Notes from the veg patch
Dispatches from a UK allotment — what's growing, what's working, and the odd honest review — for anyone with a few veg beds to tend.
From the allotment
How I planted out sweetcorn into bone-dry soil
June baked my soil solid, so the corn went out with a trick borrowed from my potatoes: a bulb planter, a tape measure, and each hole filled with fresh compost. Late, honest, and working better than it has any right to.
The best raised beds for a UK garden or allotment
Best raised beds UK: how to choose between wooden, metal and tall raised planters, what depth and width actually matter, and the options worth your money — for vegetables, on any plot.
Cold frames & small greenhouses: how to extend your UK season
Best cold frames and small greenhouses UK: how a little glass or polycarbonate buys you weeks at both ends of the season, what to look for, and the options for any size of plot or budget.
The best water butts for a UK garden or allotment
Best water butts UK: what size you really need, how to set one up for good flow, and the options from slimline garden butts to big allotment tanks — so you're never caught out by a dry spell or a hosepipe ban.
The best compost bins for a UK garden or allotment
Best compost bins UK: dalek bins, hot composters, tumblers and wormeries compared — which suits your space and patience, what to look for, and how to turn kitchen and plot waste into free soil.
Heated propagators & grow lights: starting seeds early in the UK
Best heated propagators and grow lights UK: how to germinate chillies, tomatoes and more weeks ahead on a dim windowsill, what wattage and warmth you need, and the options for every budget.
Polytunnels for an allotment: are they worth it, and what to look for
Best polytunnels UK: how a polytunnel transforms what you can grow, what size and cover to choose, anchoring against the wind, and the options from pop-up tunnels to walk-in frames.
The allotment tools I actually use, compared
A quick, honest comparison of the tools that earn their place on my plot — what each is for, roughly what it costs, and where to get it. No guff, just the kit I reach for.
Square-foot growing: more crops from every bed
How I planted my first beds the square-foot way — dividing each bed into a grid and sowing a different crop in every square. The simple tool that made it easy, and why it pairs so well with companion planting.
My first allotment summer, in pictures
A look back at my very first summer on the allotment — what grew, what surprised me, and a few honest things I'd tell anyone taking on a new plot.
Garden tubs and trugs: the most useful cheap kit on the allotment
You don't expect to love a plastic tub, but the flexible garden tub might be the most useful thing on my plot. Plus the proper veg trug for gathering the harvest.
The tools I'd actually buy first for a new allotment
You don't need much to start an allotment — and most of it is cheap. The handful of tools I'd buy first, the ones to add as you go, and the single upgrade worth saving for.
Haemmerlin wheelbarrow review: worth the upgrade after four years
My first wheelbarrow was free, cement-crusted and faithful. After four years I treated myself to a Haemmerlin puncture-free one — here's the honest story of both.
Why you need to get a watering lance for your allotment
A watering lance is a long metal wand for the end of your hose that puts water exactly where the plant needs it. Why it's better than a hose attachment, and the one we use.
Why a broadfork is the best tool for heavy clay soil
Why a wide broadfork turned heavy clay — and an awful lot of bindweed — into an enjoyable spring morning's work. An honest, first-hand review of the Terradix 5x300.
Planting out in a heatwave: what I learned the hard way
I planted marigold plugs in April during a hot spell, didn't visit for two days, and came back to find every single one had fried. Here is what happened, what I did differently the second time, and how to protect newly planted plugs when the weather turns unexpectedly warm.
How I planted my new potatoes this year (and why I used a bulb planter)
This year I used a bulb planter to put in my new potatoes — dug over with a fork, used the tool to make evenly spaced holes, popped them in and covered with compost. They are up and growing now. Here is how it went.
Meet Dot, the allotment cat
There is a cat on my allotment site who turns up whenever I am watering. I call her Dot, or sometimes Baby. The best gardening companion I never asked for.
June on the allotment: what is in the ground right now
Everything is out. Tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, sunflowers, potatoes. The marigolds are in for the second time. The strawberries are losing the battle with the slugs. A full account of where the plot is at the start of June.
Tumbling Ted: from bare roots to full bloom in two seasons
I planted Tumbling Ted in April last year — bare roots from Farmer Gracy — because I wanted something that would tumble over the front of the new planter and not need much watering. Here is what the two seasons looked like.
Potting on tomato seedlings: when to do it and how
Tomato seedlings look fine and then suddenly look desperate. Here is when to move them on, how deep to bury the stem, and how to get them ready for life outside.
How to prepare allotment beds for planting
The work that happens before anything goes in the ground — clearing, digging, raking down to a seed bed, and keeping weeds off beds that are not ready to plant yet.
May on the allotment: what I am doing right now
May is mostly labels in the ground and faith. The beds are prepared, things are sown, the tomatoes are hardening off on the path. Here is where the plot is at.
What I actually harvested from my allotment this year
A full breakdown of everything I grew and harvested from a UK allotment in one season — from the first strawberries in June to the last pumpkins in October. Real numbers, real photos, honest assessment.
The easiest fruit to grow on a UK allotment
You do not need an orchard to grow fruit. Strawberries, raspberries, and rhubarb are some of the easiest and most rewarding things you can grow on a UK allotment — here is how to get started with your first fruit crops.
Companion planting with marigolds: what actually worked
I planted marigolds around every raised bed on my allotment last year. Here is what they actually did for pest control, pollination, and making the plot look incredible — with photos throughout the season.
Growing tomatoes on a UK allotment: from windowsill to harvest
A real season of growing tomatoes on a UK allotment — starting seeds on the windowsill, planting out after the last frost, and harvesting buckets of cherry tomatoes by August. With photos from every stage.
Monthly sowing guides
2026
What to sow in July
What to sow in July in the UK — 11 crops to start this month, with varieties, timing, and honest growing tips.
What to sow in June
What to sow in June in the UK — 11 crops to start this month, with varieties, timing, and honest growing tips.
What to sow in May
What to sow in May in the UK — 28 crops to start this month, with varieties, timing, and honest growing tips.
What to sow in April
What to sow in April in the UK — 37 crops to start this month, with varieties, timing, and honest growing tips.
What to sow in March
What to sow in March in the UK — 38 crops to start this month, with varieties, timing, and honest growing tips.
What to sow in February
What to sow in February in the UK — 16 crops to start this month, with varieties, timing, and honest growing tips.
What to sow in January
What to sow in January in the UK — 1 crops to start this month, with varieties, timing, and honest growing tips.