Allotment coaching is a bit different from garden coaching because it tends to focus just on productive plants – vegetables, fruit and cut flowers. I’m not saying you can’t grow all those things in your back garden at home, but if you have just got an allotment and want some help getting to grips with how to lay it out, identify any existing crops and plan your first season of growing – then this type of coaching could be right for you.
The coaching sessions have the same sort of structure as for a garden at home. I’ll come to your allotment with you and we’ll spend an initial first two hour session getting to know the site and talking about what you want to achieve. I’ll follow up this session with a written summary of what we discussed, and then you can book follow up sessions as and when you need them.
What’s the benefit of this type of coaching? Well, you can make lots of mistakes when you first start out on an allotment. With an overgrown and neglected site it can be quite overwhelming to know where to begin. I’ll help you decide what to do first, plan your first season, decide what to grow where, and choose what equipment and materials to buy. I’ve had two allotments, each with different challenges, but both were completely overgrown and neglected when I first got them. I’ve also taught vegetable growing to community groups and schools. So I have had lots of practice at creating super productive plots and I’m happy to share that knowledge with you.
And growing cut flowers on your allotment is just as much fun as growing vegetables – the general principles are the same. Give the plants the right conditions and care and they will grow! You can grow new flowers from seed every year, and also create a permanent bed of bulbs and perennials to cut flowers from throughout the growing season.