This week I finally plucked up the enthusiasm to work out the plan for our allotment in 2024, shown below. I rotate the crops in light green, and I’ve moved some of the perennial stuff at the bottom around. Mainly to move the perennial veg up the slope making it easier to care for, and the cut flower bed – which needs very little attention – down to the end where it’s harder to access. I’ve included past plans below this one. Oh, one extra change is that I’ve added a new horizontal path near the top, this will make it easier to maintain the top half of the plot. This year I want to improve on efficiencies in order to start growing crops to sell to local community veg sharing schemes. I’m going to start small scale this year just to get into the swing of it. If I can produce a number of bags of excess crops to sell, I will be happy. I think local organic veg growing for the community is one of the most important activities we can all be doing. Luckily around us in the Calder Valley some amazing people have already set up the infrastructure for this.
I’ve just had the call I have a plot in very wet Carmarthenshire, so love seeing this for inspiration! Thank you. Mine’s overgrown grass, nettles and brambles at the moment with lots of metal pipes (and I don’t drive!) What size is your plot and the size of the areas in your plan? Which is the bottom end and top end of your plot? Sorry if clueless questions. All new but exciting to me!
Hi Erica
Congratulations on the new plot, how exciting, many fun days of crops awaits.
Our plot is about the size of a full allotment but stretched out. I’m not sure of the precise size but at a guess it is probably about 8m wide. The top of the pic is the top of a slope which runs west (at the top) to east (at the bottom) so the whole plot is south facing to the side, which is great.
I guess my top tips are to clear the plot of unnecessary junk as early on as possible, find out a local cheap compost delivery company and perhaps cover some areas of the plot for this season allowing you to really concentrate on one area before spreading out to practice and keep it manageable.
Have fun!
Jack