Allotment with young child, bad idea?

[Taystee]

I've put my name down for an allotment with approx two years waiting list and had a vision of us being able to go down there on evenings and weekends with our DS who will be four by that point. I'd love to teach him about growing food but our current garden is too small for anything but pots. I understand how much work will be required but am I totally deluded that we'd be able to spend hours at a time with him there? I've spoken to the allotment manager and he's put me off by saying how dangerous it will be... Should I take our name off the list and stick to tumbling toms on our patio?

We used to have an allotment and it was too dangerous to allow my DS to be involved, though he was younger than yours at the time. The soil was full of shards of glass. It was a rubbish plot and had been the dump of the site until it was cleared to make another plot, so all sorts of awful things turned up in the soil. I gave it up eventually. My advice would be to keep your name on the list and see what you get offered. If it's a nice plot in the sunshine then take it! My experience was bad but there's nothing to say yours will be.

I have a nearly 2yo and am very pregnant with no 2. Husband is very keen on his allotment and goes down every sunday which causes a bit of resentment tbh because during that time I get worn out and nothing gets done. However from perhaps next summer onwards I do envisage us all being down there and the kids "helping ". Think it will be a very good educational experience for them and not really getting why it would be dangerous tbh.

I've had my plot since DC1 was born (almost 5 years). It will be a cold day in hell before I consider giving it up

I love it and would happily spend the say there with a thermos flask, watching my plants grow... I had visions of idyllic pottering but DC1 hates the allotment with a passion and DC2 is a Velcro baby. So we don't go as often as we could - we go for easy, low maintenance plants and have had great harvests of the usual - courgettes, runner beans, pumpkins, broccoli, cabbages, raspberries - with not that much effort.

Re safety: there are some dangers such as sticky outy canes and overenthusiastic attempts at using adult-sized tools... but it's perfectly manageable. It's a shame the manager was trying to put you off. It sounds like he has a problem with children!

Things that work with us to keep DC1 entertained are: picnics, taking a wheeled toy with us to be pushed/ pulled around, playing hide-and-seek (so one adult plays and one gets to do some work), growing raspberries or peas in the knowledge that they will be entirely harvested and eaten by the kids on site. Other than that my very outdoorsy, hands-on DC1 has no interest in digging, growing, watering etc

I think it is totally manageable but as a parent you do have to remember that there will be dangers which you have probably eliminated from your own garden. It is shared space and you are sharing that space with people who will not be thinking about children (and no more should they).

Oh for God's sake (at your allotment manager) - it's not dangerous at all! My Dad taught me how to garden from a young age, not by lecturing me but by simple doing things with me, and I didn't even realise I was being taught! It was absolutely wonderful, some of the most cherished memories of my childhood. Please don't be put off.

The thing about allotments is that a lot of people don't do it the easy way and then get overwhelmed. When you get a plot, buy a cheap roll of weedsheeting off the internet, and then cover the whole damn thing. This prevents you from battling against constant weeding. Then, you can bring sections of it into cultivation as you are ready. If you do a raised bed system of narrow long beds (mine are 3m x 1.2m) and you cover paths inbetween beds properly with weedsheeting and woodchip (the last available for free at many allotments), you only have to weed the beds themselves, which really reduces work. You do need to put in the time - I'd say two sessions a week at a bare minimum - but it will be really rewarding. And once you get the 'landscaping' done, it's a lot easier from there.

I'm finding all the posts really inspiring, thanks. I've since heard that the allotment I've applied for can be a bit stuffy and I'd rather somewhere more relaxed so I think I'm going to put my name down on the Council list as I'm told there's at least one where there are a lot of kids. I definitely want to go for low maintenance with raised beds, covered paths and I'll grow things that require less work, hopefully. Bring on the planting!

I think that's probably a good move, Taystee. I have a council allotment in a beautiful site, and loads of people bring their kids down. It's a really nice atmosphere. We call all live without stuffiness, and people pearl-clutching! (And I have heard quite a few horror stories of people with completely bonkers neighbours on allotments. My poor brother-in-law has a woman who is clearly both obnoxious and batshit aggressive, which is a dreadful combination )

I was coming on to say that the allotment manager is probably just trying to warn you about the others.

I'm on a stuffy allotment and I go when my immediate neighbours aren't there as they're rude and judgemental. The good thing is you get to know what hours people are there and go outside them if there's someone you're not keen on.

My neighbours tried to get rid of me for years as they wanted my plot

I love going at 8 for the first couple of hours in the day (sometimes with a mcdonalds breakfast as a treat) - it's dead quiet and so warm in the summer months

My site isn't stuffy at all, however there are very few children there. There is another site in my town that has a reputation for being full of cliquey busybodies though. I've been at my plot for 18 months now and still never met my immediate neighbour, their plot is very well cultivated so they must spend a fair amount of time there but never at the same time as me. I'm a little and often gardener, I rarely spend more than an hour there, but I try to go most days from about April to October, tends to be evenings with me once DH is home from work. Maybe my neighbour is an early morning gardener.

See if you can get a plot with a toilet on site. Ours has one so I take it for granted , but I know not all my friends allotments have toilets.

I have a 2 & 3 year old. I tend not to take both at the same time but things that have helped - a small sand tray for them to play with, their own watering can and an " explorer kit" (backpack & bug pots). Our site is quite family friendly as long as the DC aren't behaving like hooligans! I would go for it, you can always relinquish the plot if you feel it's not for you but would be a shame to give up a 2 year wait for nothing.

Totally go for it! Its a great place to take children. I have three children ages 3, 7 and 9 now and we have taken them all from a few days old. Think about how to set up your plot and make the boundaries easy to see so your child can keep to your plot. I do a different design on my plot each year which I regard as an edible playground(!) , think teepees made out of runner beans and sweet peas, make little dens and grow nasturtiums and squash over it, last year I had a huge sweet corn spiral that they could run through (protecting the young plants by putting canes in the soil to mark the space), a circle of sunflowers, pea fencing around a den, buy some robust plastic toys like diggers and dumper trucks, buckets and boats from car boot sales and keep them down the allotment. Have a 3" deep tray that you can fill with water to play with, water proof trousers and wellies and your child will have a great time. Little spades and trowels and watering cans means that he can also join in with gardening work. Hope you get your plot soon, enjoy!