Allotment Guides and Tips

This page aims to provide you with useful guidance for maintaining your allotment site.

New Plot Holders Guide

If you are new to gardening and growing please take a look at the 10 following steps to developing your allotment:

1. Rotavation (i.e. ploughing of plots) is usually carried out between November and January, subject to grounds conditions and access.
2. When you start your allotment don’t try and do it all at once. Put bin bags over a portion of the garden to kill off any weeds and just cultivate a portion of the land that you feel comfortable with at the beginning.
3. Dig in early. If possible, turn the soil in autumn, as the winter frosts will break down the clods of soil. If not, do it in spring, but you will have to break the soil down yourself.
4. Buy good quality seeds and plants to avoid disappointment. Most allotments buy in bulk and helps reduce the cost of the seeds.
5. For the best crops, do your research! Know when to plant. allotments@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk or telephone 01283 508385will have books that can help.
6. With non-storable crops e.g. lettuce, it is best to plant a little but often, say one row at a time to avoid waste.
7. Be sure to thin crops out as they grow to avoid clustering. This will result in better quality plants.
8. Pick crops quickly, early and often. Enjoy the food whilst it’s fresh. You’ll enjoy it so much more and will help you to keep your enthusiasm.
9. Tackle problems promptly. The worst thing you can do is leave a problem. There is help available; speak to the allotment secretary or Allotment officer at allotments@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk telephone 01283 508385 who will be only too happy to help.
10. Be green!! compost, green material and kitchen waste like egg shells and vegetable peelings in the bin at your allotment. It’s better for the environment than burning it and the compost is great for your plants. Never put any cooked waste in your compost.

Above all remember; allotment gardening is fun, it’s healthy and it’s a great way to meet people so the most important thing is to enjoy your allotment.

Caring for a Plot

To most of us, allotment gardening is first and foremost a hobby. Caring for an allotment plot can bring great pleasure to people of all abilities. It is one of the most popular hobbies in the country.

We are a nation of gardeners with easy access to books, magazines and television programmes full of useful advice. It requires commitment of time and money.

Your allotment could mean a bountiful supply of fresh fruit and vegetables, a healthy outdoor pursuit that will keep you fit and well and a place where you can relax away from the pressures of everyday life. Gardening gives many of us great enjoyment.

On your first visit to your plot, decide what work you need to do to bring it back to cultivation. Considering ability is important. All gardeners should adapt their gardening to their capabilities and the amount of time they can probably spend gardening. In a new plot, or a plot neglected for several years, digging the soil over thoroughly before planting is important. If the previous gardener looked after the plot well, you can probably use a fork or spade to hand dig the soil. Digging loosens the earth, lifting air and moisture in and breaking up hard compacted earth.

If the plot is overgrown with long grass or weeds such as brambles you may need to use a strimmer or hedge clippers to cut them down. Remember to inform the Allotments Office if you are unable to clear your plot immediately for any reason, or you could risk losing your plot! On weedy plots, plant large leafed crops such as potatoes, courgettes or runner beans, which will smother weeds. You will still need to remove weeds regularly, though, to prevent your crops being overrun by weeds during the first months of cultivation.

Digging the soil is one of the most physically demanding activities in gardening, as it involves continual bending and straightening of the back while lifting a spadeful of soil. Do a little at a time to prevent back problems. Some people prefer to use methods of cultivation that do not involve digging. Mulches of compost or thick Polythene are perfectly acceptable, as are green manures on fallow ground.

The best time for digging is autumn or early winter if you want to be ready for seed sowing in spring. If you dig in compost, manure or the remnants of last year’s crops, worms and micro-organism will help to break down the soil.

Do’s and Don’ts

These vary from site to site with each Allotment Association applying different rules. See your letting agreement for further details.

A Beginners Guide to Tools

If you have no tools, buy only the essentials, spade, fork, hoe, rake, and trowel to start with.

Both fork and spade are in constant use and should be as solid and strong as possible.

The garden fork is used for raking and spreading compost, for harvesting vegetables, for digging and the removal of roots of perennial weeds.

The spade is used for cutting edges, winter digging, making trenches and for emptying the compost heap.

The rake is used for breaking down and levelling of roughly dug earth to make a fine seedbed. It is also useful for gathering together debris such as weeds and hedge clippings.

A wheelbarrow is essential for moving heavy or bulky material.

A watering can is important, as the use of hosepipes can become very costly for the Association.

Waterbutts - a few of our allotments sites have no water supply laid on, and on those which do, the use of hosepipes is restricted to filling water butts. Using water butts that are set-up to collect rainwater from sheds etc is a good way of saving on water consumption and a way to ensure you have your own supply. The East Staffordshire Borough Council allotment grant could be used for the purchase of these.

If you cannot afford brand new tools, it may be possible to buy old or reconditioned tools from auctions.