When I first got my allotment plot, I was a gardening novice. I knew nothing about crop rotation, succession sowing or no dig beds. I mean, I just about grasp a couple of those concepts now! Of course, this meant that I inevitably made some pretty stupid mistakes when starting my allotment plot, mistakes I’ve tried to correct but some that have just had to remain because they are quite permanent and… I can’t be bothered to change them.
So, I hope this post helps you if you’re starting out on a new allotment plot as a beginner gardener.
5 BIGGEST MISTAKES I MADE WHEN I FIRST GOT MY ALLOTMENT PLOT
- I put a wildlife pond underneath a tree.
I knew I wanted a pond, and a pond is never a mistake in any garden. Water is such a lifeline for wildlife and even the smallest of water sources is a plus. However, there are a few things you can do when creating a pond that will benefit it in the long run. Like… not putting it under a tree.
Trees cause shade and ponds need a good amount of sunlight in order to stay clean and for the water to stay relatively clear. Without that constant full sun, my pond is usually pretty full with pond weed which stinks and takes ages to scrape out.
Also, trees lose their leaves. Well, not all trees, but the one my pond is under does. It also loses blossom petals and berries too and it all ends up floating in my little pond. Too much debris in a pond causes a build up of nitrogen in the water turning it murky and impossible for things like frogs to survive in. I always forget to cover the pond and so most of the autumn months are spent scooping leaves out.
Choose a sunny spot in your allotment for a pond and be sure to add plenty of rocks around the edge for creatures to hide in.
2. My shed is too small
A shed is a must have at an allotment plot, especially if you plan on visiting over the winter months, which I do! I wanted my shed to do lots of things. It had to store my tools in an organised way, give me a space to sow seeds as well as be a nice comfortable space to spend time in when it’s raining outside.
My shed is 7×5 ft. It’s too small. I ran out of space ages ago and now have to keep coming up with clever ways of hanging tools so that I don’t walk into them. As a shed is quite a big expenditure, it’s just not practical or possible for me to buy a new one and discard this one. So I’m stuck with it.
I wish I had gone a little bigger.
3. My polytunnel flew away. Twice.
One fo the first things I bought for my allotment plot was a polytunnel. I was so excited to grow things like tomatoes and cucumbers in as well as having a secluded spot to do a wee in when nature called.
I was so eager to get it up, I put it up in the winter and of course, didn’t secure it well enough. It blew away. Instead of waiting for the spring, I put it back up only for it to blow away a few weeks later and end up in an apple tree. It was completely ruined and I never even got to sow a single seed into it.
Polytunnels are essentially giant kites waiting to take off. Secure them properly and put them up in the springtime, when most of the heavy storms have passed. Use bungee cords, rope, pegs, a trench and rocks to secure it down.
Don’t be like me.
4. My raised beds are too small.
Well, some of them are. And the ones that I feel are too small for my liking are the ones I’ve stuck more permanent plants in. Like tulip bulbs and blueberry bushes. So I feel like it would be a bad idea to pull them apart to readjust.
Raised beds are an easy way of creating a structured plot. They should be small enough for you to reach across and harvest things without treading on crops and large enough for you to get a decent harvest into them. Mine just feel too small and disjointed. I find I’m limited on what I can grow. For example, sweetcorn takes up an entire bed leaving me limited space for salad crops.
Try to think realistically about what you want to grow BEFORE creating your raised beds.
5. I didn’t clear the weeds effectively.
I mean, in my defence when I took the plot on it was a giant tangle of blackberry bushes. So most of my time was spend cutting them back and digging them all out. But once I had dug them out, I was too eager to get the raised beds set up. So I ignored things like bindweed and ornamental grasses, which now pop up everywhere they can.
I’m sure I would still have these weeds someone on the plot, no matter how hard I weeded it, but neglecting to properly take the time to pull these out and clear the ground has left me with an ongoing battle.
Weeds suck, but with time and patience, you can clear your plot of more persistent ones like bind weed. It may feel tedious, but you will thank yourself in the future when you’re not rescuing your crops from being strangled!
Hope these tips help you to avoid some of the biggest mistakes I made when I first took on my allotment plot. All fixable of course, but had I taken a little more time to think about them all, I might not have made them.
Happy gardening!
