Sophie Bramley
An allotment in Surrey can feel like a puzzle in your first year: the soil is heavy, frosts arrive at odd moments, and dry weekends are scarce. The trick is not to do everything at once, but to match jobs to the season and accept that British weather will rewrite your plans at least twice. Here is a calm, practical rhythm for the year, whether you have a full plot near the River Wey or a half-plot on the North Downs.
Spring: Wake the Plot Up Gently
From early March the ground begins to dry and the growing year opens. Guildford's clay holds water for a long time, so resist digging when the soil sticks to your boots — wait until it crumbles. Spread well-rotted compost over beds and let the worms work it in.
- March: chit seed potatoes on a cool windowsill, sow broad beans and early peas under fleece, and start tomatoes and peppers indoors.
- April: sow beetroot, carrots, radish and salad leaves in short rows, plant onion sets and shallots, and harden off anything raised inside.
- May: plant out courgettes, runners and sweetcorn once frost risk has passed — in the Wey valley that can mean late May, so keep fleece handy. Earth up potatoes as shoots appear.
Keep a notebook of what you sow and when. Surrey's microclimates vary hugely between a sunny south-facing plot and a frost pocket beside a hedge, and your own notes will soon beat any general guide.
Summer: Water, Weed, Repeat
Once the plot is full, your main job is keeping plants comfortable. Water deeply two or three times a week rather than little and often; shallow watering encourages weak roots and wastes time. Early morning is ideal, though evening works if that is when you can get there.
- Watering: focus on courgettes, beans, tomatoes, salads and new plantings. Mulch with grass clippings or straw to hold moisture in the clay.
- Weeding: hoe on a dry, sunny day so weeds wither on the surface, and hand-weed close to crops rather than risk cutting roots.
- Succession sowing: sow salad leaves, radish and beetroot every two to three weeks until July for a steady supply rather than a summer glut.
- Harvesting: pick courgettes daily, runner beans every few days, and tomatoes as they ripen. Regular picking keeps plants producing.
Watch for slugs after rain, pigeons on brassicas, and cabbage white butterflies from June. Netting and a torch-and-bucket patrol at dusk are quietly effective.
Autumn: Harvest, Clear and Feed the Ground
September and October are the plot's reward, but they also set up next year. Bring in tender crops before the first frost, which in Surrey can arrive any time from mid-October.
- Harvest: lift maincrop potatoes, dry onions and garlic, gather squash once skins harden, and pick the last beans.
- Clear: remove spent plants and brassica stalks rather than leaving them to harbour pests. Compost healthy waste and bin diseased material.
- Feed the soil: sow green manure such as field beans or grazing rye on empty beds, or spread manure and leave it for the worms.
- Plant ahead: garlic, overwintering broad beans and Japanese onions go in now for an early start next spring.
Under a cloche or cold frame, winter salad, spinach and land cress will keep you cropping into December.
Winter: Plan, Repair and Rest
Winter is less about growing and more about repairing, planning and catching up. Rain and frost will do much of the soil-improving work for you if you leave clay dug rough so the weather can break it down.
- Structure: mend fences, sheds and paths, clean tools, sharpen hoes and secateurs, and check water butts for leaks.
- Pruning: prune apples and pears while dormant, tidy soft fruit bushes, and cut autumn raspberry canes to the ground.
- Planning: sketch a simple rotation — brassicas, roots, potatoes, legumes — and order seeds before popular varieties sell out.
- Harvest: leeks, parsnips, kale, sprouts and purple sprouting broccoli keep the kitchen supplied through the coldest weeks.
Visit on dry days even when there is nothing to pick. A quick walk round keeps you in touch with what the weather is doing to your soil and your plans.
A Month-by-Month Shortlist
- January–February: plan rotation, order seed, chit potatoes, spread compost, prune fruit.
- March: sow broad beans and peas, prepare beds, start tomatoes indoors.
- April: sow roots and salads, plant onion sets, harden off seedlings.
- May: plant out tender crops, earth up potatoes, keep weeding.
- June–July: water and mulch, stake tomatoes, net brassicas, harvest daily.
- August–September: keep picking, clear early crops, sow green manure, plant garlic.
- October–November: bring in squash, lift potatoes, spread manure, plant overwintering beans.
- December: repair, plan, and harvest leeks and kale.
