The first thing to decide before taking on an allotment is a private or council allotment. These two can be totally different. It’s always good to go and have a look around sites – preferably at weekends as plot holders will tend to be on site then. Sites can vary in price on a big scale. If you see a cheap plot don’t just say yes straight away! You need to know what exactly does the price include. For instance if it’s a council plot they may have standpipes with running water for you to fill up water butts. Then if it’s a private plot and it’s cheap it may not have running water and you may have to catch your own water and if you remember the year of 2018 when it did not rain all summer – where would you get your water from and how would you get it to the plot?