The UK allotment handbook
Get a plot, plan it, grow on it.
Tilthwick is a practical guide for UK allotment holders and people on the waiting list: how to get a plot, how to lay it out and rotate it, and what to do each month. Every fact links to its source, and your council's rules always win.
Find your way round the plot
- Getting an allotmentHow to get an allotment in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland: council and private sites, waiting lists, your rights and what to ask.
- Your first yearA realistic first year on a new allotment: how to clear an overgrown plot in stages, whether to dig, and which crops to start with.
- Planning the plotPlan your allotment plot: plot sizes in poles and square metres, bed and path layouts, where to put the shed, and a simple 4-year crop rotation.
- Month by monthWhat to sow, plant, harvest and do on your UK allotment each month, from winter digging and seed orders to summer gluts.
- Crops A–ZGrow guides for the most popular allotment crops: when to sow and plant, spacing, rotation group and harvest, with RHS sources.
- Sheds, polytunnels and structuresSheds, polytunnels, fruit cages and compost bays on an allotment: what your site may allow, sizes, and what to ask first.Coming soon
- Water, soil and compostWatering an allotment, building compost bays, improving soil and using water butts, troughs and hoses within site rules.Coming soon
- Pests, diseases and wildlifeSlugs, pigeons, blight, clubroot and more: prevention first, with label-led advice on any product and no safety claims.Coming soon
Start here
- Allotment plot plannerEnter your plot size and the crops you want. Get a to-scale bed layout, a 4-year rotation, how many plants fit, and how long clearing will take at the hours you have.
- How to get an allotment in the UKStep by step: find your council's allotment service, get on the right waiting lists, try private and association sites, and know your rights by nation.
- Allotment plot sizesHow big is an allotment? Full, half and quarter plots explained in poles, rods, perches and square metres, and how to pick the right size.
- What to grow in your first allotment yearThe forgiving crops to start with on a new UK allotment: potatoes, onions, garlic, broad beans, runner beans, courgettes, beetroot and salads.
- Crop rotation on an allotmentA simple 4-year allotment crop rotation: which crops go in each group, how the beds move each year, and what rotation can and can't prevent.
How we work
We write for allotment holders, not show gardens. We link every fact to its source (GOV.UK, legislation, the RHS, the National Allotment Society), say where England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland differ, and never claim to have grown or tested anything ourselves. Our editorial policy