Kitchen Garden Forum

I've just read a letter in the latest issue of KG mag page 29 saying that those who have more than one allotment plot are selfish and it would be a nice gesture if they gave one up.

As someone with more than one plot I think I deserve a right of reply.

We took our first allotment plot in the 1980's after which time the site became gradually less occupied and plots became overgrown so we many existing plot holders took on additional plots. The council were considering changing the status of the land so if many of us hadn't taken on multiple plots the site would have disappeared.

The site wouldn't have been available to offer plots now growing your own is fashionable if existing plot holders hadn't kept it going. We gardened when no-one else wanted an allotment. When people found out that you grew fruit and vegetables in your spare time they looked at you strangely!

If you want to see the state of plots that we took on visit
http://glallotments.co.uk/banda.aspx and http://glallotments.co.uk/PlottersClearingplot41.aspx

Lots of time effort and expense has been devoted to our plots to get them into a state fit for cultivation. When plots now become available some prospective tenants look in horror at a bit of long grass or a few weeds and often don't reappear after an initial visit. They want ready made plots that someone else has sweated over. Others last for a short time as they realise that keeping an allotment isn't as easy as it seemed. The idea is appealing but the amount of work required is not!
Some other plotters last for so long and then lose interest. Others of course will become long term gardeners but often only want a half plot.
I think one reason that more allotments aren't being developed is because councils are afraid that the grow your own trend could be a passing fad.

There are other ways to find land on which to grow your own if you are really committed to the idea, for instance.

http://www.incredible-edible-wakefield.co.uk/

http://www.landshare.net/

Following the argument of the letter writer maybe all people who live in a house with more bedrooms than they need should give up the spare bedrooms to people who are homeless!

Maybe this seems like outright indignation but I really do get fed-up of the digs from people on waiting lists who have only recently decided to enter the world of fruit and vegetable gardening. Maybe some are the same people who thought we were weird when we first took an allotment.

glallotments wrote:Lots of time effort and expense has been devoted to our plots to get them into a state fit for cultivation. When plots now become available some prospective tenants look in horror at a bit of long grass or a few weeds and often don't reappear after an initial visit. They want ready made plots that someone else has sweated over. Others last for a short time as they realise that keeping an allotment isn't as easy as it seemed. The idea is appealing but the amount of work required is not!

Ahh, so true. I was talking to the allotments woman at our local council about just this. I'm sure the waitling list is only as long as it is (65 for ours) because half of the perspective tennants expect to front up, rake some ground flat, sprinkle the seed packet and come back in a few months to harvest veg. I'm in my third year on a previously long unused plot, it has been hard work but I'm almost on top of things now. I've had a new neighbour on the next plot each year. The last one gave up so soon I never even met them ! Crossing my fingers that the latest one is more determined...

On reading that letter last night my initial thought was "Same old ignorance."

GL is spot on and people new to allotments are ignorant of the long decline in interest which has only recently been reversed. My council is reopening a derelict allotment site for which I was drawing a potential layout on Sunday 67 half (5 rod) plots and that is the biggest they'll let now as newcomers are unaware of and unused to the level of hard work needed, much as Tony says.
As a site agent, sadly, from experience about 75% of new tenants do not turn out to be compatible with allotment gardening.

There doesn't seem to be any restriction on how many plots you have on my allotment, close by me are 2 Asain chaps and they have 4/5 plots each they grow mostly Asain crops.
Its a private site with plenty of neglected spare plots.
Bren

We've got 4 plots in a block for our family. We took them on 18 years ago. I'm not giving them up for love nor money I'm afraid. Too much hard work gone into ridding of bindweed (ongoing still!!) etc. We'd also lose fruit trees & bushes, greenhouses and sheds. The neighbouring plot was used up until last year by an 80 something year old lady, who is an absolute trooper. She didn't really want to give it up (she still dug it herself, unless we sneaked in and did it for her!) but felt she was getting too old. The new tenants had a ready made almost spotless plot. They grew a few things last year then vanished. We haven't seen them since, and they only live accross the road. It is waist high with grass now, and the old lady, who pops in now and then to say hello, is deeply disappointed.

I was also a little vexed when I read that. I have 2 plots which are
productive and neat. Surrounding me are subdivided plots full of
weeds which happily seed and contaminate my plot making for even
more work. We have a massive waiting list but I had to highlight
these neglected plots to the committee.

I think it is OK to start people off in small plots to see if they can
cope but if they catch the bug they are stuck with too small an area
that is difficult to maintain rotation, no room for a shed, decent compost etc. They then have to go back on the list to get another one which can
be in a completely different row and the same restrictions apply unless they are lucky enough to get one ajoining.

There needs to be a solution in the middle - starter plots and larger plots
that newbies can progress on to if they meet certain conditions. Mind though this phase of growing your own must be on the wan soon so it might not be a problem in a few years.

Westi

Why do you think it is on the wane, Westi? I would predict that there will be more demand, as the economic situation on the one hand is making it difficult for organic farmers to remain viable [because it is more expensive and consumers' money is tight] and on the other there is an increasing unease over produce grown with pesticides etc. The solution is to grow your own and so I would be surprised if we saw a drop in interest any time soon.

Maybe what Westi means is that as people come off the waiting list and obtain a plot and realise how hard growing your own can be they will lose interest. This is happening on allotment sites. You can see as soon as people start who will stick, who will soon disappear and who will give it a year or so and move on to the next hobby!

Also we have been here before haven't we? - Things tend to be cyclical.

We have three plots around us that need some tlc. One chap next to us was overheard telling someone who came to see him that he would knock his allotment into shape in no time. This year he has done nothing but put up a shed and a green house.

The other chap we have only seen twice this year and once last year. He should really not keep it because he is doing nothing with it but no one has said anything to him.. It is over grown, last year he covered things with black plastic but did nothing else.

The last one is owned by a woman who took it on and turned it into a storage area for various peices of wood and junk and has not grown anything in it but has now put one bee hive on it. If I say anything then I am being sour grapish as it was a plot that we wanted several years ago so I dont say anything.

What can you say.

Yes, I see. We've had this happening on our plots, but our secretary has been quite fierce about turning people out who don't maintain their plots and we've had quite a few young couples taking them over. But Bedford is usually about 20 years behind everywhere else, so maybe what you can see now we will see later.

We have two plots although rather small and despite 50 on our waiting list I don't feel the need to give one up.We work both to capacity ,we share our produce/plants.We help out on site and have watched recently let plots go un worked along with many others so we're hanging on to ours.Our neighbours at home welcome the gifts of soft fruits etc they don't have allotments so we share the pleasure .

I agree with Glallotments. When we took on our plot six years ago, it had been un worked for four years and was like a jungle....there were more plots like this than worked ones and the whole site looked derelict. Newcomers were allowed to to take more than one plot and all of these are now regularly worked and very productive.
After our new secretary took over, the absentee tenants of unworked plots were gradually got rid of and newcomers took them. The majority of these have done really well and have tidy, productive gardens but some folks went mad for a couple of months, cleared their plots, built posh sheds and pretty patio areas, then....nothing! These are now reverting to weed infested gardens and the whole process starts over.

Under these circumstances there should be no recriminations if folks have more than one plot and it is used and definitely no pressure to give one up when they have put so much into it. Well cared for gardens are better for everyone concerned.
Further allocation can then be restricted to one plot per tenant to allow those on the waiting list to have a chance.
Cheers.

Hi Mike

What I meant was on the wane was the folk that don't understand you only get out what you put in and things don't magically grow - except the weeds of course. There is a committment to having a plot which involves regular work and I do feel many are tempted by TV chefs and the like who have their own gardeners to do the heavy work but carry on the tele like they do it all themselves.

I totally agree that the current economic climate and use of pesticides do
encourage people to look for cheaper and potentially healthy alternatives but generally their aim is to grow not to have one because it is the current trend. Heaven help us if any of the wags ever start to exhort the trend - we will have high heeled wellies and false nails to contend with then!

Westi

Westi wrote:Hi Mike

we will have high heeled wellies and false nails to contend with then!

Westi

I can't even manage to keep ordinary nails when I'm gardening!

Westi wrote:Hi Mike

we will have high heeled wellies and false nails to contend with then!

Westi

Should give Old Herbie food for thought