The Allotment Garden at an Allotment Association

Do you want to grow your own vegetables, fruit, flowers and/or herbs and you don't have enough space around your house? Or do you want to escape the city in your spare time to enjoy being outdoors and meet new people? Then renting an allotment might be an option.

An allotment garden is a plot of land that is not next to your house and on which you can grow vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers. This land can belong to private or local authority landlords, local councils or The National Trust, for example. These gardens, also called plots ore kitchen gardens, are for individual, non-commercial gardening and often there is a shed on it, to store your equipment. There are allotment societies, which are organisations which provide, promote & preserve allotments. You can find an allotment on various websites or look around in your neighbourhood. A community garden is a garden owned or rented by a group of people, so you don’t have your own space.

A new development is renting a garden only during the vegetable garden season. In broad terms this means that you only rent a piece of garden during the growing season, so for example from April to October. The person you rent it from ensures that the garden is ready to go at the beginning of the season. It is often also the case that there is a possibility that someone will take care of your garden, for a fee, when you are on holiday, for example. Seeds are also often provided and tools can often be borrowed. The rental price of these gardens is of course a bit higher than the traditional allotment.

Not unimportant, there are long waiting lists for renting an allotment. So if you are interested, start looking in time and register.

A few tips you should pay attention to when considering renting an allotment

Is the garden you want to rent affiliated with an association?

If so, you have to take into account the fact that in addition to working in your own garden, you may also need to help with general tasks.

Tor example, the maintenance of the general paths, green areas, etc. So, check the rules carefully.

What rules apply to the garden you want to rent?

It is of course important to know in advance what you have to comply with. Are fruit trees allowed, for example? And how high can they be? Is there a possibility for a shed or a greenhouse? Is water available? Are you allowed to stay overnight?

Decide well in advance what you want to do with the plot, so that you can consider carefully whether the rules are in line with what you want. Also consider the distance from your own home. The further this is, the more difficult it will be to go to the garden regularly.

How big is the plot?

Of course, the larger the plot, the more work. But perhaps it is more important to ask yourself for what purpose you are going to use a vegetable garden. If you want to become completely self-sufficient, you need about 50 m2 of land per person. It is also important to take into account how much spare time you want to spend on gardening.

The location

If, sometimes after a long wait, you are offered a garden, it is important to see what the location is like. It is especially important that the garden is mostly sunny. This is because most crops need a sunny spot. In addition, other factors could also play a role. For example, how far is it from the parking lot? This could be important if, for example, you have to bring material to your garden. And what about the maintenance of the garden and the soil? In good condition or does some work still need to be done? In addition to time, this also costs money.

The costs

A vegetable garden costs money. Not only the rental of the land, but also the tools, seeds, nutrients (manure, compost), climbing aids, etc. So a vegetable garden is not always financially attractive just because you grow your own vegetables. It is often even the case that if you can harvest certain vegetables yourself, they are also cheap in the supermarket. So getting a vegetable garden just to save costs is not a good idea. But there are other advantages, such as being outdoors a lot, knowing where your vegetables come from, the better taste, organically grown, etc. And every hobby costs money.

Overnight stay

There are allotment associations where it is allowed to have a small garden house or shed on the plot where you can also spend the night. Especially if you live in the city, this is ideal. This way you can escape the city life and relax in nature.

Children

For children, having a vegetable garden is a great adventure and they spend a lot of time outdoors. Not that they always want to help. But growing your own vegetables, seeing how they grow, being able to harvest and taste them yourself is of course an experience in itself. Moreover, it is very educational and healthy.

Did you become enthusiastic by all of this and do you want to grow your own vegetables, herbs and flowers? And do you need seeds?

Dutchgardenseeds.co.uk has a wide range of high-quality seeds, with many organic varieties as well. Take a look at our website, with lots of information about growing your own vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Buying seeds in our webshop is definitely a good choice. We are always there for you. If you have any questions about, for example, your order, you can always contact us. The nice thing about growing vegetables from vegetable seeds is that the plants are often stronger and also grow without pesticides. So, it's a fun activity and a healthy one at the same time!