down for an allotment, as I am really very interested in getting into growing my own food as much as I can. The town we are moving to has quite a lot of allotment space by the looks of things, so whilst I don't know how long the waiting list is, I am hoping that I would be able to get some sort of plot at some point.

My question is this: How much time do you need to spend on allotments to make them worthwhile?

I ask this because I have a long commute to my work in London (almost 2 hours each way), so I certainly wouldn't be able to spend hours there during the week, perhaps just an hour here and there while the evenings are light. I would hope to be there quite alot at weekends. I would hate to take on a plot, and find I couldn't cope, as I wouldn't want to deprive someone else of the opportunity - I know that plots can be hard to come by.

Could some experienced allotmenteers give me some advice on whether it is possible to maintain a decent functioning allotment, and a challenging full time job and commute?

Get your hands on the 'half hour allotment' book, I had an alottment until recently and this book is inspiring. I have now moved so have a huge town garden bigger than my plot so I am adopting the same principles and it works - and weekends I do two lots of ½ hrs, each day, its amazing how much gets done and I can now sit and enjoy too

[Flummery]

I think the secret is having a method. This book (I've had it from the library) concentrates your mind. That's what MINE needs anyway! I can faff for Britain!

[carlseawolf]

Depends on what pile of rubbish they give you in the first place as it could range from a field with waist high weeds to an old gentlemans type plot that is pristeen.

If you get a plot just vacated then about 4 hours a week , but if it's a field then 4 hours will not get you very far and it will take longer to clear for crops.

There's lots of short cuts to clearing a plot but the main thing is to pick an amount that you definatally know you can clear and set that as your yearly goal then if you do more then you will feel better.

I'm on my second year now and have not quite finished preparing the plot , but i expect it will take another year yet. lots of people take on these plots expecting to finish preparing and sowing the whole plot in the first year and this is possible if you land on your feet with a well prepared plot , but the reality is normally it will look like a field and your looking at afew years of toil to get it prepared for complete cultivasion and if done right that's when your bumper harvests will come and a well planned plot will be labour saving as well.

[slooky]

i had a full size plot untill last september when i finally accepted that with family, part time work and everything else i was not managing the 4ft weeds kind of gave it away. so i gave a 1/3 up to a friend of a fellow allotment holder. it has worked out really well he did some of my winter digging and rotovated for me. we get on really well and share a shed (Caravan) and tools. it was the most honest and best decision i have ever made yes i have less space but its manageable d

[TPeers]

Without wishing to sound a downer - can I be cheeky and ask if you have a garden currently and if the type of property you are planning to get will have a garden?

A garden will take just as mich time as an allotment, so if you will be having a garden for the first time be a little wary of getting an allotment in the first few months of the move. I don't doubt your committment but you need to have lived with the new place for a while before you stretch further.

As a 'freshly married' in a flat I took on 10 rods and managed it well. Our first house coincided with the first child and I 'down sized' to 5 rods - all went well.

We then moved for his work and from a 25' square patch of shade I took on a 50' x 120' neglected garden.... I'm still trying to tame it six years on and I no longer have an allotment. (I do have two children!)

[bobbin]

A cheeky suggestion?

The lottie next to my own is really small and rented by a couple with a child and a baby(the latter was born during their wait for an allotment) We have only seen them once and since then the small amount they managed to clear has grown over again.So the plot is mainly grass and strawberries and rhubarb. I had the idea of asking them if I could clear their plot and grow a crop of spuds some of which they could have.Then when able they could take over again. By their own admission they have no time to cultivate it.(probably nor will I!) Do fellow lottie holders think this would be cheeky to pursue

[Eyren]

Sounds like a very reasonable suggestion to me. A crop of potatoes would be great for clearing the ground and leaving the soil loose and workable. If you put your spuds in and then helped them cover the plot with a good thick layer of well-rotted manure in the autumn, they wouldn't need to do anything to it until next spring - and it would then be pretty much ready for them to plant anything they wanted.

You could also encourage them to cover it with membrane (currently available very cheaply from Tesco, Sainsburys, etc) and maybe plant some easy-care crops through it next year - courgettes, squash, runner beans, that kind of thing. After all, it's not fair of them to hold onto a plot completely uncultivated until they miraculously find time to work it. On our site they would have had a written warning by now!

I work full-time myself, and I know how hard it is to find time to work on my plot - sod's law says that it will be sunny all week when I am at work and then pour with rain at the weekends!