Beryl wrote:Nothing anyone has said has convinced me it is right to sell produce from an allotment for personal gain or profit.
As John said if you sign an agreement you should stick by it or seek to change it through the proper channels.
The reasons these days why people take up allotments is varied and as I said before the sale to friends and family to cover expenses I have no objection to but when it comes to growing for the intention to make profit I take exception. If you want to do that the there are other ways.
I indeed have a large surplus easch year of which I either give away or use to make chutney and jams for charity. Nothing is wasted, however, I grow it and it's mine to do with as I choose even if I choose to compost. I can honestly say in all my years of gardening I have never ever sold anything for my own personal gain.
When does growing and selling for profit from an allotment become a business? and I wonder what would the tax man think about it.
Beryl.
If you can afford to give so much away then you are blessed indeed in these hard times.
And probably in a minority.
Life has changed radically since 1950. It takes more than fruit and vegetables to feed and care for a family in 2011.
Those allotment rules were made in and for post war Britain when food was still rationed; the era I grew up in and we were still "digging for victory". The allotment movement was a vital part of post-war recovery.
So it is surely time the rules were updated to reflect this change.
And fair play, as they say here in Ireland, to those who choose to work hard to grow etc maybe rather than apply for public money.
Or to give their children more than basics.
The difference between what you call "profit" and "charity" is a very narrow and doubtful one. We sell for profit and we choose to give that profit away. It is still growing for profit. Money is changing hands. If you are legalistic of course...
poles but some are let as half plots and some as double plots. There is one 40 pole plot vacant at present.
