2026 Allotmenteers - have we lost the plot?!

[Seaitoverthere]

A thread for those of us with new allotments to discuss progress and swap ideas. All welcome , established plot holders and wannabe plot holders too!

@blackheartsgirl
@hockityponktas

Not currently but in the summer I have. You could try really watering it a few times and then coming back a few hours later. Or using a fork to see if you can break it up a bit. Or you could put raised beds on top if this is a long term problem.

Thanks both. I’ll try soaking it and coming back later and seeing at the weekend. It’s covered in couch grass that the card hasn’t killed off. I was hoping potatoes might break it up, but I can’t break into it to get the potatoes in 😂

I don’t walk on it @TheGanderbut we’ve only had the plot a couple of months, so the previous people could have a lot. I am finding the clay soil a challenge for sure! I don’t really have the time/compost for raised beds right now, but that might need to be a longer term thing

Personally I’m not a fan of raised beds but that could be because the ones I built with wooden planks weren’t v deep so I still had to bend over to week d them and then they just feel apart in a couple of years.

I haven’t posted for a while about my new allotment but there’s definitely been progress made!

Ive cleared the shed full of crap, painted the inside so it’s a bit more cheery, it’s basically falling apart, the floor boards are rotten apart from a little bit so I’ve put a pallet down and made a little seat for myself inside,

I’ve cleared and dug over a big square patch and stuck a pallet collar and an old raised bed kit I found in the shed, put some wood chip for paths and planted potatoes in another bed I dug, radishes and onions. The potatoes have just started to peep through and my radishes are up too!

I’ve weeded the rather wild raspberry patch and found all sorts in there, onion, parsnips, fennel 😂,
I’ve also found a tiny little apple tree with beautiful blossoms and apparently I have big plum trees bordering my plot too,

also dug out a very large patch of brambles and nettles, at the bottom right of my plot that was so fun.. not. Put my compost bins there.

There are some lovely people on my allotment site, very friendly, so far I’ve been given seeds, a compost bin, use of a wheelbarrow, and my neighbour 2 plots over, appeared with his matock last week and proceeded (after asking if it was ok) to dig out a path between mine and my miserable neighbour at the ends plot, he also discussed at length with my other neighbour who is also lovely how wide my path needs to be and measure it all out for me. I was so grateful and then I found out he’s 83 😳, fit as a fiddle though. His neighbour then made us all a cuppa and then we all sat and munched biscuits in one of the sheds 😂

our site is divided into 2 fields, I get the feeling my field is the more friendlier of the two, nearly everyone speaks or says hello but the other field isn’t as nice apparently. Most of the old timers, who have been there 20 or so years all have whole plots but anyone less than that mostly has a quarter plot now, as its council policy to just give quarter plots. I was very lucky to get my half (much to my neighbours disgust), but it’s was due to the sizing and the massive shed that’s already on it.

Theres a waiting list of about 2 years for an allotment on my site, think it’s similar for other council sites around my area, there’s maybe ten plots vacant now, I’ve seen the council officer show a few people round now after me and not one person has been to do any thing to them. And there’s loads that are obviously not worked but aren’t free, some plot holders have offered to take over some of the vacant plots but are firmly
told no but no one takes them anyway 🤦‍♀️.

@blackheartsgirl sounds like you’ve made great progress! Well done!

@blackheartsgirl that sounds like a really lovely plot and that you are making great progress.

Struggling to get to my plot currently as having work to the house, the grass needs cutting and I have things to take like an old table and a chair. Did go at the weekend quickly to check on it as there had been a break in to the site but I didn’t get any work done. They had been into my shed but fortunately left everything. Others weren’t as lucky, some chickens were let out, polytunnels slashed and power tools nicked.

@Seaitovertherei can’t believe the destructiveness for no reason - why let chickens out to be eaten by foxes, or slash roles tunnels. So awful

Agree, I was so sad and cross. Someone saw the travellers who recently parked up nearby leaving with power tools.

@Seaitoverthere What a shame when people are thieves and vandals
@Browniesandcustard Some more thoughts for you based on what I have been doing today
If you can afford it and there are any grass bits/ hedges on your allotment battery powered tools make your life so much easier.
You can strim off dandelion heads before they seed everywhere.
Herbs- many supermarket herbs that cost £1.50 can be planted out- rosemary mint, parsley. Eat some at home and plant what is left. Basil grows well too but (for me only indoors)
Chillis and peppers- his is a bit late but you can harvest seeds from the ons in the supermarket, dry on a bit of kitchen towel and plant. (I tried this with butternut squash and got plants but no fruit so they may have been sterile)
Some plants seem more resistant to slugs- for me beetroot and celery
Do not let anyone tell you to put old carpet on your allotment as a weed supressor- it leaches acrylamide, gets really heavy with soil and is difficult to dispose of.
Start collecting rainwater in big bins/ drums now in case there is a hosepipe ban later
If you can afford it (again) solar powered watering systems take a lot of pressure off you both outside in time of low rain and also inside greenhouses and tunnels
I have these
Biling Solar Automatic Watering System, 15 Drippers Solar Powered Irrigation System from amazon

Supermarkets are currently selling bare root fruit trees cheap- Some I got last year (plum and apple are flowering well

Once again excuse me if this is all obvious to you

@Seaitoverthere that’s really sad!

I’m looking forward to a sunny day at the allotment tomorrow!

Do I risk transporting all the babies (tomatoes/cucumbers/peppers/chillies) to the greenhouse yet?!

@hockityponktas i would but I have no patience! I saw little green strawberries yesterday and I’m so excited for sunny weather and picking things from the allotment.

So sad to hear about vandalism on the plots it’s so needless. Our shed window was smashed and replaced with boards before we got it, the public footpath goes alongside us so I don’t think I will replace it.

Not sure! I planted four test tomato plants out in a plastic tunnel, and they’ve not flourished, even with fleece over. They’re going a bit purply. The others on my windowsill are getting a bit root bound I think, some have flowers which could be plant stress. Not sure what to do either

Hhhmmm, nope I’m going to hold out. I’m leaving them where they are🤣

Can I join please? I don't have an allotment but have recently moved to a new house with a big back garden and I am more interested in growing food/herbs than flowers.

It came with two apple trees, lots of brambles, and a big rosemary bush. I've planted some raspberry bushes and today some fennel but I have no idea what I am doing really 😊

Welcome @Girasoli , your garden sounds a lot like a new allotment. Most of us will have had to hack our way through brambles, clear couch grass and may have inherited a fruit tree or two. My top tip for planting raspberries is never plant summer fruiting varieties next to autumn fruiting. They’ll be mixing in no time and you won’t know when to prune what. Other than that, get some books out of the library, I used “Joes allotment” when I started out ( although Joe Swift has long given up on his plot). It has good advice for new allotmenteers / veg growing.

Where in the country are you? I planted two “ canary in the coal mine “ tomatoes outside today (London). I have a cold frame I scavenged from someone who left, but it has no cover and 1 pane of glass is missing. Time will tell whether that was a good idea.

Welcome @Girasoli , how lovely to have apple trees. Alan Buckingham’s allotment book is good and can often be very cheap on EBay.

I bought to tomatoes, courgette, peppers, aubergines and cucumbers a few weeks ago and chucked them straight into the greenhouse. So far so good..

South east. I have excessive amounts of pepper babies so I’ve taken 4 down to the greenhouse as an experiment. Trial and error I guess!

Two of my test tomatoes have died - AI tells me it was the very hot day flipping into very cold night. Two are just purple but okay

Both my test tomatoes doing five today- in ground in a cold frame that has no “ roof” and a missing pane of glass. They are about 30cm tall. Variety is Stupice.

Ooh luckily both my raspberry varieties are autumn fruiting. They are looking a bit sad though where its been windy.

My tomatoes are still on my windowsill, then when they get too big I will repot them.

@Girasoli Hi the autumn raspberries should have been cut back by feb, If they are tall with last years growth and getting wind damage you could probably chop a lump off the top without affecting the crop. Just make sure you leave loads of buds and shoots lower down

Two of my test tomatoes have died, and a third one is looking very ropy after 4-5 days out. One is okay but bright purple - the others has wilted away. I’m worried to put my others out now at all, obviously my tunnel isn’t doing the job. One was a Russian tomato that was meant to be cold tolerant 😂

Sorry to hear about dead tomato plants. Made it to allotment today and found all the woodchip and a few beds very churned up. I suspect badgers.

Cut the grass which hadn’t been done for 3 weeks and really needed doing. Cut path between me and neighbours we’ve met. The other two have pissed me off. I’ve cut the paths 3 times and am the only one. One neighbour has stuff behind shed blocking the path which was fine when previous people didn’t use that section of plot but my shed is there now.

Other cut their grass and ignored path. So for those 2 sides I cut half the path which is probably a bit petty but I think if I don’t make a stand I will be doing them every time.

Sweet peas and lettuce planted out. Was happy to see a few pea pods.

We made it to the allotment today and put up our arch for the blackberries but the ground was quite hard so I am worried we haven't put it in deep enough. I planted out loads of onion sets I had put in modules and tackled more weeding