Take a Plot

There are plots free at the moment. Not many sites near here can say that, and it will not always be true, so if you have been thinking about it this is the year. Tell us you are interested and we will show you what is available. There is no application to write, no waiting list to join, and nothing to prove.

What it costs

Small plots - £25 Medium plots - £30 Large plots - £40 That is the whole cost. No joining fee, no deposit.

March is when plots come free, if you would like to join us before then we can negotiate a comparable rate for the remaining year, then run from March 26th.

Rent falls due on 26 March, and existing plot holders confirm their renewal before then. Until they do, nobody knows what is available. After they do, we do, and that is when plots get allocated.

So if you are reading this in the autumn or the depth of winter, you are early, which is the right thing to be. Tell us now and we will come to you in March with a list of what is actually free rather than a guess. If you are reading it in February, you are exactly on time.

There is usually an open afternoon in the week or so before the rent falls due, somewhere around the 21st, two until four, moved to the Sunday if the weather is against us. Come and walk the site, talk to people who hold plots, and decide afterwards. Nothing is allocated on the spot.

What happens after you get in touch

1. You send us a note. Your name, roughly where you are, and whether you have grown anything before. The last one is for our information, not a test.
2. Somebody walks the site with you. Usually within a fortnight. You see what is actually free, which is more useful than any list, and you get a sense of how much work each one is carrying.
3. You take a plot, a bed, or neither. Plenty of people come to a work day first and decide later. That is a good order to do it in.

If a plot is more than you want

You do not have to take a whole plot to be part of this. The committee has agreed that plots can be shared, and that people can be involved on a contribution basis instead: an hour here and there, a hand on a particular job, a share in something somebody else is growing. If a full plot is more commitment than you can honestly make, say so when you write and we will find the version of this that fits.

Starting with a bed

If a full plot sounds like more than you have time for, the raised beds are the way in. One bed grows more salad than a household can eat, takes an hour a week rather than a day, and costs the bottom rate. A good number of people who now hold a full plot started that way, and there is no expectation that you move up.

Work days

We do not run to a fixed day. Work days get arranged when there is something that needs a few pairs of hands, which is usually a clearance, a delivery or a job that has been waiting for decent weather. In practice that means several across the growing season and fewer in winter.

Next work day: nothing in the diary at the moment, ask and we will tell you when the next one is.

If you would like to be told when one is coming up, send us your name and we will add you to the list. No obligation to turn up, and no obligation to keep turning up. Some people come to everything and some come once a year, and both are useful.

Come whether you have a plot or not. There is always something that needs doing and always somebody who will show you how. Bring gloves if you have them, and we will find you a fork. If it is raining we are usually still there.

Other ways in

You do not need a plot to be part of this. Watering rotas while people are away, and a standing need for anyone who can fix things. If that suits you better than a plot, say so when you write.

Come and look first

You do not have to decide anything to visit. The allotments are open, you are welcome any time, and if you would like somebody to walk you round and answer questions, we will arrange that. Most people find that half an hour on the site settles the question one way or the other.

Get in touch

Email [email protected] and say which you are after: a plot, a bed, or just a look round.