[trogg]

Hi, At the moment I have half a plot which I grow only vegetables (toms in greenhouse) but I'm on a waiting list (4 years) at another allotment.
I think there is a good chance I'll be offered a full plot at the new allotment but want to keep my half plot at the other one as well.
So, my question is, I would like to grow fruit or stuff that doesn’t take a lot of maintenance on my half plot which is 2 miles away, and vegetables on my new plot (if I get it) which is only 5 minutes walk away, and easy to get to.
What is low maintenance ?

[Tohmahtae]

I wouldn't fancy managing  two allotments on seperate sites - thats like fighting a war on two fronts!

But you could grow alliums - onions / garlic on your half plot. These don't need much watering and take a little time to mature.
Alternatively you could grow all your tatties and follow these on with leeks.  

Edit: Just realised you meant fruit 

Plant some trees? But in the first year you would spend a lot of time watering any new trees you plant, nevemind protecting it and any other fruit from pests.

[zarazara]

I find that shallots and leeks and onions and rhubarb and gooseberry will all servive neglect and even do quite well!

[DD.]

You may chose low maintenance fruit & veg, but the weeds won't follow suit!

[Yorkie]

You'll need to double check whether there are any prohibitions against trees - they're very permanent and sometimes are thus not permitted...

Must say you're very lucky to be likely to be allowed a full plot in addition to a half plot.  I have 80 people on my waiting list and if people were given additional plots it would be double or triple that length.

[SG6]

Best to check if there are problems with a half plot that is fruit only. May be a rule saying you have to grow a certain proportion of veg.

I have some half standard goosberries and half standard redcurrants.
They get little care and seem to do quite well.

Other options are apples on M27, small rootball and small tree.
Columnar trees are available but no idea on the rootball size but several fruit varieties available, however at a cost.

As already mentioned rhubarb, but it does need manuring occasionally.
Autumn raspberries come to mind, they grow, fruit and you then chop them to ground level. So no great amount of thought necessary. They can spread however.

Blackcurrants are an option.

If you do go ahead I suggest a good couple of inches of mulch to suppress weeds and retain moisture. Possibly strips of weed membrane under the mulch to suppress weeds even more. Less work.

One problem is that the various varieties of birds will love a lot of the fruit.

[trogg]

Thank you for your thoughts and ideas, this is my first year on an allotment and it has been a big learning curve.
I don't grow any fruit on my half plot because I don't have room, but we as a family buy a lot of fruit, bananas, grapes, apples, strawberry’s and would buy more stuff like plums and raspberry’s, gooseberry’s etc but find it very  tasteless from the supermarkets.
It doesn’t have to be just fruit, just something that wouldn’t need dally attention, perhaps once or twice a week(watering, feeding etc).
Someone near me has 4 fruit trees caged into a quarter of his plot, so I don't think there will be a problem with trees but I will check.
I have to work during the day but I can get to the allotment just about every day in the evenings, however with having the two it would be difficult getting to both each day.
I suppose what it comes down too is, what needs watering the most and what can survive a few days in this weather we're having at the moment.
We have regular deliveries of wood chippings so this could be used as a mulch, just need to keep the birds off 

[paintedlady]

I have a half plot and a full size plot fortunately on the same site but at either ends so time-wise can still be problematic deciding which needs priority when some things clash - for example, I need to be on one plot to harvest or on the other to plant out etc.  I've been working the half plot some time and have permanent raised beds which helps a lot, the full size plot still work in progress as the soil needs a lot doing to it which is one of the reasons why I've kept the half plot for the moment  .  Raised beds mean I can deal with individual beds as needed, and footpaths are fitted with weed suppressant materials so that reduces how much time I need to deal with "non gardening" issues.  The full size plot is still work in progress for several reasons (location, soil needs serious improvement, rampant marestail, risk of flooding in winter so going for raised beds again which I need to collect material, construct and it all takes time, etc)

I decided to use the half plot for what I call "basics" - potatoes, onions, leeks, brassicas and root veg as these tend to get planted/sowed earlier or later in the year or (generally) have a longer growing season.  I also have an established asparagus bed which I harvest in spring/early summer.  I use the full size plot mainly for summer cropping fruit and veg and anything with a short season (fruit bushes such as currants, blueberries, gooseberries as well as tomatoes, peppers, sweetcorn, beans, peas, squash, courgettes, salad stuff etc) - apart from the fruit bushes and strawberries, most of the summer crops don't get planted out until after the frosts in late May which allows me to spend the early part of the year on the half plot preparing the beds for sowing and planting and getting on top of the weeds as they come up so that later on it just needs minimal maintenance and batch harvesting while I spend most of the summer growing season on the big plot with occassional visits to the half plot to keep an eye out, pick out the odd weeds I might have missed, harvest and plant out new crops.  I tend to grow overwintering crops (brassicas, garlic, overwintering onions, broad beans) on the half plot too but that's more to do with the possible flooding issues on the big plot.

In late autumn/winter weather permitting, I divide my time equally on both plots digging over and also removing perennial weeds such as marestail, bramble & bindweed, and digging in manure etc and creating raised beds.  So although time-wise and stress levels do admittedly peak by mid-late June, generally I spread the workload throughout the year otherwise I don't think it would be possible to cope with both plots.  As the big plot had not been cultivated in years (before waiting lists, it was not that desirable because of its location so had become a wilderness), I used weed suppressant materials a lot and planted stuff through it such as the squash - black plastic/material warm up the soil so is also beneficial for summer crops, and mulching also helps to retain moisture in the soil during dry periods.  As time goes on, these are gradually being removed as the soil and beds improve.

Apart from keeping on top of weeds, the weather can play a big part too - this year's cold spring meant delaying the sowing/planting out on the half plot which has had a knock on effect on how much time I could spend on the big plot before planting stuff out.  Though not as bad as some parts of the country, not enough rain has meant having to visit both plots regularly to water the crops.  The torrential rains we'd had about a month ago had encouraged a lot more weeds to unexpectedly germinate and grow on both plots which needed attention.  The recent heatwave has meant some fruit & veg have matured or ripened earlier than expected so once again my "plans" have had to change to deal with those.  And don't forget the pests & diseases that can create havoc in your absence .... what I'm trying to say is that you'll need to be flexible with your time and allow for things to "go wrong" and deal with them!  When it comes to growing your own, I don't presume anything to be "low mainteance".

I think the most important thing is organisation and planning - soil preparation (does it need liming or manure), what to grow and where, when to sow/plant out, when to harvest.  I grow my own to be self sufficient so I grow a lot of stuff in batches which either go for long term storage (eg potatoes, winter squash, garlic, onions, shallots etc) or for freezing/drying/preserving for year round eating as well as fresh fruit & veg for the table.  Which brings up another point - putting time aside to deal with the harvesting and preserving.  Sometimes it can feel like a full time job but well worth it in my opinion.

Although I feel as though I've painted a daunting picture, I really wanted to let you know that it can be done so long as you are aware what you are getting yourself in to.  I know your original question was "what is low maintenance" but I've found seasonal as described above seems to be the way to go 

[trogg]

Thank you for that detailed reply paintedlady, when I got my plot it was very overgrown, mostly couch grass and mares tail and took me months to get it right.

I also have raised beds which makes things easier, and to be honest I recon I've spent at least 75% of my time scratching my head and generally killing everything I've tryied to grow  , so next year will be a lot easier for me.

I was thinking perhaps 3 or 4 apple trees, 3 or 4 plum trees, a row of gooseberry, raspberry, black/redcurrant and blackberry bushes, in the greenhouse I could grow a grape vine.

We love strawberries, and could probably plant an eighth of the plot with these, but I think these would need a little more looking after.

The above would probably fill my half plot and I think once established they would not need daily watering, I've yet to see anyone watering their fruit bushes.

Anyway I've yet to be offered the full plot yet, it might be next year, but I like to think I'll be ready for it, and only being a 5 minute walk away I could get down there in the morning before work as well as after.

Now, does anyone know where I can bulk purchase fruit bushes from ?   

[Dominic]

I have a mix of currants and berries, they dont requre any effort but the odd water when its dry and harvesting.

I dont think there should be a problem with you having 80 blackcurrants, but other plot holders might.

If your allowed trees, I got 20 odd cherries this year from three trees planted two years ago, those £6 ones from TESCO.
Hopefully they'll grow a lot more and I'll get 20,000 in a decade or so.

[gypsy]

Why not make another family happy by letting them have the half plot? Keep the waiting lists down.

[trogg]

Thanks Dominic, I've been having a think, and whether or not I get this other plot I've decided to grow more berries and currents next year.
Might not bother with trees for the time being, or maybe get some dwarf varieties, but not cherries, I don’t think i could wait that long .
So, all in all I'm looking at fruit bushes, potatoes and maybe some brassicas, I think I could get away with watering them once or twice a week.

Why not make another family happy by letting them have the half plot? Keep the waiting lists down.

I agree in what your saying gypsy, and I'm surprised that more people haven’t said the same, but in my defence the half plot i have is nowhere near big enough to grow the vegetables we want and if you add to that the fruit then I think even a full sized plot wouldn’t be big enough.
But, if after a year with having them both, I find I’m not using them to there full potential or I don’t have the time i will give one of them up.
What annoys me is that over half the plots on my site are under used, people are growing things they are never going to eat, like pumpkins for a competition or because they grow rampant over half the plot so it looks like all the plot is being cultivated, and flowers, not just to attract bees or deter flies but whole gardens complete with benches pergolas, gazebos, table and chairs  :blink:, I'm not against anyone personalising their plot but some of them I would say use less than 25% for growing anything useful.

oops, better get off my high horse now