Lucy Chamberlain’s Fruit and Veg

If gardening space is too tight and you’d like to cultivate a little communal spirit along with your crops, why not get an allotment? Lucy Chamberlain explains how to start

THERE are well over 300,000 of them in the UK, and they offer an excellent route to grow fruit, vegetables and herbs if you don’t have a sizeable garden – plus, they inject a colourful sense of community and culture into our lives. I am, of course, talking about allotment plots, and the way we look after them has an impact not just on ourselves, but also on our plot neighbours and the local area. So, when it comes to allotment etiquette, what are the hard-and-fast rules?

Management schemes

The set-up of your site will dictate its management. For example, allotment sites can be privately or council owned, and additionally they may be managed by an elected committee via an allotment association. When you take on a plot you will be given a tenancy agreement that will outline the rules and regulations of your site. The content will vary depending on the management policy, but essentially, once you pay your annual fee, you’ll be entering into a contract to adhere to these rules.

Agreement specifics

Your tenancy agreement will usually list policy details on general topics, such as keeping livestock and bees on the plot, fire lighting, plus greenhouse and shed erection. Some will stipulate that you cannot grow trees, but many usually allow fruit trees provided they are grown on a dwarfing rootstock.

Everyone is expected to follow a duty of care when it comes to elements such as safety (for example, leaving a paraffin heater unattended at night would be prohibited). Pesticides should be licenced, and stored safely (a handful of sites now even stipulate that they only allow organic pest, disease and weed-control methods).

“Everyone is expected to follow a duty of care”

Antisocial behaviour

Noise-making activities are often restricted, so check your agreement before you send out invites to that allnight summer allotment party! Also, access is often restricted to daylight hours and occasionally the plot holder only. Strimming or chain-sawing during unsociable hours can lead to prosecution by local authorities, and housing cockerels on your plot may also be restricted.

Many UK allotment plots, like this one in Southwold, Suffolk, allow you to grow a diverse range of fruit, vegetables and herbs

Many plots allow fruit trees such as this ‘Red Spur’ apple if they are grown on dwarfing rootstocks and/or potted in containers

However big or private your plot may be, make sure you maintain good relationships with your neighbours!

Your tenancy agreement should list policy details on keeping livestock, such as chickens