Plot-share is a private arrangement between a person who has growing space they're not using and a person who wants to grow but doesn't have enough (or any) land. In Ireland, where council allotment waiting lists run to 10 years and private gardens are often underused, it's a direct and practical solution to a structural mismatch.
It's not a new idea — land-sharing arrangements have existed in Ireland for as long as people have grown food. What's changed is that platforms like Homegrown.ie make it easier to find a match and formalise the arrangement, rather than relying entirely on who you happen to know.
Who Has Growing Space to Share?
The supply side of plot-share is more varied than people expect. Typical landowners include:
Suburban homeowners with large or underused gardens
Many Irish homes — particularly those built pre-1980 — have substantial rear gardens of 100 m² or more. When children have grown up, or when owners no longer have the time or inclination to grow food, a significant section of that space often becomes unused lawn. A grower taking on a 30–50 m² section costs the homeowner nothing in maintenance and typically pays €100–€250/year. The homeowner gets a maintained growing space, some produce, and often a more interesting garden.
Rural landowners and farmers with spare headlands or field corners
Farm margins, headlands at field edges, and small corners near farm buildings are often too awkward to plough and too small to be worth managing separately. For a grower who wants a larger plot (100–200 m²), these spaces offer excellent options — typically at lower cost than suburban gardens because land is less constrained. The farmer gets a small rental income and someone who cares for a corner of the property that was otherwise unmanaged.
Churches and religious organisations
Many Catholic parishes in Ireland own substantial grounds around their church buildings — walled gardens, grassy areas, glebe land. These often sit unused. Some are being offered for community growing; others can be arranged privately. Arrangements with parish bodies tend to be lower-cost or free in exchange for maintenance and/or produce donation.
Schools and community organisations
School grounds, sports club facilities, and community centre lands increasingly have dedicated growing areas or are open to growing arrangements. These are often set up as community garden-style arrangements (collective labour, shared produce) rather than individual plot rentals, but some schools do offer individual plot arrangements.
Other private landowners
Holiday properties with large gardens, commercial properties with unused land, derelict sites awaiting planning — the variety is wide. If it has soil, sun, and access to water, it's potentially growable space.
What Does a Typical Arrangement Look Like?
Most Irish plot-share arrangements have these elements:
The space
A defined area — typically marked out with string, stakes, or a simple fence — within the landowner's property. The grower has exclusive use of this space. The size varies from a 20 m² raised bed section in a suburban garden to a 200 m² field corner.
Access
The grower has agreed access to the space — usually through the landowner's property. Access hours are typically flexible ("any reasonable time") or agreed in advance ("weekends plus one or two evenings per week"). Good arrangements specify access clearly — knowing you can visit at 7pm on a weekday makes a real difference to how consistently you'll tend the plot.
Rent
Most arrangements involve a modest annual rent. Typical ranges in 2026:
| Space type | Typical size | Annual rent |
|---|---|---|
| Suburban back-garden section | 20–50 m² | €80–€250 |
| Large garden plot | 50–100 m² | €150–€400 |
| Farm headland / field corner | 100–200 m² | €150–€400 |
| Church / school grounds | Varies | Free to nominal — often produce/maintenance swap |
Some arrangements are structured as produce-sharing instead of (or alongside) cash rent — the landowner gets a share of the harvest in exchange for free or reduced-rent access to the space. This works well when the landowner is interested in the produce but doesn't want to do the growing themselves.
Term
Most arrangements run on a growing-season basis (April–October) or an annual basis. The grower pays at the start of the season; both sides can choose not to renew. Some longer-standing arrangements run indefinitely with an annual notice period on either side.
What's typically included (and not)
| Usually included | Sometimes included | Usually not included |
|---|---|---|
| The land itself (exclusive use) | Water access (tap or hose) | Tools (bring your own) |
| Agreed access hours | Shed / storage space | Seeds and compost |
| Polytunnel use | Insurance or liability cover | |
| Compost heap / manure |
Is It Legal?
Yes. A private growing arrangement — where a landowner licenses a grower to use part of their land for food growing in exchange for rent — is entirely legal in Ireland. It doesn't require planning permission (the use of land for growing food doesn't constitute development under the Planning Acts for personal/residential use). It doesn't require special licencing or registration.
The landowner should be aware that rental income from the arrangement is technically taxable (though at the amounts involved, the annual €600–€800 income tax exemption for renting out a room doesn't apply to land rental — it's treated as rental income). In practice, most small plot-share arrangements are treated as nominal income and a standard short-form land licence is sufficient. Our tax and legal guide covers this in detail.
What to Look For in a Good Arrangement
When you're matched with a landowner, here are the questions worth asking before committing:
- How much sun does the space get? Ask for an east-west orientation — morning shade from a wall or hedge can significantly limit what you can grow. Most vegetables need 6+ hours of direct sun.
- What's the soil like? Ask if the space has been grown on before, and what. Heavy clay soil is workable but you'll need to invest in compost and possibly raised beds. Find out if there's any history of chemical use.
- How is water accessed? See above — it's non-negotiable.
- What can I build or install? Can you put up raised beds, a simple polytunnel frame, a compost bin? Get clarity before you spend money on infrastructure.
- Who's responsible for the boundary? If the space is adjacent to a neighbour's property, who maintains the fence or hedge?
- What happens to permanent improvements? If you build raised beds, do they revert to the landowner at the end of the arrangement? This should be agreed upfront.
How to Find a Plot
The quickest route is to register on Homegrown.ie's find a plot page. Tell us where you are, what size you're looking for, and what you want to grow. We match your enquiry to relevant landowners in your area and introduce you directly. No in-platform fees, no commission — just an introduction.
Other routes:
- Local Facebook groups — "[Town/County] Growing / Allotment" groups often have landowners looking for growers
- Nextdoor — if your area has an active Nextdoor community, a post asking about growing space works surprisingly often
- Word of mouth — if you know someone with a large garden or farm, just ask. Most people are flattered and will say yes if the approach is respectful
- GIY local groups — Grow It Yourself has local groups across Ireland; members often know of available space before it gets widely advertised
Ready to find growing space near you?
Register your interest and we'll match you with a landowner nearby. No waiting list. Direct introduction. You arrange everything between yourselves.
Find a Plot →For Landowners: Should You List Your Space?
If you have growing space you're not using — a large back garden, a farm corner, grounds around a parish building — listing it is straightforward. The arrangement earns you a modest income (€100–€400/year), keeps the space maintained, and connects you with someone genuinely motivated to use it well. Most landowners who've done it describe it as one of the better things they've done for their property.
See our how to list a plot guide and our full landowner guide for detail on setting up and managing an arrangement.