Share - offer land

There are more than 100,000 people on allotment waiting lists in England alone. That’s a lot of people looking for land to grow things. Do you have a spare bit of garden you’re not using and you’d like to share? Interested in getting some free fruit and veg in return? Or maybe you have acres and dream of a community farm?

Landshare arrangements can range from an individual sharing a patch of their garden to a national body such as the National Trust creating allotments for many people at grand sites across the country. Land is also shared by schools, companies and communities.

If you’re inspired by the idea of landsharing and want to find out more, take a look at the Landshare case studies to see how others have done it. If you do decide to share your land, here’s how to get started.

1) Sign up! First you need to create an account. You'll create a username and password which you can then use to log into the site at any time.

2) Fill in your profile with as much information as you can so that growers get a sense of who you are. If you're an organisation you can also create a profile for your organisation, which allows you to collate listings from your whole team, plan events, contact your members, and blog about your organisation's news.

3) Now post a listing saying where you are and what kind of plot you have to offer. If you have quite a lot of space, you can break this down into multiple plots. Please let us know how big each plot is. 

4) You can check for replies to your listing in your Console in My stuff. Keep checking your Console for new replies, and do make sure that you answer people who contact you. You will be notified by email every time you get a new offer or message. However, many email clients don't like automated emails, and send them straight to the junk mail folder or - worse - delete them completely! To make sure you receive notifications, add info@landshare.net to your address book, and check your junk mail folder.

5) Increase your chances of finding your perfect plot by regularly searching the Landshare map by postcode to spot new growers near you. When you find a listing that sounds suitable, you can invite that user to grow on your plot.

6) When a grower gets in touch, have a chat - then see where it goes. You can use My messages for this. These emails are kept separate from offers of land relating to your listing. Again, check these regularly and remember that it's courteous to reply.

7) Use our pro forma agreements to help you come to an arrangement with the grower.

8) When you've agreed your match, please remember to go back to your console to record your listing as matched! This helps us keep track of how much land is being shared, and also lets other growers know that your plot is no longer available.

9) Celebrate your new match by telling the community through our forums and by starting your own blog. You can also find us on Facebook and follow us on twitter to keep in touch.

10) Help others access more land. We realise that there's only so much land you can offer, but you could also help promote and take part in our campaigns to get more people growing their own food, and turn more unused land into growing spaces.

Have a look at our FAQs if you still have questions about how to start sharing land. If they don't answer your queries, please contact us for help