Allotment with with my 15 month old

TheMammySheep · 2025-01-18T19:01:13+00:00

Hi, I was on the waiting list for an allotment for well over 2 years, before I even got pregnant. I have now been given the option of a great one and I wanted to get some advice on how to manage it with my 15 month old son. I really want him to get involved and growing fruits and veggies from a young age, plus we don't have a garden so I think it will be great for him. He's also got sooooo much energy and doesn't like to sit still for a second. Anybody any experience of running an allotment with toddlers? 😀

Ladyfelicityjane · 18/01/2025 19:20

I’ve only had mine six months but I take my toddler down with a lunchbox so she can have a picnic and then give her things to dig. In the summer I’ll probably get a sandpit for her too. I keep my sessions really short and try to focus on the long term - I’m not going to achieve much the next couple of years but I will eventually. I’m doing no dig and keeping the ground covered until I come to use it.

Imicola · 18/01/2025 19:31

Toddlers love digging and playing with water. I don't have an allotment, but we invested in a really good, warm winter waterproof suit for my DD so she can spend hours in the garden without getting cold and wet. Get an assortment of things like little buckets, tubs, trowels and a small watering can etc and if possible a large container of water. And like you say, just do what you can, when you can. Perhaps start with easier crops like potatoes.

If you have a shed or patio area, painting or rollering with water, or using chalks is also good. A bubble machine. Mud kitchen. Little diggers etc. You'll soon work out what works!

MrsKwazi · 18/01/2025 19:32

Take him with you! I kept a cheap farmyard set, tractors, scoops, bucket etc in my shed. My boys built farms, roads for their cars, ‘enclosures’ for snails on their ‘farms’, they had so much fun there. Invest in a waterproof onesie to just pull over their clothes and don’t worry too much about it. I think we had good cheap ones from Peterstorm. My kids could really free range at the allotment! Have fun x

Original poster

TheMammySheep · 18/01/2025 20:23

These are great tips, thank you! I have a winter pullover suit and some wellies that he has literally just grown into now. Love the idea of the bubble machine and chalk. Th allotment has a shed where I can store some toys. I think I may need to fence it all around though as he may do a runner on me and trample other allotments 😅

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JohnofWessex · 18/01/2025 20:47

Have you got a shed to keep them out of the sun/cold/wet?

I can - just! remember being on the allotment with my dad, digging little ponds he filled with water

What about 'big seded' plants eg beans potato's and pumpkins?

Original poster

TheMammySheep · 19/01/2025 09:24

Yes, it's got a shed 😊 I can use it to store some toys while he is there too.

Aw, I bet you've got some great memories, that's what I want for my son. There's no pond but we could maybe make a little one when he's a bit bigger. 😀

Definitely want to to plant potatoes as we eat them all the time and my Grandad used to grow them and rhubarb 😋

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MereDintofPandiculation · 19/01/2025 14:28

Rhubarb occupies a lot of space with not much effort. Very useful if your time is toddler-limited.

JohnofWessex · 19/01/2025 17:34

I would grow early potato's not maincrop as blight is becoming a real issue

Mossstitch · 19/01/2025 19:46

Nothing toddlers enjoy more than watering the plants so don't forget a mini watering can (and change of clothes😜).

Low maintenance fruits which are very expensive to buy are great on allotment. I used to have one but moved, took three raspberry canes with me and 10 years later I have about 30 from the same canes as they send out runners and make new canes each year. I pick them every other day, wash, freeze and have enough for the whole year for jam, cake, cordial ect......enjoy🌻

MereDintofPandiculation · 20/01/2025 09:21

@Mossstitch means the fruit is expensive to buy, not the plant!

I’m a fan of hybrid blackberries like loganberries and boysenberries. They don’t sucker, but if you want to increase stock they root from the ends of their shoots. They put out about 6 4m shoots each year. You train the fruiting shoots out sideways, and the new shoots in a bundle upwards. After fruiting, you cut out all the fruiting shoots at the base, cut loose the new shoots and train them sideways for fruit next year. And that’s all. No other attention at all.

IceandIndigo · 20/01/2025 16:03

I have a 6-year old and have had my allotment since before he was born. Allotments can be great with kids, my son can identify so many plants and wild creatures, and it's great for them to understand the process of food growing. If you have space you could also consider giving your child an area of their own where they can grow things. However, the challenge is that the educational benefits and the needs of the food growing process don't always align. Toddlers require close supervision to be safe on an allotment, and that can make it difficult for you to get anything done. There are some time-consuming and tedious tasks, like preparing the soil, and weeding, which tend not to interest a young child. Mine is mainly interested in the harvesting process, particularly as we grow a lot of soft fruit! If you are able to spend some time at the allotment without the child that will really help you to keep on top of some of the necessary tasks. Otherwise, when my DS was younger my DH and I would generally find that one of us had to entertain him while the other worked. We'd bring a picnic rug and some of his toys and create a child zone. Some children get fascinated by 'helping' with watering or planting seeds, but my experience was that unless we were doing it together (instead of whatever task I was trying to do) he would get bored and want my attention. As he got older he made friends with children on other plots and then it got easier, if there's a group of them they play imagination games and can occupy themselves while the adults work.

None of this is intended to be discouraging, it's just to give you an idea of the reality of allotment gardening with a small child.

ExtraDisorganised · 20/01/2025 16:10

Mine were a bit older and I found that they wanted to be doing what I was doing and weren't so keen to play by themselves and you do need to keep a close eye on them and keep them occupied, my former plot-neighbour used to bring his two pre-schoolers down and they would wander off onto other peoples plots, or just cut corners and walk across them, which didn't matter too much up to a point, but then he started moving my tools in case his DCs hurt themselves on them which was a step too far, you need to bear in mind that allotments will not necessarily be safe for small children (there are little ponds on some of ours as well as tools etc left out). You definitely need some time up there without them IME otherwise it's hard to get enough done.

Original poster

TheMammySheep · 24/01/2025 15:47

Mossstitch · 19/01/2025 19:46

Nothing toddlers enjoy more than watering the plants so don't forget a mini watering can (and change of clothes😜).

Low maintenance fruits which are very expensive to buy are great on allotment. I used to have one but moved, took three raspberry canes with me and 10 years later I have about 30 from the same canes as they send out runners and make new canes each year. I pick them every other day, wash, freeze and have enough for the whole year for jam, cake, cordial ect......enjoy🌻

I have a little watering can he uses in the bath which he loves, will bring that for sure.
Plus raspberries are one of his favourite fruits, will definitely grow those :)

OP posts:

Original poster

TheMammySheep · 24/01/2025 15:55

IceandIndigo · 20/01/2025 16:03

I have a 6-year old and have had my allotment since before he was born. Allotments can be great with kids, my son can identify so many plants and wild creatures, and it's great for them to understand the process of food growing. If you have space you could also consider giving your child an area of their own where they can grow things. However, the challenge is that the educational benefits and the needs of the food growing process don't always align. Toddlers require close supervision to be safe on an allotment, and that can make it difficult for you to get anything done. There are some time-consuming and tedious tasks, like preparing the soil, and weeding, which tend not to interest a young child. Mine is mainly interested in the harvesting process, particularly as we grow a lot of soft fruit! If you are able to spend some time at the allotment without the child that will really help you to keep on top of some of the necessary tasks. Otherwise, when my DS was younger my DH and I would generally find that one of us had to entertain him while the other worked. We'd bring a picnic rug and some of his toys and create a child zone. Some children get fascinated by 'helping' with watering or planting seeds, but my experience was that unless we were doing it together (instead of whatever task I was trying to do) he would get bored and want my attention. As he got older he made friends with children on other plots and then it got easier, if there's a group of them they play imagination games and can occupy themselves while the adults work.

None of this is intended to be discouraging, it's just to give you an idea of the reality of allotment gardening with a small child.

I love this! always best to introduce them while they are young. This will be a learning journey for me too, I'm pretty new to growing. I've done some growing at home, ie tomatoes etc nothing very substantial. The allotment already has about 8 beds on it, I plan on giving him his own one to mess about and grow. I'm also going to build a fence with pallets to keep him safe. How old were your children when you found that they really got into it?

OP posts:

autumn1610 · 24/01/2025 15:57

always have lovely memories as a kid in my dads allotment. Were quite a few kids down there too so used to run round playing

Original poster

TheMammySheep · 24/01/2025 15:58

ExtraDisorganised · 20/01/2025 16:10

Mine were a bit older and I found that they wanted to be doing what I was doing and weren't so keen to play by themselves and you do need to keep a close eye on them and keep them occupied, my former plot-neighbour used to bring his two pre-schoolers down and they would wander off onto other peoples plots, or just cut corners and walk across them, which didn't matter too much up to a point, but then he started moving my tools in case his DCs hurt themselves on them which was a step too far, you need to bear in mind that allotments will not necessarily be safe for small children (there are little ponds on some of ours as well as tools etc left out). You definitely need some time up there without them IME otherwise it's hard to get enough done.

Yeah the actual set up may be best to do without him especially getting the fence up. What age were your children when you started to bring them?

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Maria1982 · 24/01/2025 16:02

I have a two year old and I got pregnant with him.. 1 month after I’d been given my allotment ! (I was on the waiting list for years …). My husband put in some raised beds for me while I was pregnant which was great.

as others have said - waterproofs and wellies so they can stay warm and dry.
also snacks ! Always snacks with toddlers.

i planted strawberry plants last year - toddler helps himself to any strawberries every time we visit the plot !

i take him with me for watering trips in the summer- he loooves watering , and wants to use my full size can rather than his 😝
In June when it’s light til late sometimes I get to sneak down to the plot after bedtime by myself - it’s lovely!

as others have said, plant easy stuff and accept that it won’t be very pretty for a few years due to lack of time.

thus year I want to get a Wendy house /playhouse for him on the plot (no shed).

enjoy!