[Sadgit]

this is a massive problem for me... I prob spend no more than 3-4 hrs a week at the moment, hence it is a weed jungle and I am gutted about the lack of time I can get there.. was there on Sat for 3 hrs and all I did was dig out the grass that has grown thanks to the rain..

[crowndale]

I'm a bit like you sadgit at the moment.  when it was just one foster bub it was easier, and even better when she still slept for 2-3 hours at a time!  Have had 2 bubs for a month and its played havoc with the weeds as I only got down a couple of times a week and then only for 30 mins or so.  but am back to one bub so am hoping for more time now, but her naps are much shorter and she isn't the most self entertaining baby I've ever met!.  spent 4 hours the other day when I'd sent foster bub to a respite carer and had a few hours to kill before heading to london to see a show.

[yummy]

It varies alot for me. I'm currently on holiday from work so go there everyday, sometimes twice a day.  

There are times when work is so manic that I struggle to get there and 3 weeks can pass without my setting foot on the plot  :cry:

[Bombers]

I guess I spend at least 4-5 hours per week. But then if as in a few weeks ago, I miss a weekend, then I will pay for it for the next 2-3 weeks, in weeding time! :roll: I've only got a half plot, so double that for a full one!)

[John]

Whilst I pop down to mine whenever the weather is good or the ground is workable I copied an extract from an old gardening book many years ago and the following is the time they estimated for working a 300 square yard plot. It is difficult to work out how much time I spend on my allotment as I spend a fair amount of time talking!

November 21 hours
December 33 hours
January 10 hours
February 12 hours
March 20 hours
April 25 hours
May 35 hours
June 30 hours
July 35 hours
August 35 hours
September 40 hours
October 25 hours
November 21 hours
December 33 hours

The interesting thing about the above is that the year starts in November and not the spring!

That's fascinating - whoever wrote that knew his stuff.

Especially seeing how September is the busiest month

[compostqueen]

I wish I could spend all my time there. I hate it when I have to work as I'm missing out on plotting time.  I get very ratty when I can't get there for days on end

When you don't get their often enough all you do is play catch up with the weeds and planting and future planning are abandoned just to keep on top of things     I'm worrying now as nothing in the wings for winter, cept leeks and celeriac  :roll:

[littlelisa]

I have a small plot only 5 rods, which is 150 squ yards.

In the summer when things are "happening" I spend about 12 - 15 hours there per week ( some of those hours are Worzel's).

Less time in the winter and more spasmodic.

Ditto for me - 2-3 hours every other day, on a 5-rod plot. That's meant everythings happened quite slowly - I've had to clear weeds gradually over the months, and plant fairly slowly, so compared to my neighbours' plots, mine is a little messier, with a smaller variety of stuff growing, but it's as much as I can do.

I think it's a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" sort of question. The minimum you can probably get away with is about 10 hours a week, I should think. FOr folks that have jobs, children etc, fitting even that in can be tricky. But at the other end of the scale are the retired folks that spend every day all day there. Many of my allotment neighbours are older, retired people. One guy has a tiny fraction of a plot; seems to be there every day; produces tons of vegetables and gives most of it away cos he doesn't like cooking anyway - just likes gardening!

[John]

One thing I do come across a lot is the person who takes on a plot and thinks they can have it looking great and being productive by popping down for a couple of hours at the weekend.
Then there's the other side of the retired person who almost lives there - hence the question.
It's fascinating seeing the replies.

[matron]

We are lucky as our plot is only a 2 minute walk from home. We keep our chickens down there and so go down twice a day and check the growing and what needs watering. On a week end we usually spend between 3 and 5 hours a day. When I have days off or annual leave during the week I will spend a couple of hours most days there.
As someone else said - it is far cheaper than going out and much more fun. You can't beat then going home and cooking and eating what you have grown. 'Just off to dig potatoes for tea' is a commonly heard in our house.    

[cawdor2001]

My missus is not interested in the plot at all    (eats the produce though!) so difficult to spend all weekend there, usually i take our 2 boys down on a Saturday for about 4-5 hours and then i try to get down for a couple of hours or so in the week if possible.  I took it on last year and spent a lot of time over the Autumn and Winter getting the plot sorted out and ready for the season ie. laying slab paths to save time mowing, weeding, setting up compost boxes, water containers etc.  Also i try to save weeding time where possible by using weed cover for sweetcorn/squashes/courgette/fruit etc.  I find if i plan what i am going to do before i get there each time then i can achieve a lot in less time, this time of year it has been weeding and harvesting.  I am getting on top of perennial weeds ie bindweed/thistles/couch by using roundup when i can.  

So after that ramble i would say 8 hours max a week which i find is just about enough to keep up but could do with another 4 hours really.  I don't get any time for relaxing when there i work like hell and must lose 1/2 stone in sweat.  

Hey i am lovin it though  


Cawdor

[cynthialilly]

Muddifoot, I agree with you when you said it is a great way of saving fuel money.  Since school has closed, my daughter and I spends at least 40hrs a week on them (we have 2 large plots), it is normally more like 20hrs/pw during term-time.  This gives us plenty of time to not only weed, harvest, and plan but also to socialize with the other plot-holders who are mostly our neighbours.  What really annoys me is having a plot-holder on one side of my plot, who does about 2 hours at most a week and then she has the audacity to complain that the weeds are taking over her plot.  If you haven't the time to invest in maintaining a plot, stick to growing a few veggies in your garden until you have the time to commit because all you end up doing would be to cause more work for those who work hard at keeping their plots weed-free.

[Yabba]

hmmm, my situation's a tad unusual as our "plot" is in the corner of a field where I spend pretty much every afternoon looking after the odd dahlia ( about 600 of them ) ... I think I must work in the best office in the world

This means that I get to spend a good 4 hours a day 5 / 6 days a week ( 7 days a week when showing season starts in early september ) mooching around our plot and my better half the Almighty Victoria ( *bows* ) comes down a couple of afternoons a week as well.

Next year though we're cutting back on the number of dahlias that we grow so that we can spend some much needed time on building work/renovations to the small greenhouse... the dahlias take quite a bit of looking after ... so I'm going to be using the empty beds for growing veg ... chances are that I'll be spending a lot more hours a day down there


I tend to do less hours during the off-season ( december to about march ) ... which is a good job really, as I'm meant to be programming for a living and not playing with flowers :roll:

¥

[Yorkie]

I have a small plot, just under 150 sq yards.  I probably spend no more than 10 hours a week there.

I could do more work, like dig out all the couch grass, but I'm enjoying being on top of it for the first time in a few seasons.

[johnhar]

i am quite surprised how much time people spend on the plots per pole of land that they cultivate
i reckon that this time of the year i spend about 10 hours a week on my plot plus about 12 hours on the garden at home. in the spring & late autumn this figure probably goes up to 20 & 15. granted i have the help of a good machine for the plot , its a honda 660 fitted with a fm46 rotor unit
so i can go over the ground with either engine over tillers (like a merry tiller) or put the unit on and it becomes a self propelled machine like a howard, makes life alot easier

 

[Tugster]

At 1st I spent hours every day down there as it was a mess, but now its all nice. About 2 hours an evening and atleast 1 full day at weekends if my wife will let me. To be honest most of my time is spemt gassing to the other people and not doing what I am ment to be doing!!