Fires on Allotments

[Robinahood]

Ditto, when I was handed the plot we were told only when the wind is in the North or North East as no nearby houses in that direction.

[MillieBee2]

Fires only allowed from November to march on ours. I'd like to know if people complaining about a bit of wood smoke drive much? Obviously no one wants smoke billowing all day but the odd fire,....!

[SimpleSimon]

We used to be only allowed to burn after 6pm in summer but that was lifted oddly and now we have no restrictions. But it's actually a pain as we live opposite our plot and would prefer summer fires were banned. It's a real pain. One fella had a huge one a few weeks back that was smoking for 3 days. The only dry days for a while so we could not hang out washing out. People often burn very wet stuff that creates way too much smoke.

[Stan79]

People clearly have very different ideas about what is acceptable. To me, a bonfire during the day on a fine summers day when it's good laundry drying weather is just plain antisocial but to some people, it appears that is the best time to get the fire going and throw loads of bright green, freshly cut plant waste onto the fire...!

I stock pile the huge amount of stuff our place generates over the summer and try and burn as much as i possibly can in one evening in the autumn from around 8pm for a couple of hours. I already compost as much as i can so the stuff i'm burning is generally rotten tree stumps/branches that are too thick for the compost bin and no use for the wood burner, old fence posts and stuff that won't fit in one of my four compost bins!

As i say, people clearly have very different ideas and i believe the Gov.uk website recommends burning during daylight hours which just seems really antisocial to me?!?!

(Actually, having it looked it up, it looks like that advice has been removed... https://www.gov.uk/garden-bonfires-rules)

[Mark_Riga]

I don't see the need to ever burn anything. I've a small area where I pile larger hedge trimmings and logs, small stuff is left where it falls. All other matter is composted or left where it is. Why burn it to cause pollution and potential nuisance to others?

[Stan79]

I don't see the need to ever burn anything. I've a small area where I pile larger hedge trimmings and logs, small stuff is left where it falls. All other matter is composted or left where it is. Why burn it to cause pollution and potential nuisance to others?

I think some of our neighbours burn as they’re elderly so compost heaps are a harder way to get rid of their garden waste than burning.

For me... as I say, it’s the larger stuff that I can’t compost and can’t use to heat the house.

Interestingly, one neighbour who regularly burns everything now has large compost bins that are incredibly similar in design to mine! Fingers crosses there’s less burning going forwards!

What happens to the larger stuff in your pile? When you say smaller stuff is left to lie where it falls, what constitutes “small stuff”?

[Mark_Riga]

Its only woody material that goes there. All garden waste is composted.
Small stuff is anything left behind that can stay in the bottom of the hedge or the lawnmower can go over which can be quite big. Larger stuff, branches and larger goes in a pile that seems to collapse gradually over the years. If it seems to be getting a bit high, I jump up and down on it to help it, done that about 10 times I would say over the 35 years living here. Have regularly seen snakes and hedgehogs around it so assume mice would be in there as well as a multitude of insects etc.

There is nothing big showing at the moment. It probably measures about 4'x8'. I cut the hedges once a year, any time now. There is some ash that grows big quite quickly so some of that doesn't get left on the ground. I put as little of the holly and hawthorn cuttings there as I need to be able to get the mower over them, but only on the road side. Our side it all stays where it lands - the road is to the south so that side does grow the most.

Our house is all electric. I do have a wood burning stove that I bought about 5 years ago as an emergency backup in case of a power cut. But it is still in the conservatory waiting to be installed.

[veggiechicken]

All my neighbours have bonfires - but we keep them at the furthest end of our gardens, away from the houses and check that nobody has washing out or is sitting out at the time.
Anyone who lights a bonfire, whether at home or on an allotment, should be considerate of their neighbours. Washing that smells of kippers is a definite No-No.

I burn spiky thorny stuff like holly, hawthorn and brambles and perennial weeds like couch, dock and hogweed - none of which I want in the compost heap. The wood ash, however, is very welcome.