What to Grow in Your Allotment: A Complete Guide for Beginners

Getting an allotment for the first time can be incredibly exciting. Having a little patch of land to grow your own fruits, vegetables, and flowers is a dream come true for many gardeners. However, it can also be overwhelming trying to figure out what to plant in your new allotment. With some planning and research, you’ll be on your way to growing a bountiful harvest. In this complete guide for allotment beginners, we’ll walk through everything you need to know to get started.

Choosing the Right Crops

The first step is deciding what to grow. It can be hard to choose when there are so many to choose from. Here are some tips:

• Grow what you love to eat – Focus on fruits vegetables and herbs that your household will actually enjoy. There’s no point filling your allotment with things you don’t like.

• Think about the price. Some fruits and vegetables, like raspberries or asparagus, are expensive to buy but easy to grow. Focus on the pricey foods you’d buy anyway.

• Think about difficulty – Don’t overwhelm yourself starting out. Opt for easier crops like potatoes, lettuce, beans, and tomatoes. Leave finicky plants for down the road.

• Maximize your space – To get the most from your allotment, look for plants that grow vertically like runner beans, or continuous harvest crops like chard.

• Growing rare or heirloom plants that you can’t find in stores is part of the fun of having an allotment.

• Include edible flowers – Add some pizzazz with nasturtiums, marigolds, and other flowers you can eat.

Best Crops for Beginner Allotments

Based on the criteria above, here are some of the top vegetables, fruits, and herbs for new allotment owners:

Vegetables:

• Lettuce – Easy to grow and fast maturing. Grow a mix of leaf and head lettuce for continuous harvest.

• Green beans – Produces over an extended period on compact plants. Pole beans yield more in small spaces.

• Radishes – Quick growing with little maintenance. Grow a mix of colors for variety.

• Beets – Tasty greens and roots. Many colors to choose from.

• Carrots – Kids love pulling up these sweet roots. Select short varieties.

• Tomatoes – Cherry tomatoes are prolific and don’t require staking.

• Potatoes – Plant early season varieties like ‘Swift’ for new potatoes.

• Onions/garlic – Easy to grow from sets. Excellent keepers over winter.

• Leafy greens – Spinach, chard, kale are high yielding.

• Peas – Sweet right off the vine. Choose dwarf or bush types.

Fruit:

• Strawberries – short season but heavy yielding per plant. Ever-bearing varieties extend harvest.

• Raspberries – Spreading canes produce tasty berries. Go for thornless types.

• Blueberries – Plant a few bushes for easy, bountiful berries.

• Currants – compact shrubs with edible fruit and pretty flowers. Require little care.

• Rhubarb – technically a vegetable but used as a fruit. Only plant a few crowns.

Herbs:

• Basil – Essential for homemade pesto. Grow different types like lemon basil.

• Chives – tubular leaves add flavor and color. Perennial and easy to grow.

• Cilantro – used in many cuisines. Direct sow.

• Dill – feathery foliage complements vegetables. Reseeds readily.

• Parsley – fresh flavorful leaves. Biennial but grows first year.

• Rosemary – pretty shrub with piney scent. Likes warm dry conditions.

• Sage – wonderful woody herb for fall dishes. Gets large so just plant a couple.

• Thyme – spreads nicely as a fragrant ground cover.

Planning and Record Keeping

Once you’ve decided on your crops, it’s time to plan out your allotment design and create a schedule for planting and maintenance. Here are some tips:

• Draw up a map of your allotment beds and where crops will go

• Research your plant varieties to know spacing, sun needs, height etc.

• Create a planting calendar noting when to start seeds indoors and direct sow outdoors

• Schedule rotations for plants in the same families year to year

• Track your yields, observations, pests etc. to improve in future years

Keeping good records will help you learn from your experiences and make adjustments. Apps like Groww’s allotment planner make it easy.

Preparing and Improving Your Allotment Soil

For your crops to grow well, you need rich, fertile soil. Here’s how to get your new allotment into shape:

• Remove any weeds or debris from beds

• Add aged compost and organic matter like manure

• Mix in a balanced organic fertilizer

• Test and amend pH to optimize for your crops

• Consider building up beds for improved drainage

Improving soil takes time but the effort will really pay off with healthier plants.

Start Small and Simple

It’s easy to get carried away starting an allotment, but try not to bite off more than you can chew that first year. Keep your crop selection limited and focus on the basics of soil prep, planting, watering, and pest control. There will be challenges and learning experiences no matter what.

You can always expand and grow more varieties in the future. Starting small will help ensure you don’t get overwhelmed maintaining your new allotment.

Enjoy the Fruits of Your Labor

Above all, make sure to enjoy your new allotment and all that delicious homegrown produce! Getting outside and digging in the dirt can be just as rewarding as the harvest. Nothing beats a salad made with your own lettuce and herbs, or tomatoes right off the vine.

With the tips above, you’ll be on the way to allotment success in no time. Keep good records, pay attention to your plants, and don’t hesitate to ask fellow allotment gardeners for their best wisdom and lessons learned. Most of all, have fun growing your own fruits and veggies!