Having an allotment and working full time

[Bungalowsrule]

Have just posted a similar thread in Chat, didnt realise there was a gardening topic - will be lurking more often.

Basically i have been offered an allotment, they are like gold dust round here. I will soon be back at uni after a years maternity leave and it will be my 3rd year so with DD (9 months) and all the uni work ill be pretty busy. I will be able to go down on my 1 day off, maybe summer evenings and sundays but thats work permitting.

Am i wasting an allotment space? We grow our own in pots as we rent our house so i love the idea of an allotment but DP doesnt think we will have the time for it.

Confused and wanting opinions

honestly?

i think you'll struggle. it's not just if you can find the time, it's whether that time matches with the weather and young DCs.

we've just (very reluctantly) given our allotment up.

unless you can share a plot with some good friends/family?

I'd love to say yes (we love our allotment) I think it'll be a stretch - esp with a 9 month old baby. Is it a half plot or a whole one? We have a half plot & have just taken on a second half. WE rarely go down in the week other than to water & harvest, but are there pretty much every weekend for a good part of a day, esp this time of year. And we just about keep on top of things, but our kids are 6 & 8 now, so can amuse themselves whilst we both work. I also think that you need both you & DP to be behind it - imo it is a two person project, esp when you're starting out.

If you really want to try, go for very low maintenance crops for the next couple of years and work on the policy that you're just keeping it ticking over for the moment - I'm thinking potatoes/onions, or maybe something like raspberries/gooseberries/blackcurrents - which you could plant through weed surpressing fabric, although you would need to put them under a net.

How tolerant are your allotment soc? Our next door neighbours have a baby, and they've always keep half of their allotment under cover, and only worked half, which makes things more feasible, but I know not everywhere would allow that.

I think you'll struggle. But if allotments are like gold dust could you put up an ad to share it with someone?

We had a half plot and both worked full time and struggled and that was without children. As soon as we found out I was pregnant giving it up was one of the first things we did. Thing with them is you struggle so you know there is so much to do that it got us down and I started hating going down there as never got on top of it. To be honest it's a huge relief it's gone now. We are sticking to our garden until we are retired!

We have a half plot but it's massive. DH works full I am a sahm with 2 under 5. We struggle and it does cause friction. As it takes away from family time. It's only this yr that the boys will sort of amuse themselves not run away when we are there. Thankfully my DFIL is brilliant and does all the heavy slog with DH.

It can be done buts hugely time consuming. But the results are very satisfying and tasty.

We have had an allotment for 5 years but dd came along in the third year and before that did a grand job! But i will say we struggled almost to the point of having to give it up!! Its still a struggle but now she is two we sort of get a bit more done not as much as we would like but we are up there sat and sun all day every weekend plus evenings on occasion. Im a stay at home mom at the mo but know throw work into That mix and id be overcome. Im up at the allotment today as we have 15 local school kids for a visit and have lots of activities to sort and an easter egg hunt lol dd will love seeing all the kids and as a social thing she loves the allotment keeps her busy running around and me fit haha. Think its a good idea to get someone else to share a plot or half make life easy until kids are bigger and you have a little more time but its a great learning curve and social event so good luck which ever you choose x

Its half a plot so not quite so scary, im going to have a look at it tomorrow so will make a decision then.

funnyperculiar i like the idea of low maintenance plants for the first few years. I have a tayberry that needs planting and perhaps some root veg, sunflowers and fun things to see how it goes before we start properly using it when we have a bit more time (i plan to work 3 days a week when qualified).

chirpychick i love the social aspect of it aswell, DD is such a good baby and will quite happily sit and watch me do stuff (at the moment) so im looking forwards to being able to spend some time chilling out there in the nicer weather if we decide to go for it and making friends with other people. Having spoken some more to DP about it he seems a bit more excited and has made some suggestions to what we could grow so fingers crossed the plot looks ok.

Thank you all so much for your posts x

Very hard work,super time consuming. To manage one well you need a lot of time ( my dads award winning) i grow in the garden and i struggled when babies were small. And i had the luxuary of a baby monitor and a step outside.

I feel your pain as they are so hard to come by. Would thhey let you default for a year...get you studies finished maybe.

My dad would let you as they take a dim view on people that do the bare min, and dislike those that ask others to share, (waiting list jumpers.)

Lots of politics in allotments.

Well i met the allotment man today and saw the plot - its lovely. Ive taken it on
I explained my situation and he suggested i just use half of it and cover the other half until next spring as it does need quite a lot of digging done. He said they arent scary there so not to worry about having to show face all the time, that everyone there will help if i need it.

Im on ebay buying seeds

Thank you all for your posts

Hi Bungalowsrule, just like you the allotments around here are like hens teeth. I have been on the list for about 4 years.

The good news is I am going to have a look at a half plot tomorrow. Everyone is skeptical about me having an allotment on my own, but I am determined.

My sister thinks I am turning into an old hippy!

Will probably be a regular on here now.

catmadcaz thats what my mate thought when i told her as i already make my own wine .

I cant wait to get started, its been snowing here so i havent been down but im determined to go tomorrow and have a bit of a mooch. Ive ordered 15 packets of seeds off ebay and bought loads of starter pots. Ive already got beans, peas, sunflowers and sweetcorn growing in our conservatory (not very house proud) so im so excited about it all being ready to plant out when the grounds prepared

I too think i will be a regular here

Well went and had a look at my offered allotment and was pleasantly surprised my half of the plot is made into beds. They are quite well tended and not very weedy at all.

The other half is very overgrown.

Seems like I got the long straw for a change! :o

I am going to accept so just the paperwork to do now as it is with the council.

Really looking foward to starting and am planning already.

Go for it...we have a full one that we have had for 9 years. Have DSs aged 4 & 6; it was hard when they were younger but is fab now. The boys love it ESP with no garden.

Our lotty is less than immaculate though!!

We manage it - I work 35 hours a week and DH is full time. We have a 2 year old. The evenings are getting lighter now so you can fit in a bit of time on the plot in the evening/early morning. You have to be organised with your time but it's fab. I always feel really chilled and happy on the plot despite having a very frenetic life. Be creative with how you do things and you will be fine. Cultivate a little at a time as well, don't try to dig over the whole plot at once.

I am doing work down the allotment at the moment - sowing seeds in the kitchen while MNing and watching a DVD !

Bungalowsrule Good luck with it! If you want to do it, you will find time for it. It does take up more time than I ever imagined but it also very rewarding! My advice is little and often, even if I only manage half an hour before the baby starts crying, it has been worth it.

I've had a medium size allotment for around a year.

I work 30 hours per week (4 days), and DH is not very interested in gardening. My girls are both at school, so I manage to go to the allotment on my day off. When it is very dry, i cycle over the odd evening to water it, and I do some hours at weekends but not every weekend. I probably manage less than the 8-10 hours per week they recommend.

Last year I grew potatoes, courgette, broad beans, runner beans, french beans, beetroot, salad leaves, leeks, and squash and I planted some fruit (rhubarb, blackcurrant, lots of strawberries, gooseberries). We have inherited some dwarf fruit trees from the previous plot holder. I may get rid of the cherries, as I'm not sure how to net them, so the birds got the cherries, but I'm keeping the plum and the Apple.

I struggled a bit last year with keeping the weeds under control. This year I plan to use plastic over any areas I'm not currently cultivating (eg after I have dug up my potatoes if I don't plan to plant something else there). I also haven't yet sorted out the pile of junk/weeds/brambles at the bottom end left by the previous plot holder - I find that looking after the crops I have planted takes all the available time, so I struggle to get on to the other jobs like sorting out the rubbish.

I want to keep mine mostly for its location - its is next to a deer park and has a lovely view. I find it a very de-stressing place to go

I've got half a plot, and the best thing I've done on it is put black landscape fabric down for paths - doesn't look the prettiest, but it does mean that when I go now, I can spend time on the actual vegetables rather than weeding paths/cutting grass. Also gives a bit of structure to the allotment. Have also got lots of permanent/perennial things in now - huge bed of rhubarb, raspberries, currants (gooseberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, jostaberries), apple trees, cherry tree. Those things all take up space that make the rest of the growing space a bit more manageable. I would say it's taken me four years to get on top of it though. Good luck!

I love it!!!

Have been down today with DD in pushchair and had a mooch, didnt actually do anything but like you said pormeanotherglass it is incredibly de-stressing as its just so quiet and peaceful. DD is desperate to get her hands on the mud so cant stay there when she is awake.

We planted potatoes last weekend and ive just been and bought some 7ft canes to make a wigwam for my sugar snap peas and runner beans. Ive got every veg you can think off starting off in my conservatory

Good luck with the plot. We were offered a full plot in August 2010 when I was 6 months pregnant. We managed to get about a third of it in order which we thought was ok. Last October we failed the inspection and had 3 weeks to sort it out. DP was working so I had to take DD every day and dig the whole thing over. I managed to clear the lot in 1-2 hours a day while she slept and passed the return inspection.

If you're quite good at motivating yourself, you'll be fine. :)