This is a non-nappy thread, woo!

We live in a flat on the first floor so all we have is a teeny little balcony. I really miss the big garden at my mum's where I used to grow some veg and lots of herbs and stuff.

I was thinking of applying for an allotment because there are some about 5 mins walk from where we live. The waiting list is at least 6 months so it's something to plan ahead for. If I apply now, the baby would be 6 months or older when I got it. By then I'll probably be back at work but only for 12-15 hours a week.

Do you think it's reasonable to try starting an allotment from scratch with a 6 month old and working part-time? If we had a garden, I would just do what I could with it but I'd feel guilty if I got an allotment and then didn't use it properly.

I don't know, I guess it depends on how much you want to do it at the time! You could take your 6 month old with you, would be good for her to be outside. And it would be spring, so nice time for planting stuff, and you would have veg ready for your baby to eat. All sounds good!

I was thinking about getting an allotment too, I made a tiny vegetable garden earlier on this year but my chickens messed it up and ate everything so its wrecked. I would like to have somewhere where I could grow stuff properly! There are some near me,about 20 mins walk.

I think if you put the time and effort in it would turn out great and be really fun, I think would be hard work though.

We could have a gardening section on here!

I've got an allotment - but I share it with my mum, which is great! We took it over in August and it was covered in weeds, so we only dug over about 1/2 of it. I then feel pregnant and couldn't do as much during the summer as I wanted.

I would say that on the whole you need to spend at least a whole day a week working on it to keep on top - but this can be spread out - which does make it easier!! We have now organised the space so that we are having a grassed and fenced area for the LO when s/he is born/older so that I can work up the allotment and not worry as much about LO.

I would recommend trying to share it at first, because if you have a bad week, so have someone else who can help you out! Also I find working with someone else even if they are not doing anything (in these last few weeks I have just been up the allotment with my mum, doing a little weeding, but mainly talking and we've/she's got loads done!)

I love the veg that you get out of it, and can't wait to make my own baby food from it next year!!

I'm on the waiting list for an allotment now

They're a third of an acre, this sounds fairly big to me? Although I could grass a bit like k477 said and just have some of it for veg.

I'm all excited now! I have always had a veg garden but not on such a big scale!

i'm so tempted to get one too cant wait to hear how you get on

sara

xxxxxxx

Ooh I'd not thought of grassing a bit of it over! The flats we're in have lots of grass around but they're not very child friendly because people throw litter and walk their dogs here etc. The council keeps it pretty tidy but you never know what might be lurking. I'd love to make a bit for the baby to play on where I know she'd be nice and safe.

I'm not sure how allotments usually are when you get them... does anybody know? I'm hoping that I'd get one that the previous owner had looked after and I could just change little bits here and there to start with. Or does the council flatten the lot so you start with a clean slate?

I'm going to talk to hubby about it tonight and get my name down on a list. I can always say no thanks if they give it me too early. I think the allotments here are normally pretty big but I've read that you can request a half size one so might do that.

Yeah I could have a half size one if I wanted, I'm going to go see them so I can decide. I don't think the ones here are owned by the council, I think they're private. Cheaper than I thought though, it's only a tenner a year!

Wow that is cheap! I think it's about £50 a year here for an average size plot so still not bad. I thought it'd be really expensive. The bad news is that I last looked at the council website before I knew I was pregnant. Then there was a 6 month wait for the site I want but now it's gone up to a year There are a few round here though and you can apply for three at once so I hope I get lucky.

I hope you get one, my waiting list is a few months I think.

There is nothing to stop you just using half of it for now and using it all as the LO gets older. I grow my own veg but in the garden and I work ful time, I just added it into my rountine and it only takes a couple of minutes each day. The benefit of giving Jack home grow veg will be well worth it