Rather than growing the same old crops year after year, why not rethink what deserves the time and space and make our fruit and veg work a little harder to earn their place on the plot
An allotment doesn’t have to be the traditional space we all think of, it can also be a small garden or even a balcony. If you’ve just got your first allotment and wondering what you should grow, or if you’re an old hand wanting a change, with all the options of fruit and veg and all their different varieties, it can be difficult to know where to start. The popularity of allotments has surged and waned since the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign of the Second World War, but looking at today’s allotment sites, you’d be forgiven for thinking that little has changed in the past 80 years when it comes to what we chose to grow.
With the cost of living crisis making it all the more important that gardeners get the most out of their investment of effort, cost and space, perhaps it’s time to take a different approach. This is where ‘Allotment maths’ comes in. When making a list of possible crops you might like to grow, try to consider the factors below and assign a positive or negative value.
This should come up with a discompassionate score for each option which you can use to help you decide what you might grow.
Getting an allotment for the first time can be incredibly exciting. Having a little patch of land to grow your own fruits, vegetables, and flowers is a dream come true for many gardeners. However, it can also be overwhelming trying to figure out what to plant in your new allotment. With some planning and research, you’ll be on your way to growing a bountiful harvest. In this complete guide for allotment beginners, we’ll walk through everything you need to know to get started.
Choosing the Right Crops
The first step is deciding what to grow. With so many options, it can be hard to narrow it down. Here are some tips:
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Grow what you love to eat – Focus on fruits vegetables and herbs that your household will actually enjoy. There’s no point filling your allotment with things you don’t like.
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Consider cost – Some produce, like raspberries or asparagus, can be pricey to buy but easy to grow Focus on expensive items you’d buy anyway.
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Think about difficulty – Don’t overwhelm yourself starting out. Opt for easier crops like potatoes, lettuce, beans, and tomatoes. Leave finicky plants for down the road.
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Maximize your space – To get the most from your allotment, look for plants that grow vertically like runner beans, or continuous harvest crops like chard.
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Grow unusual varieties – Part of the fun of an allotment is growing rare or heirloom varieties you can’t find in stores.
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Include edible flowers – Add some pizzazz with nasturtiums, marigolds, and other flowers you can eat.
Best Crops for Beginner Allotments
Based on the criteria above, here are some of the top vegetables, fruits, and herbs for new allotment owners:
Vegetables:
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Lettuce – Easy to grow and fast maturing. Grow a mix of leaf and head lettuce for continuous harvest.
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Green beans – Produces over an extended period on compact plants. Pole beans yield more in small spaces.
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Radishes – Quick growing with little maintenance. Grow a mix of colors for variety.
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Beets – Tasty greens and roots. Many colors to choose from.
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Carrots – Kids love pulling up these sweet roots. Select short varieties.
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Tomatoes – Cherry tomatoes are prolific and don’t require staking.
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Potatoes – Plant early season varieties like ‘Swift’ for new potatoes.
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Onions/garlic – Easy to grow from sets. Excellent keepers over winter.
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Leafy greens – Spinach, chard, kale are high yielding.
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Peas – Sweet right off the vine. Choose dwarf or bush types.
Fruit:
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Strawberries – short season but heavy yielding per plant. Ever-bearing varieties extend harvest.
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Raspberries – Spreading canes produce tasty berries. Go for thornless types.
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Blueberries – Plant a few bushes for easy, bountiful berries.
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Currants – compact shrubs with edible fruit and pretty flowers. Require little care.
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Rhubarb – technically a vegetable but used as a fruit. Only plant a few crowns.
Herbs:
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Basil – Essential for homemade pesto. Grow different types like lemon basil.
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Chives – tubular leaves add flavor and color. Perennial and easy to grow.
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Cilantro – used in many cuisines. Direct sow.
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Dill – feathery foliage complements vegetables. Reseeds readily.
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Parsley – fresh flavorful leaves. Biennial but grows first year.
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Rosemary – pretty shrub with piney scent. Likes warm dry conditions.
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Sage – wonderful woody herb for fall dishes. Gets large so just plant a couple.
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Thyme – spreads nicely as a fragrant ground cover.
Planning and Record Keeping
Once you’ve decided on your crops, it’s time to plan out your allotment design and create a schedule for planting and maintenance. Here are some tips:
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Draw up a map of your allotment beds and where crops will go
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Research your plant varieties to know spacing, sun needs, height etc.
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Create a planting calendar noting when to start seeds indoors and direct sow outdoors
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Schedule rotations for plants in the same families year to year
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Track your yields, observations, pests etc. to improve in future years
Keeping good records will help you learn from your experiences and make adjustments. Apps like Groww’s allotment planner make it easy.
Preparing and Improving Your Allotment Soil
One of the keys to success is having rich, fertile soil for your crops. Here’s how to get your new allotment into shape:
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Remove any weeds or debris from beds
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Add aged compost and organic matter like manure
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Mix in a balanced organic fertilizer
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Test and amend pH to optimize for your crops
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Consider building up beds for improved drainage
Improving soil takes time but the effort will really pay off with healthier plants.
Start Small and Simple
It’s easy to get carried away starting an allotment, but try not to bite off more than you can chew that first year. Keep your crop selection limited and focus on the basics of soil prep, planting, watering, and pest control. There will be challenges and learning experiences no matter what.
You can always expand and grow more varieties in the future. Starting small will help ensure you don’t get overwhelmed maintaining your new allotment.
Enjoy the Fruits of Your Labor
Above all, make sure to enjoy your new allotment and all that delicious homegrown produce! Getting outside and digging in the dirt can be just as rewarding as the harvest. Nothing beats a salad made with your own lettuce and herbs, or tomatoes right off the vine.
With the tips above, you’ll be on the way to allotment success in no time. Keep good records, pay attention to your plants, and don’t hesitate to ask fellow allotment gardeners for their best wisdom and lessons learned. Most of all, have fun growing your own fruits and veggies!
Do I like to eat it?
Rather than eating what you grow, why not turn the concept on its head and grow what you like to eat. When you get out your seed catalogues this autumn, ask yourself, would you buy it if you didn’t grow it? The ultimate allotment stalwart must be the humble runner bean, and with good reason. Its gorgeous flowers quickly scramble up supports and it requires little effort for the masses of fruit it provides. However, is it really tastier than its cousin the french bean? A quick search for runner bean recipes on the BBC’s Good Food website comes up with 44 results. The same for green beans produces 3,086.
While our culinary tastes have changed, what we grow hasn’t altered much since the 1950s. Given the nation’s most popular takeaway meals include Japanese, Indian and Mexican cuisine, why aren’t coriander and lemongrass part of our kitchen gardens and why aren’t tomatillos and edamame more common crops?
Is it expensive or difficult to buy?
Beetroot has long been an allotment favourite as it’s very easy to grow, however it also has the added benefit of providing a double crop. Harvest the leaves for a delicious salad and then dig up the roots to be roasted, pickled or juiced. Beetroot can also be quite hard to find in the shops so if you enjoy the taste and health boosting veg, they are well worth a spot on the plot.
10 MISTAKES TO AVOID ON YOUR FIRST ALLOTMENT PLOT / ALLOTMENT GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS
FAQ
What is the best thing to grow in an allotment?
- Potatoes. Five pounds, or 2.5kg, of seed potatoes can easily turn into two or three sacks of potatoes that can be stored from autumn to the end of spring. …
- Beetroot. Easy to grow and very hardy, beetroot is also highly nutritious and full of vitamins. …
- Onions. …
- Leeks. …
- Kale. …
- Courgettes. …
- French Beans. …
- Squash.
What can I use my allotment for?
An allotment plot is a plot of land you rent from the local council or from a private landowner on which you can grow your own food. However, the rules are fairly flexible and you can now grow flowers, vegetables or even just create a second garden to use and enjoy. Different allotment plots have different rules.
What is the best layout for an allotment?
Your allotment path is best positioned in the centre of your plot, with the raised beds running along both sides. Leave some space in between the beds, so you have easy access to your crops without trampling them. If you have a big enough plot, you may be able to have two pathways running opposite each other.
What is the most profitable vegetable to grow?
Several factors influence which vegetable is most profitable to grow, including local market demand, growing conditions, and the grower’s expertise. However, some consistently rank high in profitability. Microgreens, due to their high value per square foot and relatively quick turnaround, are often cited as one of the most profitable options.