How many hours a week would you spend tending a half allotment?

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I have a half plot. 83 square metres, so really I think 1/3rd of a full plot. It is very very weedy no matter what I've tried.

Have had it for over a decade. Baby born last autumn into winter and this year wasn't too difficult bringing her she'd just be in pram. Now she's nearly 1 and hit peak separation anxiety and I can forsee next season being really difficult. I have a playpen there but she screams and hates playpens. I was thinking to allow favourite snacks and even maybe 30 mins of screen time ONLY when there to help a bit.

Anyway... I am enlisting the help of paying a babysitter but I don't know how long realistically I will need a week? Because up until now I've just spend leisurely time there and not really counted it or bothered how long things take.

It really depends on how intensively you grow stuff. I have a well established half-plot with a tight range of crops and spend a few hours there a week maximum but I am very restrained in how much/what I grow and relaxed about weeds. My neighbours spend an hour or more daily but their plot looks like something off Gardener’s World and the weeds get whipped out the second they raise their little heads.

I do think children and allotments are a tough mix.

@LadyGardenersQuestionTime Love the name! When you say a few hours how many do you mean? I am thinking 5 hours in peak season (March - August) and around 2-3 Feb and Sep, then 1 during winter, but I need to book babysitting in and not sure how long to book for. I am thinking it will be nice to take baby sometimes, but there's no way I can get every task done with her there.

Yes to the allotment neighbours😁Some of the folks on my site spend all day every day there, lucky them. I used to go every weekend and sometimes after work but now it'll need to be more regimented. Which crops do you grow? I tried to go low maintenance this year but still did tomatoes and found strawberries more time consuming than I thought.

Unfortunately it’s very hard to predict with the weather, I don’t have set times for mine (about the same size) but seize free slots when I can and when the weather suits. Can baby’s father help look after her?

@ExquisitelyDecorating Yes the weather is difficult isn't it? Her father works away a lot, so it's not regular times where he can help look after her. I don't want to lose the plot(!) I've had for over a decade. He has agreed that he will half with me to pay for a babysitting slot once or twice a week. I'm just not sure how long to book for because it aint cheap.

My MIL can spend upwards of 10 hours a week there - she absolutely loves it, also has a half plot, grows a lot of different things and generally keeps it looking really nice. Watering took ages in the summer, we all went and took turns helping her!
It’s a big part of her life alongside volunteering and Pilates - I guess during the winter months she spends a lot less time down there but I’m not a gardener myself and don’t really know how much of what she does is ‘necessary’ and how much is for ‘enjoyment’ so hard for me to estimate.
all my dc have been there with her over the years to help out digging beds and watering, helping her cut stuff back etc and they used to enjoy eating the fruit off the plants and trees (fairly sure they were more of a hindrance than a help!) - it’s a lovely environment for engaged small dc.

Could you get some toy gardening tools and allow her to "help" and could that secure a bit of extra time there?
My friend has half a plot. I'd aay he goes there 3 x week. His daughter is 20 months and she goes as well, not every time of course! But she does go maybe once a week. I think he doesnt spend more than an hour there. But several times a year he does a big amount of time turning the soil and prepping. He certainly does that without DD and usually one of my teens goes ro help. On his allotment and also my friends father does his on another, there is at least one older retired person who will help out for a bit of cash in hand. This may be cheaper than a babysitter? If you just need someone to tackle weeds for example

Hiya
i have a half plot which we have had for just over 3 years now. I also have a 7 year old, just turned 2 year old and another one on the way due early next year.
My plot isn’t picture perfect by any means, in fact at the moment it is pretty bad as I’ve had some pregnancy complications plus awful 1st trimester but I love it and wouldn’t dream of giving it up.
Things I have done to help are:

1. i have set a small area up for the kids- they have their own bed for digging and growing in (they help in the other beds but when there is stuff established and I don’t want them digging in those areas this helps. It also has a small chalk board and mud kitchen for them. I also have a small children’s plastic table and chairs for them.
2. snacks! I take lots of snacks but I’ve also done it as picnics etc for them.
3. I do manage jobs with her at the plot (she was 19 months at the beginning of the season) and she was content sitting next to me helping me plant things out etc.
4. At 1 yours may still nap during the day- I don’t know if yours will do buggy naps but I used to time some trips with her nap in the buggy which worked well for us. Plus I found she napped better in the outside air.
5. We do a morning trip once a week just me and her, just an hour and I do what I can. Whatever doesn’t get done waits. I just try to go with the flow for each visit.
6. During the heatwave I used to get up super early and leave the kids at home with my husband. I did 2-3 hours on my own and that worked really well. I don’t know if that is an option for you.

Overall it has been trickier to manage the plot now I have my daughter and I’m planning an easier season next year with a newborn but it is doable. I’ve just focused on growing what I love most and I’m putting in things like additional mulch and ollas to help with watering that is the most time demanding thing at the peak of the season.

Thanks @TheChosenTwo Yeah I think it's possible to take young children sometimes but not every time. Your MIL plot sounds lovely.

@Whyherewego I bring some toys for her but perhaps I'm worrying too much and she's just at a difficult age. I don't know of any retired people on my site who help. I did wonder about just paying a gardener but didn't know if that was allowed or poor form!

@Sweetpeasontheplot Thank you for advice, it's much appreciated. I am going to set up an area for her to play. How do you stop the 2 year old running away? When I got my plot my eldest children were 11 and 7 I think and so it was much easier. This is my first experience with a baby. I'm sorry your pregnancy has been hard, plot was difficult for me too last year especially towards the end I got a lot of pitying looks from older plot holders 😅.
I am glad I did not shell out on an outdoor weather resistant playpen I was going to buy, cause DD has decided she hates the playpen and cries hysterically whenever put in the indoor one. She'll be 17 months at start of next season so hopefully will be like yours and be content. It could just be her age now (11 months) but I can't imagine her being content.
Yes she does nap in the buggy so I will certainly do that. At least whilst she will nap.
I did think of getting up really early and going before anyone wakes, but DH works away most of the summer, I'd need to ask DS17 to be responsible not sure if that would work but potentially. Also thought about paying him a little to babysit but he has a part time job and enough money so might not be reliable!

That does all sound tricky. My DCs were about 9 and 7 when I got my plot and I did rely on DH to look after them quite a bit. But there are things you can do to make less work, some years I cover mine with card and manure in winter (could do that when your DH is around?) then plant through the card in spring, using a bulb planter, things like potatoes are pretty easy that way and easy to grow generally. The cardboard really keeps the weeds down. I also have quite a big wildlflower patch, and grow things like onions which more or less look after themselves.

Also this year I got a load of woodchip delivered by a tree surgeon and used ot as mulch which has also kept the weeds down.

My newest plot neighbour has restricted mobility and has paid someone to get her plot in shape this summer so I don't think that's a problem if you could find someone. We are also encouraged to tell the council if we need help as they can buddy people up, someone who needs help with someone who is happy to do more than just their own plot. They'd rather do that than see someone struggle and potentially neglect the plot or give up.

Think of it as an evening/morning stroll, a few times a week, just go and do a bit of weeding /watering/planting/sowing whatever.
I work 3 days one week, 4 days another week.
Use this winter to plan. Cover everything till the spring anyway.
If you get 15 minutes of sowing some seeds,
break with the baby, another 10-15 min to sort out some pots etc. Just little and often.

I have a full plot, it takes me 2 days to turn the soil.
The area with most weeds gets courgettes/aubergines/nasturtiums.
I have a salad area, to make it easy to just whip down in the evening/morning: salad, basil, spring onion, chives, sage, lovage, thyme, parsley, dill etc, and on either side tomatoes and cucumbers, it’s all in one place, I don’t get distracted.

I love new potatoes, so I have a couple of rows of that and some lettuce for June/July harvests, some golden zucchini and herbs in one area, that’s the first thing will come out.
The ones that can be done once a week , like aubergines, peppers, Padron peppers etc are in one area.
Then I have raspberries (early and autumn)
Cuttings flowers as borders all around.
Im in the little and often camp 😂

Thanks. I’m doing better now but still not managing to get up there so feeling a little stir crazy.

My daughter is not much of a runner so is usually quite content by my side or playing in her little corner as long as she can see me. I’m also at the back so a little way off the main path which helps.

I sympathise with husbands being away. Hopefully you will find something that works for you.

Don’t pressure yourself and enjoy the plot. You might find her easier than you envision at the plot as a lot can change. Also the more you take her the more she will get used to it as well. My 7 year old now moans when he has to come where as my 2 year old loves it.