Is it feasible to have an allotment plot a long way from your home?

[Snadger]

I just wondered who has the most distant plot, how far away it is, and how does it work for them?

The reason I ask is that I will retire hopefully in 3 to 4 years (if not earlier depending on circumstances) to a house which is 25 miles away from the plot I have just taken on. There are no plots near to my retirement home but i have got quite a large garden.
My plan is to cut down my allotment plots to one only for cost purposes. The plot I am developing is a huge plot for minimal rent (£45 per year)
I envisage a large hut with woodburner and veranda but NO greenhouse as they are very labour intensive and time consuming. I will have a greenhouse at my house though.
Until i move I will have a dozen chooks on my allotment plot but once I move I will have maybe four only in my house garden.
I intend to try and make the plot low maintenance as I will probably only be able to afford to make the journey either once a week or even fortnightly.
To do this i will have to rely heavily on mulches and organic matter to hold the moisture as I won't be able to water the plot.
I just wonder whether I am deluding myself as to the viability of my proposal, or whether others have succeeded in similar ploys?
I visit my plots every day (mainly for the chooks) at present but I see other plots where, especially in winter, no one is present for months on end.

Your views would be appreciated.

I would love something like this at the end of the plot (South facing) with an open aspect in front of it.

[Alison]

Personally it wouldn't work for me as I like to pop up to harvest when I want fresh veg but people differ. Worth checking if they allow people that far out the area to have plots, pretty sure we can only be that parish or one which borders it.

[veggiechicken]

Depends on how committed you are to your plot! A couple of miles away was too far for me
However, if you have the "shed" of your dreams, you could put a bed in it and move in for a few days at a time.

[Snadger]

Personally it wouldn't work for me as I like to pop up to harvest when I want fresh veg but people differ. Worth checking if they allow people that far out the area to have plots, pretty sure we can only be that parish or one which borders it.

No problems with not living in the area. The only time that crops up is when we want to apply for a community grant where we must have at least 80% local occupancy, which we have.
The guy who had my plot before me lived even further away, but I think it was just used as a storage yard for his business!:

[Snadger]

Depends on how committed you are to your plot! A couple of miles away was too far for me
However, if you have the "shed" of your dreams, you could put a bed in it and move in for a few days at a time.

I can't say i haven't thought of that! Against all allotment rules though, and her indoors would not be happy! 'Howay pet, I'm tekkin ya on ya holly holidays"......."Oh that's nice pet, your'e so thoughtful".........."Yeh dint na where we're gannin yet!!!!!"

[sparrow100]

I think it's worth trying, at least for a year. If you grow all the things that need more than weekly attention at home and low maintenance crops at the plot it should work out ok shouldn't it? What could possibly go wrong...

[Snadger]

I think it's worth trying, at least for a year. If you grow all the things that need more than weekly attention at home and low maintenance crops at the plot it should work out ok shouldn't it? What could possibly go wrong...

Great minds!

[Bigmallly]

Would your retirement home not have room for a small plot?

[dilettante]

I had a horticulture teacher who said he only visited his plot once a week. He reckons most stuff will be fine, and really benefits from one big drink a week rather than little and often. I'm sure with mulches to retain moisture and keep down weeds you'll be grand. Can't hurt to give it a go.

[Snadger]

Would your retirement home not have room for a small plot?

My retirement home has a large garden but I intend to develop it based on Geoff Hamiltons theme of an Ornamental Kitchen Garden.

Because of this and the fact it will incorporate a small lawn, greenhouse,shed and chicken coop and run I won't really have enough space to grow the basics, as I do now, at the allotments.

[Nicos]

For about 18 month we grew fruit and veg in this garden whilst this place was a holiday home.
12 hrs to get here every 6 weeks mostly for a 3-5 day weekend.
You just need to plant what will survive with that amount of neglect.

We grew spuds, carrots, brassicas, radish, parsnip ...and a few others, plus fruit such as rhubarb, apples, pears, plums, cherries.
Yes we lost some to wildlife, needed to leave fleece over the root veg , plant the spuds late so as to try and avoid the last of the frosts.
Some things survived better than others, but they had to cope without watering.
But yes, we still got produce, and picked in bulk.
Lots of ground cover to suppress weeds/ retain moisture too....

So, I'd say yes , you can do it....25 miles is a 45 minute round trip so you'd need to plan ahead what you need / going to do.
Are you planning on going every other day, or daily?
(I'm just thinking of petrol costs and pollution....but then again, most hobbies cost waaay more than GYO...and aren't as healthy )

If I can grow what I did under my circumstances, then I'm sure you could easily cope with 25 miles Snadge!
Certainly worth trying for a couple of years.

[Nicos]

Hand on heart though...once you start growing in your new, large back garden, I think you'll prefer to be growing just in your back garden

[Aberdeenplotter]

Snadge, excellent timing with this thread and bang on point for me. I'll be moving 22 miles away and again no allotments locally. I presently have 2 x 8ft x 6ft greenhouses at home, a 12 ft x 8ft at my plot and also my 25 x 10 tunnel there. It's my intention to keep working but at a much reduced level so I will be travelling in and looking into the plot every week day but perhaps not at weekends so tunnel and greenhouse could present me with a problem. My intention is to leave one of the greenhouses at the present house and as yet am undecided whether to put that to the plot and take the big one to the new house. Watch this space .

One of my friends in the NVS has a plot 13 miles from his house and he still manages to grow top quality stuff for the showbench. So anything is possible. Depends how committed you are or how much you need to be committed

[Martin H]

One of my plot neighbours lives 40 miles away. When she took the plot on, 2 years ago, it was covered in junk and overgrown with head high brambles.

She comes down 2 days a week, every Tuesday and Thursday to visit her daughter who lives close by and to work on the allotment. It's now one of the best kept plots on the site, with weed free beds and neatly mown grass paths.

So yes, it's possible to have a plot a long way away, but you do need to be organised and determined.

[Noosner]

A friend of mine has a garden on the west coast of Ireland that she visits about 6 times a year. Root veg is the order of the day, also apple trees. I think by careful thought and flexibility about your goals you should be able to maintain a lottie at distance especially if you can make it part of another routine you do.