Hand picked allotment blogs for tips and inspiration

What’s more, an increasing number of them are blogging their way from seeding to harvest, so you can see exactly how it’s done and even ask questions.

Take a tour of the finest UK allotments with our hand picked allotment blogs we love, and see if you can find some top tips or inspiration to get your own growing going in 2011.

Real Men Sow
Jono tends to his allotment with his mum Jan, and most of the time she isn’t looking over his shoulder, so he assumes he must be getting the hang of it. His blog would certainly suggest this too and its not just his growing skills that are valuable. His tips on saving money are made free to fellow allotmenteers. Jono has made some money saving Excel sheets, to help you calculate how much you can save by growing your own.

Slow Growing in Scotland
Patience is perhaps the most important virtue for any gardener and when your plot is attacked by pigeons, rabbits and the weather it can be your most valuable asset. This blog documents the trials and tribulations of an allotment in Scotland. Where Linda keeps on tending to her plot no matter what pesky creatures get in her way, come rain or shine. Here you’ll find lots of tips to help you avoid similar pitfalls and be inspired by the enduring enthusiasm of allotmenteering.

The Green Grower
In a bid to break free from the 9 to 5 world of work and a flat without a garden, Steph Jones embraced the beauty and enjoyment of an allotment. The Green Grower documents her journey from her very first day on the allotment. Since then Steph has shared her developments and offers good advice on growing all manner of things. Best of all there are plenty of tasty allotment recipes, including chocolate courgette cake, vegetable spaghetti and plenty of fruity booze.

Allotment Lady Lives Again
Find out how to deal with ‘tons of taters’ as well as getting tips on creating a bountiful fruit cage. Not only does the Allotment Lady cover the harvesting of barrow-loads of pumpkins, but she documents the continuing story of her burgeoning chicken coop. With new additions to the allotment family of the feathered kind arriving regularly, it’s surely only a matter of time until the Allotment lady has as many eggs as she does pumpkins.

Organic Allotment
Here you can learn how to keep it green with natural fertilisers and detailed accounts of organic gardening practices. There are also great ideas to help you out behind the scenes. These include: how to manage a wormery and compost your kitchen waste, profiles on super-foods and tips on ‘table-top gardening’, for the months when you can’t do much on the plot.

Allotment 65
Follow the progress of Allotment 65, from chitting the spuds to harvesting the yield. There’s lots of tasty pleasures along the way including how to make awesome raspberry jam. Keep an eye out for the imminent arrival of chickens, and blossoming beds of foxgloves, sweetpeas and poppies. This sensational assault on the senses make Allotment 65 a lively allotment indeed.

Hazel and Jane’s Allotment
Back in 2006 two friends with horticultural aspirations but no where to grow, signed up to get an allotment. Almost 5 years on they are still going strong and have shared the fruits of their labours in this blog. Amongst all the superb advice on growing, using raised beds and the light-hearted commentary on running an allotment, there are some great tips on making beautiful blackcurrant wine. As a result, this blog is as full of fun as it is veg – just like their allotment.

Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments
This is an extremely comprehensive and obviously much enjoyed blog on allotments, growing, and being an allotmenteer. Check out the weekly illustrated growing diary, the catalogues of advice on all aspects of allotmenteering and excellent advice on planning for the year ahead. This blog helps you find out what allotments are all about, how you can go about getting one and how to get the most out of it. All from a very knowledgeable husband and wife team with over 20 years of allotment experience.

We Grow Our Own
This blogger is just as passionate about how to cook and eat the produce from your allotment, as he is about growing it in the first place. Recently featured on ITV’s ‘Britain’s Best Dish’, Craig McKnight’s enthusiasm shines through his blog posts. They include tips on how to grow your own chillies, what to grow on your plot and how to get the best from your kitchen and allotment. With plenty of recipes and cookbook reviews, We Grow Our Own is a great resource to help you cultivate culinary pleasure from your home grown veg.

Dyke’s Edge Allotment
Craig in Blackpool spends a lot of time on his allotment tending to the fruit trees, vegetables and flowers in his raised beds. So much so he has installed a fantastic looking shed with a small stove. Allowing him to embark on a ‘personal taste testing and trialling of a range of plot snacks’ much to his readers amusement. With plum trees in car tyres and the wildlife around his pond great photos are plentiful. And with the grapevine growing well perhaps there will be some Blackpool wine for his next taste testing trial.

Grow Our Own
This is an allotment blog with a twist. Not only is it an excellent contribution to the sharing of allotmenteering knowledge, but it also demonstrates the psychological benefits of working on allotments. Allotmenteering, this blog argues and displays, can also alleviate the suffering of those with depression and anxiety, including the blog’s author. A personal story of growing, the blog shows the importance of allotments not just for the body but for the mind as well.

Mal’s Allotment
With 15 years experience on an allotment in Edinburgh, Mal has plenty of stories and advice to share. There are also a few tricks up his sleeve, which Mal calls his ‘weapons of mass production’ that will no doubt come in handy. These include the Germinator and the ‘Scud’, involving canny re-use of an old compost bin to force a large patch of rhubarb. As well as his secret weapons there a plenty of more traditional tips, including how to grow asparagus, from its alien looking beginnings to the tasty looking results.

Allotments 4 you
Having written her gardening diaries for 3 years, Tanya’s blog shares her wealth of growing experience and ongoing allotment adventures. Her main aim in doing so is to share the beauty of growing your own fruit, flowers and vegetables, whether you have an allotment or a simple window box. For those with the space for it, be sure to check out her simple guide to making a raised bed. Or if you have less room, enjoy the beauty of a terracotta strawberry planter. Allotments 4 you makes sure there is growing fun for all.

Allotment Heaven
From a rough piece of pasture to two blossoming plots with a shed, a chicken run and a pond. John dazzles us with his wit and wisdom from the Allotment Heaven he has created. Lessons learnt along the path of creating his oasis are shared here in fantastic and thorough guides. Enabling newcomers and old-hands alike to learn a great deal about what, when and how to grow a wide selection of vegetables. Interspersed with photos and videos of numerous family visits to the plot and stories of a mad cockerel; Allotment Heaven is an entertaining and inspiring read for any allotmenteer.

If you have an allotment blog you love that is not mentioned above, please leave a comment.

Tigerella toms - fruits of Jo's allotment labours

Having dabbled with gardening for several years Jo discovered the delights of growing edibles. After filling every available container and corner with fruit and vegetable plants, Jo quickly outgrew her humble abode. An allotment was the natural progression and after a long time on the waiting list Jo finally received the keys to her first allotment. Then on April Fools Day 2009 ‘The Good Life’ blog was born, but her allotment adventures are no joke.

With her honest, detailed and helpful posts Jo has amassed a large and loyal following. Her allotment started as an overgrown plot, with a wheelbarrow, two compost bins and four water butts. Since then Jo has given us regular updates sharing her labours and rewards with friendly and informative posts. This is a great blog for comparing notes on how your vegetables are growing and sharing allotment tips.

From Tigerella tomatos to Cucino cucumbers Jo’s plot has produced an impressive array of fruit and vegetables. With the fruits of her labour Jo has cooked family favourites such as fresh blueberry muffins and created the odd genius invention such as borage ice-cubes. This blog boasts the sun-filled successes and mourns the frost-bitten failures, providing a heart felt and genuine account of Jo’s allotment labours.

For Jo’s wonderful account of allotment life and her frequent honest updates we make ‘The Good Life’ our Gardening Blog of the Week.

The UK is going crazy for allotments and the traditional allotment demographic is widening to encompass young and old alike with an increasing number of women and young families getting involved. Successful business people have been known to give up their day job to spend their time keeping a plot or ‘allotmenteering’.

The demand for allotments is increasing throughout the UK

We probably wouldn’t advise going to these lengths but in a time of increasing food prices and worries about the ‘carbon footprint’, growing fruit and vegetables in a garden or allotment is becoming ever more attractive, popular and economical.

And as it’s currently National Allotments Week there’s never been a better time to start. We’ve brought together a few helpful resources and some allotment facts to help you get involved with the allotment crowd.

Did you know?

• By law all councils in England & Wales (with the exception of inner London) have to provide allotments. As long as you are over 18 and on the electoral roll you can request an allotment plot from your local council.

• Allotments in the UK date back to the 18th century, reaching a peak in 1918 with 1.5 million allotments. There are now around 300,000 allotments in the UK.

• The rent for British allotments is traditionally due on St Michaelmas Day, the 29th September and is usually between £30-£50 per year.

• Allotments are measured in rods. On rod equals 25.3 square meters. Traditionally, the average allotment plot is around 10 rods, so 250 square meters. This was based on the estimate that a family of four could live from the produce and be self-sufficient.

Find an allotment

Dobbies are so keen to see more people growing their own fruit and veg, we’ve made plans to offer allotments right next door to our garden centres, starting with Dobbies Garden World Southport.

But if you can’t wait to get started, most local authorities or councils have a department dedicated to allotment growers and shared allotments normally come under the conservation, recreation, leisure or parks services. Try your local authority website to find an allotment near you.

Depending on the area you live in, finding an allotment is not always easy. In areas such as inner London demand for allotments is high due to lack of garden space and other factors. This has been an area that local government have tried to target. Sharing information on allotments in London such as availability and advice has become a priority in recent years and there are a number of helpful resources out there.

If you live in London you can find an allotment near you by visiting www.london.gov.uk/allotments/map/ and typing in your postcode.

The National Trust is another place to try for allotment plots. The good news is that the Trust will be creating 1,000 new allotment plots in Trust land over the next three years. Check the website for more information at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-global/w-news/w-latest_news/

If you’re struggling to find an allotment then help may be just around the corner. In response to growing concern about healthy lifestyle and a lack of growing space, the UK wide initiative Landshare launched by Channel 4 aims to help people find and share land for growing.

Landowners and growers alike can sign up at http://landshare.channel4.com

UK wide community

Allotment gardeners seem to be a very altruistic breed, ‘in it together’ for the greater good of growing. There are so many resources and blogs out there allowing allotment keepers and growers to share their experiences and exchange tips. This growing community has greatly increased the publicity surrounding allotment growing and various initiatives and campaigns have been set up to help improve our urban spaces around the UK and increase organic growing.

As the biggest UK allotment body, The National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners (NSALG) is probably the first port of call to find out about what is involved in renting an allotment and allotment applications to local authorities.

You can become a member by visiting their website at www.nsalg.org.uk.

The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens (FCFCG) set up The Allotments Regeneration Initiative (ARI) in 2002 to help increase the profile of allotment keeping in the UK.

The initiative is still going strong and their website allows allotment keepers to share their success stories and provides information on how allotment regeneration has worked. They even offer an allotment mentor service providing support and advice in your area and frequently recruit volunteers to take up such positions.

Join in by visiting www.farmgarden.org.uk/ari/

Conscientious growers

If your concern with allotments or growing is a more individual venture, you can do your bit just by cultivating the right sort of fruit and veg.

A very topical area of concern for allotment gardeners and organic growers is biodiversity in the food we grow and eat. Since the industrial revolution some of the UK’s vegetables such as bean, cabbage, onion and cauliflower variants have disappeared due to various factors such as climate change and the growth in alien species. In an effort to help build healthy eco-systems and save obscure vegetables the organic growing charity, Garden Organic has set up an appeal to save endangered seeds.

Visit www.gardenorganic.org.uk/support_us/appeal_vegseed.php for more information and to make a donation.

If you’re not sure which seeds to grow you can add your name to a list to have endangered seeds sent out to you by visiting www.gardenorganic.org.uk/hsl/index.php