Your Slow & Soulful Allotment Starter Checklist

A gentle beginning for wild gardens and hopeful hearts.

1. Tools to Start With (Just the Essentials):

• A sturdy garden fork – for breaking through tangled ground without rushing it.

• Hand trowel & weeding tool – perfect for delicate work and stubborn roots.

• Secateurs or pruning shears – to make way for light, gently.

• A wheelbarrow or old trug – for carrying compost, weeds, and dreams.

• Gardening gloves – but feel free to take them off now and then. Soil tells stories.

2. First Steps to Take:

• Walk the plot slowly – observe before you act.

• Mark paths – use sticks, string, or even stones. These are your lines of intention.

• Clear one small section – don’t aim for everything, just one inviting corner.

• Start a compost pile – every good garden feeds itself.

3. Comforts to Keep Nearby:

• A flask of something warm – tea, coffee, nettle infusion. A ritual in your thermos.

• Notebook or garden journal – to remember what the soil says and the seeds you sow.

• A foldable stool or crate – for sitting and watching the sky between digging.

• Snacks. Always snacks.

4. Things to Plant in the First Season (Low-stress, High-reward):

• Herbs – chives, mint, rosemary. Scents that greet you kindly.

• Leafy greens – spinach, kale, lettuces—they thrive in cool beginnings.

• Courgettes or beans – they love to grow and forgive you if you’re late.

• Flowers – calendula, nasturtiums, cosmos. Beauty belongs here too.

5. Gentle Reminders Along the Way:

• You don’t have to do it all this year.

• Weeds are just misplaced enthusiasm.

• Rest is part of growing.

• This space is yours to tend, not perfect.

Enjoy the beauty in starting something this year that not only fill your table, but you soul.

Wishing you a year of hopes, dreams and a bounty of goodness,

The Fleur Kitchen