Allotments for beginners

It’s often hard at the start of a new venture to know whether you are doing the right thing. You need not worry, however, because you will be the one who decides what route you want to take. In the depths of winter – it’s now getting towards the end of January and not much seems to be growing on the plots – take some time to have a look around at the structure of the allotments on the site.

• What kind of shed do they have?
• How is water collected?
• How is a plot divided up?
• Are there other structures on the plot?

There is quite a lot to be learnt from finding out what others do and why. They probably have been gardening longer than you and will know a bit about the soil. Is it heavy now? Will it dry up quickly in the spring? Is there much shade from the trees? Don’t be reticent about asking – I don’t know anyone on site who isn’t happy to answer questions and you may save yourself some time and effort by avoiding obvious mistakes. I’ll add information which might help you as you think ahead of the growing season: I would start by agreeing with the rest of your family what you want to eat (or which flowers you want to have). Making a list at this stage should clear things up and you certainly don’t have to grow what others do (but make sure that what you intend to grow will survive on our site … for example, you will need extra compost with increased acidity if you are planning to plant blueberries and, even then, you will probably want to put them in pots).