Offered allotment

Triggles

We have been offered an allotment as we've finally moved to the top of the list with the council. We're scheduling a time to go out and look at it, but I just wanted to ask if there is anything in particular we should be looking for when we go to look at it. We're pretty much newbies on the gardening front, so might overlook something basic.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

conradmum

Most allotments have the standard invasive pernicious weeds growing all over them when they're passed on. Usually people persist for a year or two with an allotment they don't have the time for or interest in to keep on top of, and finally give up when it's going to be a big job to get back on top of it.

If the allotment isn't covered in weeds count yourself lucky. If it has (Google image these) couch grass, ground elder, bindweed, brambles, stinging nettles or thistles, it'll probably be okay to take it on. With either quite a lot of work or a lot of weedkiller you can get these under control in a season. If it has Japanese knotweed or horsetail, personally I wouldn't take it. The former is so hard to get rid of some building societies won't give a mortgage on a house with it growing in the garden, as I heard on the radio the other day! Also think twice about old carpet with weeds and grass growing through it. This is a real pain to get up.

Be careful in case there's broken glass or jagged metal and have a go at negotiating with the council or whoever owns it to get rubbish cleared off before you take it on, or to have it rent-free for a year if it's in a bad state. These aren't unreasonable requests.

angelavdavis

Quite a few of us have been lucky enough to have recently got to the top of the list! I found a thread about choosing an allotment and what to look for here that might be useful to you.

I must admit that I took the first one that was offered to me -

Plus points were: it was on a sunny plot, fairly well drained, near the tap, a good size but not huge (8.5 rods), had a hard standing ready for a shed.

Negatives: the site is a bit of a walk from where you park the car, the plot is the first one (although there are only four plots altogether), it is full of nettles and couch grass and is a sloping site (luckily to the South-East so not terrible.

Biggest plus was that after waiting 2 years and for £18 per year plus £6 for water, I now have some space to grow my veggies!