How To Design an Allotment
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Everyone uses an allotment in their own different way
but when designing an allotment there are some key steps which are
common to all good allotment designs. It may take a year or so to
completely clear and dig an overgrown allotment but if you have a good
design in your mind at the outset you will save time and effort. |
The first step is to list all the plants, vegetables,
fruit, herbs and features you will want on the allotment. The list can
be changed in subsequent years but it will at least indicate the
approximate sizes for each type of plant. You also need to classify them
in groups (fixed or requiring rotation). As an example, our list for the
GardenAction new allotment is shown below. This lists below show our
chosen plants, yours may well be quite different. The important point is
to categorize them as we show below:
| FIXED PLANTS |
ROTATION
VEGETABLES |
| Hard Fruit |
Soft Fruit |
Plants/Shrubs |
Herbs |
Tomatoes |
| Apples |
Raspberries |
Potentillas |
Basil |
Radish (sh) |
| Pears |
Gooseberries |
Sweet Peas |
Oregano |
Beetroot |
| Plums |
Blackcurrants |
Clematis |
Rosemary |
Lettuce (sh) |
| |
Red Currants |
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Mint |
French Beans |
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Blackberries |
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Thyme |
Runner Beans |
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Strawberries |
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Chives |
Onions |
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Rhubarb |
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Parsley |
Spring Onions |
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Garlic |
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Broccoli |
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Cauliflower |
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Peas |
| Features |
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Carrots |
| Patio Area |
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Leeks |
| Compost Area |
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Swede (sh) |
| Shed |
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Potatoes |
The next step is to note the sun preferences of each of
the above. Most of the of the plants on an allotment prefer a full sun
position so we have marked only those that prefer a semi-shade position
(sh).
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