Allotment Plot Plan

What this sheet is for

Get the plot down on paper to a consistent scale, so bed lengths, seed quantities and next year's rotation can be worked out in the warm.

Who it is for

Allotment holders, community garden plot holders and anyone laying out a kitchen garden or raised beds.

How to use it

1. Decide what one square stands for and write it in before you draw anything.
2. Sketch the fixed things first — paths, shed, water, compost, fruit and hedges.
3. Number each bed on the plan and list it in the bed key underneath.
4. Fill in the rotation table over the page with your own groups and your own order.

What is on the sheet

The layout is fixed at a size that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the A4 and Letter files are visually identical and print at full size on either. Rows are set at a height that an adult can actually write a date and a few words into with a pen — most printable tables are built in a word processor and never tested with one.

Questions

How big should one square be?

Whatever suits your plot — a metre, a yard, a foot, or half a bed. The only thing that matters is that it is the same square all the way across the plan and that you have written down what it stands for.

What should go in the rotation table?

Your own groups, in your own order. Four columns are printed because a four-year cycle is a common way to lay one out, but how many years to run and which crops move together is something growers and guidance disagree about — so the table is blank and holds whatever you actually do.