Below are some tips to help you get the most out of your allotment, with a focus for first time plot holders, with our own collection of ideas collated from Pintrest, you can check these out towards the bottom of the page. If you’d like any tips of your own added, fill out the suggestion box at the bottom of this page and we’ll add them to this page so we can build up a great collection of hints and tips. Just click the tip section below to expand.
Allotment Tips and Suggestions
Also check out our monthly tips here
Bed One Bed Two Bed Three Bed Four Bed One Bed Two Bed Three Bed Four Bed One Bed Two Bed Three Bed Four Get a pen and paper and plan!
Weeding
Get to know and respect your neighbours
A bit of a ‘no-brainer’, but when you take out an allotment, you’ll be joining a community of like minded people and you’ll also be given a tenancy agreement. This agreement outlines all the rules and regulations you have to follow, and most are common sense. But respect for your neighbours is a must. On busy days you’ll probably be spending many hours in close proximity with these people, many would have spent years cultivating their allotments, so without imposing, get to know them, introduce yourself, respect their space, and you may find yourself making a life long friend. They’ll also have their own advice and tips if you ever require it.
Crop Rotation
Year One – First, make sure your soil is enriched and healthy by adding your compost.
Year Two
Year Three
Wildlife, Pollinating and Companion Planting
Many people have an allotment primarily to grow produce, as well as creating a sanctuary to escape to while making new friends. But wildlife plays an important part of any allotment site. With urban cities like Cardiff seeing a big drop in it’s local wildlife due to development and changing lifestyles it’s important to think about the critters and animals who we may be sharing our plots with. Allotments play a huge part in supporting wildlife in urban areas, often they create links between tracks, hedgerows, parks and rivers. And aside from the help some of them give us by assisting with pollination and pest control there are things we, as plot-holders, can do to help keep this eco-system balanced.
When planting the above companion plants, try when possible to plant them in pots to avoid them taking over the plot, especially mint.
Perennials for busy allotment keepers
Got an idea, suggestion, tip or trick for good allotment keeping? Let us know below in the suggestion box.