The Good, the Bad and the Sad .....

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Monika
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To start with the Good: we have been eating and freezing our first peas (Hurst Greenshaft), broad beans (de Monica), courgettes (Zucchini), beetroot (Boltardy), kohlrabi (Olivia - highly recommended!!) and broccoli (Marathon) this weekend, and jolly tasty they were, too. All these were grown in our well-watered garden rather than on the allotment.

The Bad: having totted up our rainfall total for June now, the result is: 14.5mm for the whole of June, so the total for May and June is 31.8mm, just about 1.5 inches, following on from a not very wet April either (we did not get any of the 'mother of all thunderstorms' downpours here). The peas on the allotment are just starting to flower but the leaves are going yellow, the broadbeans have set but are not filling, the leeks are flagging, the runner and dwarf beans are at a standstill, the courgettes are setting but look almost shrivelled...... Even the sweet peas are half the height they should be and their stems are short. We have tried to water them all, prioritising the peas, beetroot, Florence fennel and brassicas, but lugging between 30 and 40 watering cans at every session is not the easiest for two octogenarians.

And finally the Sad: after a lot of consideration, we have decided to give up our allotment after this summer. We have had it for 35 years when we opened up a piece of weed-overgrown corner of a field by double digging it which took 12 months. Since then, the original area of eight full size allotments has been transformed into about 16 or 18 half and quarter size plots with a small communal garden in the centre. In addition to this season's weather difficulties, there are usually just the two of us at home and when my OH gives up driving, as he is planning to do in the near future, it would be difficult for us carry full seedling trays, compost, etc from home to the allotment at the other end of the village. There IS a waiting list and we hope that whoever takes on our plot, they will get as much produce, pleasure and exercise from it as we have down over the 35 years!

Sorry about this long story, but I thought you kind folks ought to know!
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oldherbaceous
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Dear Monika, it is wonderful stories like this, that keep the forum ticking over, to be the lovely place that it is.....so thank you for posting it!

It must have been a tough decision for you both to give up the allotment but, i'm sure you will have made the right one. Far better to give it up when the plot still looks nice, then if it had started to get away from you.

There is one thing I hope, though, and that is you still keep posting your interesting posts.....
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

There's no fool like an old fool.
robo
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Sad day Monika you have obviously thought it through but please make sure you are certain it's the right move
Westi
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Hi Monika!

I understand totally but could you keep a wee bit of the plot & just self sow? I'm only saying as after 35yrs you will be void of a space & there will be something you can't fit in at home that you want? I'm sure the new plot holder won't mind / know they have a bit less space & will appreciate your guidance!
Westi
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Primrose
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I'm sad for you about the allotment Monika . After having had it so long it must have been a huge part of your life. However, the reality is that getting backwards and forwards without a car does make things very difficult . I'm sure whoever inherits your plot will be fortunate to have such a fertile well maintained patch.

I think West makes a good point though. . Is there any way you could keep one foot in the door there by just keeping a small strip of your plot for overflow plants or a few special space hogging plants which you don't have room for in your garden? Things like potatoes, courgettes and winter squashes are space joggers so might mean you wouldnt have to weed so often (said she hopefully)

You're fortunate that you still appear to have space for some vegs in your garden so won't be totally deprived of your hobby. I would imagine it would be very hard in Spring to feel your sap rising and not to have anywhere to grow a few favourite vegetables. It would almost feel like cutting off your right arm after such a long growing history.

However, there's no doubt that growing vegs in your garden is an easier option as you get older. I find ai can just pop,out for the odd half hour, dig or weed a little then easily pop indoors for a cup,of tea and a rest. It,s all about learning to,pace yourself so that you're still able to continue to do the things you enjoy.

I wish you and your husband many more happy growing years, albeit perhaps on a more modest level. And please dont desert us on the forum. We all enjoy your valuable and interesting contributions.

I still remember years ago you kindly posted me some of your celeriac seedlings in a carefully wrapped moist package. You got me growing them for several years but I,m ashamed to admit that that despite my persistence I,ve still never been able to grow anything bigger than the size of a tennis ball! Such is life !
Monika
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Thank you for your kind words and suggestions. I don't think I would like a corner of our allotment because it would remind me too much of the 'old days' there! And, yes, Primrose, I remember sending the celeriac seedlings and
you reciprocating with some everlasting onions which are still growing on the allotment!

There is, by the way, a rather pleasant 3-minute film about our allotment on Youtube. Just put in "A North Yorkshire Allotment" and it pops up. The first half is about our site in Embsay, the second half the site in our twin village Eastby.
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Primrose
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Oh, do we have a film star in our midst? Must watch. Are you wearing your best gardening outfit ????

Gosh those onions really are everlasting. They're quite difficult to get hold of. Maybe take a clump home to keep them going in your garden for Old Times Sake !!
Monika
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Oh no, no, Primrose. I have no idea who filmed it and there no people on it, just allotments and pleasant surroundings.
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Geoff
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Very smart allotments - what a pity you have to give it up.
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retropants
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Dear Monika, it is sad, I understand your position completely. My parents are moving to Dorset (from Middlesex) and after 27 years, we will be giving up our plot at the end of the year as well. I have mixed feelings, however, the universe might be telling us to leave. Our greenhouse blew down, completley smashed, in Feb, and then there was the garlic/sweetcorn theft a couple of weeks ago. My parents have a veg plot at the new house, and if I can sell my delapidated, but beloved old Triumph Herald soon, then I can convert that bit of the end of the garden to a small patch so that I can keep going at home. None of us has the energy any more (we have 4 plots in a square) and the bindweed is extremely prolific this year. I am sure you will enjoy the veg growing at home, and you'll be able to keep a better eye on things too. All the best for your gardening future x
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Primrose
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It does seem that several of us are starting to feel the ageing process creep up on us and those who grow on allotments have the dispiriting circumstances of crop theft to contend with as well which is particularly demoralising.

Our allotment went long ago sadly as a result of theft and vandalism so I've managed for many years just growing in the garden. I converted the front garden borders from shrubs to useful soft fruit bushes & strawberries which has worked successfully , and the back garden has a rectangular veg plot and a vegetable border which are grown quite intensively.

My longer term plan is that if I get too creaky in future years , the vegetable patch will have to grassed over. The border will still be adequate for growing a few tomato plants, some climbing beans, a few lettuces and the statutory courgette and cucumber plant.

However geriatric I may get, I still want to have a small vegetable growing area to give me the motivation to get out of bed and do something useful outdoors on a spring morning when the sun is shining!

Onwards and upwards folks. Hopefully we,ve still got a good few growing years left in us all yet !
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35 years is a very impressive effort.
We have been on our plot for just a dozen and we feel like residents. Sadly several of the even-longer term gardeners on our set of plots have left, one having passed the age of 90 (and his parents had that plot before him), another died (but in his 80s) and his neighbour gave hers up aftre over a quarter of a century.
But I think you get stayers and the transient, some stick it and others realise they can not really manage.
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
Daveswife
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Hi Monika,

It is good to step back and take the time to ponder what we do. Whatever "it" might be, do we do it because we always have? What do we particularly enjoy about it and is there an easier way to achieve that? How will we manage when we can't do it so well, or perhaps not do it at all? Eventually decisions have to be made, and better sooner than later.

You have had some incredible years on your allotment and a great yield already this year. Is it better to struggle on for another year or more and leave behind something overgrown and neglected? No, I don't think so.

And you are not giving an interest in gardening; there are plenty of local garden clubs and interest groups, so you can still enjoy the banter and share your wealth of experience.

Enjoy the rest of this year's crops, be proud of the hard slog that got your allotment to the fertile plot it became, and raise a glass of something and say "cheers" to 35 brilliant years. And look forward to a time of change.

Best wishes to you both.
Angie
Monika
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Thank you for those kind words, Daveswife. We always promised ourselves we would not want the allotment to become a chore but remember it as pleasure, and so it is. Luckily, we do have a vegetable patch at home (lots of produce there already this year) and I hope to grow more stuff in pots, too. We WILL miss the allotment, no doubt, but we are looking forward to close cropping the garden beds and pots ....
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Primrose
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Monika, tending your vegetables in the garden will undoubtedly be easier - no lugging of tools and seedlings to the allotment to be planted out, and little bursts of 15 minutes or so can be usefully fitted in between other chores which would otherwise have been used up in commuting. Not to mention the lack of queues for the onky available allotment tap in dry periods.

You will still get the fresh air and the exercise but also hopefully a little more time to sit back and smell the roses!
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