[Flowertot]

Ideas appreciated please...I have had an allotment for 8 years now and usually grow everything from seed. I used to work part-time and then had a couple of years not working - but I’ve recently returned to full-time working so it will be much less manageable this coming year (and in future). I am likely to get to the plot most weekends (but not all) for about 3 hours and would like to make it work. I do not have a greenhouse. I do have the ability to have a few things in pots outside at home - tomatoes and chillies probably as they require regular attention. On the plot I plan to grow veg which need less intensive care/can be sown direct if possible. I’m thinking perhaps potatoes, onions, carrots & parsnips, beetroot, dwarf French beans, Swiss chard and perhaps buying leek and PSB seedlings. Any suggestions for others would be much appreciated. Strawberries? Squash? Or are they too thirsty?  I also usually grow some annuals for cut flowers eg cosmos, zinnias, cerinthe and hope I can still grow some if I buy plug plants instead of sowing seeds myself. I wonder which ones would be best to grow? What do you think? Does anyone else grow successfully with very little time?

[New shoot]

I have variable amounts of time on my plot, but have managed it even when doing full-time hours and pretty good commute.

You are on the right lines with the crops you are considering.  You need stuff that doesn't need a lot of faff and also won't go over if you don't get to pick it for a week, although a quick fly-by to pick strawberries should be do-able.  You can also uses mulches and weed control fabric to cut the work around crops.

Squash are very useful for keeping weeds down and are fine so long as you plant in a section of soil you have dug some decent compost or manure into.  A good weekly soak is usually OK.  I put wigwams of drying beans like borlotti beans in the mix and sweetcorn on the edges where I can get to it. 

Cabbage and lettuce is also quite useful if you have a netted area or a crop tunnel it can be kept safe under.  It needs little work and will happily get on with it.  Tomatoes are surprisingly good as well.  I grew Crimson Crush and Feline last year (both blight resistant) and got bags and bags of fruit.

For flowers I grow cosmos, sunflowers and dahlias,  Sweet peas can be a bit of a pain as they go to seed every 5 minutes, but I tried helichrysum last year and they were good.

I also have no qualms about buying seedlings if mine fail, or I haven't had time to sow them.  The garden centres have all the basics, but have a very boring selection of anything like squash, so it is worth growing your own seedings there.  Annual flowers will usually be cosmos, perhaps calendula and sunflowers, but zinnias and cerinthe might be hard to find.

Upshot is that you can still get a lot out of your plot, so don't feel you can't manage it 

[snowdrops]

Yes I 2nd mulches, I now do no dig & the difference in time spent weeding is amazing. Weed membranes in between crops or grow through it,good for squashes I found on top of a huge mound of manure/compost with holes for squash worked great. I also put bottomless 2 litre bottles in next to squash, beans,sweetcorn,cucumbers,tomatoes so that when I do water I water down to the roots & avoid evaporation. Even though I am now retired  & have chickens so go at least once a day, I still stick to those principles because it gives me time to mess with other stuff😂

[DHM]

We have a 6 rod family plot, 2 boys aged 4 and 6 (with another on the way), I work full time with a long commute, wife works part time. We normally aim to do an afternoon each weekend and can just about keep on top of it,  though in high summer I have a ride up on my bike to water on weekday evenings and occasionally do a full sunday if something big needs doing.

This year we're doing more fruit trees and bushes as they require less work, and growing fewer varieties of veg, just the stuff we eat a lot of.

Swiss Chard is good to grow as it requires virtually no maintenance, also rhubarb, potatoes, lettuces, flowers and khol rabi, all of which I grew without netting, support or much weeding.

[Potterer]

I’d definitely recommend the no dig approach! My allotment neighbours all comment on how few weeds I have on my 10 pole plot and suggest that I must spend every day up there. I dont at all. I do have weed suppressing membrane on my paths as I find this really keeps down the amount of maintenance I have to do. I find though that the time I have can be spent on more enjoyable things than constant weeding!

[Longshanks]

I grew tomatoes, jerusalem artichokes and sweetcorn through membrane last season. Hardly needed any watering, but I did use the plastic bottles trick too. Kale also requires little attention.

[greenjay]

don't be too hard on yourself.
if there are a few weeds, don't worry. a little bit of time hoeing each week will help greatly.
if crops have gone over, more for the compost heap.
you need to make sure you are still enjoying your plot, if it becomes a chore it might be time for a re think

[mrs bouquet]

Could you perhaps find a friend, colleague, neighbour,  somebody on the waiting list, who you can go halves with.   I know a few folk who do this and share the graft and the produce between them.  Mrs Bouquet

[Ema]

I’ve tried in previous years to set myself up for a simple year and always failed and got carried away with too many varieties.

Keep it to simple rows of the things you’ve listed. Winter squash are great because you can forget about them until all your summer crops are over.
Any spare ground you have try to hoe and then cover with membrane, cardboard or mulch until spring to save you weeding it twice.

[Flowertot]

Thanks very much for all your suggestions. Very helpful.