Allotment layout ideas
Draft: preview builds only.
A good layout makes every job easier: you can reach every bed without treading on the soil, water and compost are close by, and your crops can rotate from bed to bed.
Beds you can reach
Most growers use beds about 1.2 m wide, so you can reach the middle from either side. Narrower beds (90 cm to 1 m) suit shorter reaches. Keep the length to whatever is easy to walk round.
Paths
Leave paths wide enough to kneel in and to get a wheelbarrow along. 45 cm is a common minimum between beds; a main path for the barrow is wider. Grass paths need mowing, while woodchip or bark paths need topping up.
Where things go
- Shed or polytunnel: at the north end of the plot where possible, so it doesn't shade your beds. Check your site's rules on size and placement first.
- Compost bays: somewhere you can reach with a wheelbarrow, close to where most of the waste comes from.
- Water: butts by the shed to collect rain from its roof, and beds that need the most water nearest the tap or trough.
- Fruit and perennials: in one permanent area, out of the rotation, such as rhubarb, asparagus and soft fruit.
Plan for rotation
Group your beds in fours (or multiples of four) so each crop group gets its own bed and moves along one bed every year. Our crop rotation guide explains the groups.
FAQs
Should allotment beds run north to south?
Beds running north to south get sun on both sides through the day, which many growers prefer. On a slope, running beds across it helps stop soil and water running off. Your plot's shape usually decides.
Do I need raised beds on an allotment?
No. Raised beds help on wet or heavy soil and make edges tidy, but flat beds with clear paths work well too.
Allotment plot planner
Worked example
For a half plot (5 poles, about 126 m²), a quarter already clear, 4 hours a week, a shed and compost bays:
- 10 beds of 1.2 m with 45 cm paths, beds running across a plot about 19.5 m by 6.5 m
- Rotation: 8 beds in four groups, moving one step each year
- Broad beans: room for about 68 plants; Onions (sets): room for about 256 plants; Cabbage: room for about 68 plants; Carrots: room for about 1080 plants; Potatoes: room for about 86 plants; Courgettes: room for about 14 plants
- Clearing: about 95 m² to clear, roughly 12 weeks at 4 hours a week (our rule of thumb of 2 m² an hour)
- A 5 cm compost mulch over all the beds: about 3.9 m³, or 78 bags of 50 litres
Based on: National Allotment Society (NSALG), RHS. Crop spacing from RHS grow-your-own guides.
Sources
- National Allotment Society (NSALG): A traditional full allotment plot is 10 poles (rods or perches), about 250 square metres checked 24 Oct 2026
- RHS: RHS crop rotation: group crops (brassicas, legumes, onions, potato family and roots) and move each section a step forward every year to limit soil pests and diseases checked 24 Oct 2026