Allotments
Not everyone is lucky enough to have a garden big enough as their home grown vegetable ambitions. Whilst there's lots you can do with balconies and windowsills you will most likely get to the point where you just need more space. That's where allotments come in.
Benefits
- Save a fortune. A full sized allotment should be able reduce your food bill drastically. It's possible for a family of four to be self-sufficient in vegetables for two thirds of year.
- It's a cheap way to get fit. Forget expensive gym memberships - you'll get all your exercise by digging, weeding, sowing and harvesting. At the same time you'll find it incredably relaxing and rewarding - especially after a hard week at work.
- Make friends. There's a great sense of community at allotments. You're guaranteed to meet loads of like minded people.
- Keep Hens and other livestock. Always check with your landlord first.
- Bee keeping. Make your own honey and help the everyone in the allotment get their veg pollinated.
- Most obvious of all is grow your own organic fruit and vegetables.
What's the average size of an Allotment?
Allotments range from 100 sq meters to 250 sq meters. It will depend on your council or location. A 100 sqm plot would be considered a half plot by traditional standards. Lots of councils have started to half or even quarter full plots as demand increases.
You may here some people talking about 'rods, poles or perch' when it comes to size. This is an old medieval form of measuring land. 1 rod/pole/perch = 5.5 yards .10 square rods would be roughly equivalent to a full 250 sq meter plot. For those that are interested, a rod is the distance from the nose of an oxen to the back of the plough! So now you won't seem so green when an old timer starts talking garden to you on your first day down the allotments.
How do I get an allotment?
There are about 300,000 allotments in the UK. As allotments have gained in popularity the waiting lists have got longer and longer. It's estimated up to 100,000 in the UK alone.
The best thing to do is to apply to your local council as soon as you can. If you're in the UK you can apply here.
If you are living outside the UK get in touch with your local authority. There are also privately owned allotments which can be a great alternative if there's a huge waiting list in your area.
You will most likely have to pay a yearly rent in advance. The amount will depend on your landlord!
A good allotment will have:
- Access to water
- Adequate parking and easy access
- Secure storage
- Access to toilets.
You may be lucky enough to have some sort of shed on your plot when you get it. If not grab some pallets and get busy. There are so any weird and wonderful takes on the humble shed at my local allotment. No two are the same!
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