Must haves on the wishlist for the new allotmenteer?

[benji_lb]

My dad has reminded me that he didn't get us a Christmas present as he wanted something for our allotment but wanted to know what we need.

He suggested some staging for our new, massive, 10'x8' greenhouse (pics on blog if you want to see!). I didn't know this was a thing.

I was thinking some proper, newer tools than the ones that have been lovingly lent to us by the community on the allotments.

We purchased a Wolf Garten handle with a hoe and miller. Fantastic stuff. But we have borrowed ancient, but not useless, forks and spades. The spade is more of a coal shovel and cannot really penetrate anything other than loose soil. The forks are good but one of blunt and rather heavy and the other...well...isn't ours!

We have 1 solitary dalek composter which is doing really well but needs a few more months. And we're planning on building an open one out of pallets early this year too.


What else would appear on the wishlist?

https://aplotfortwo.wordpress.com/ (brazenly hawking my poorly updated blog...)

[WendyC]

Tools are a good bet. Spade needs to be sharp to be effective. Watering cans? Net tunnels? Flexible tub trugs are great and very useful. Buy the genuine ones not copies. I bought my sister some manure one year!!

[Lumpy]

We could have an allotment straight away as there are some available in our village but.....
They are huge and part of an empty field so......
I would like one half the size but...

[alldigging]

We could have an allotment straight away as there are some available in our village but.....
They are huge and part of an empty field so......
I would like one half the size but...

Ask if you can have half a plot

[muddled]

How about a sharpening stone?
That way you can continue to use the borrowed items but they will be sharp so more efficient and the people who lent them to you will get them back in better shape (which will make them more inclined to lend to you again)

I much prefer old tools over new. More heart. I'd wait a while before buying....everyone has their own preferences and you have to dig hard with several before you really know what length and weight suit your back.

You could ask for some raspberry canes or soft fruit bushes. Autumn raspberries planted now will crop this year.
Or a wheelbarrow. I don't know how I ever managed without one.

ps. Ha! I just looked at your blog....my plot is number 16a too

[Aberdeenplotter]

yep, you can't do anything without proper tools. Aluminium staging must be around £50 for a 4ft length these days and you would need 2 as a minimum. If £100 is the budget, spade, fork rake and hoe are the minimum tools you will need. Get the best quality you can afford. nothing worse than spending good money on a fork and bending the tines or breaking the shaft.

[Kristen]

I would buy tools at a car boot. Old tools, well used and looked after and properly forged, will be far better than anything shiny from a garden centre. Important that you handle them for weight / size / balance, so perhaps something you will need to buy and then get a refund

Aluminium Staging is expensive, but stuff knocked up from softwood will rot and then collapse at the most critical time when covered with plants, so decent staging would be a good investment. Would expensive staging "walk" from an allotment? Maybe best you buy tools at car-boot for a few quid and your Dad buys something mailorder and brand new for you? Staging would be fine, or seeds perhaps?

[Kristen]

P.S. Good idea to have a bath, rather than / in addition to a water butt. You can dunk a watering can in a bath/similar in seconds, whereas filling a can from the tap on a water butt takes minutes - 2 minutes twice a day 7 days a week is half an hour a week just stood there looking at the can filling!

[noviceveggrower]

Must agree with the tools as it will make your life a lot easier than using a coal shovel to dig with.
Would agree with Kristen with the staging wood will rot but if you got decent stuff would it walk?
How about the plastic stacking shelves from B&Q we have this in our shed. Think its about £20 for a 4 layer shelf. Its quite easy to put together, sturdy and easy to clean. Might be an idea if your site is unsecure.

[Guest]

I found Wolf tools great on the lottie. Leave the handles down there and take what heads you need as and when. Makes it less appealing to nick. I also used to wrap the handle in bin liners and leave it lying on a path so it wasn't a hot spot like a shed might be.
I would personally want my own fork and spade, like it has already been said it is very personal. I would buy a new set now and hunt the car boots in summer for the perfect feel ones. Two sets is a good thing as it is sods law that something will happen when you most need them.
Staging would be last on my list but it depends wether you like all new, shiny, matching etc. I personally like the upcycling, lets confuse everyone, skip diving veg patch look. So staging from pallet wood all the way for me.
In regards to pressies it would be tools, books, seeds and like some one else said poo. Infact my hubby got 6 bags of poo for me for christmas

[Lumpy]

alldigging - I asked, begged and hinted at physical discomfort but the Parish Clerk won't budge an inch so no half plots.
I think thats a bit of a daft stance as more people would take them on and at £55 a year which includes as much water as you want its not a bad deal.

[alldigging]

alldigging - I asked, begged and hinter at physical discomfort but the Parish Clerk won't budge an inch so no half plots.
I think thats a bit of a daft stance as more people would take them on and at £55 a year which includes as much water as you want its not a bad deal.

Take it to the parish council meeting. Methods vary for asking questions so you will have to research)
And ask your local councillors to support you.
If you could find others who'd like half a plot then it do your campaign the world of good. Especially if there are empty spaces.

If they're deliberately only letting huge plots to make it seem like there's no demand so they can shrink/close sites then that's wrong.

[sparrow100]

I don't think there's any 'right' answer. I have a greenhouse now, and the frames from cheap plastic greenhouses for staging. Personally I would go for cheap/free solutions till you know what you want to do.

If you want to have fruit, either trees or bushes make lovely presents, but again you might want some time to figure out where best to put them.

Tools are great, if you know which ones you will definitely use. For example I was given a dutch hoe, but I can't get on with it on my heavy soil and I never use it. I love my long-handled cultivator though. Seeds are great, as are books. And I definitely agree that a wheelbarrow is a wonderful thing!

[Lawa]

As a newbie I am trying to spend as little as possible!

I have invested in a fork and spade and a hoe.

I bought a load of seeds on sale before xmas at 50 p each :/

I have made a compost bin out of a old dustbin a rescued.

and for xmas I have one of those plasticcy green houses.

[Mikey]

Have a think about this from the opposite end of the spectrum, what do you want to grow this year and what do you need to achieve it.

I'm creating a new garden from scratch this year as I'm giving up my allotment due to lack of free time. My wishlist already has on it muck, timber, uv plastic for lining some raised beds and a few extra hours a day.