I've done it ...

[nick the grief]

Well, after much deliberation I've finally done it ... I've given up the old lotty as of Jan 1st 2023. so thats £110 pounds and a lot of hassle saved ... down side - I can't take all the rubbish to burn like I used to.

But, yesterday I went and had a look at a 1/2 plot on a site nearer to home ... abut a 30 minute walk away if I really wanted to and unusually rather than splitting it in to 2 x 45ft x 30ft plots its split longways so is about 90ft x 15ft... but thats OK.

I'm allowed 1 shed no bigger than 8x6, 1 greenhouse no bigger than 8x6 and a polytunnel 20x10 max. now as it happens I'm re doing the garden at home and I want a new shed some guess where my old 8x6 shed will go? and I'm going to take the smaller greenhouse down ... ooo guess what !.

The previous occupant has just moved to a bigger plot (next door) so its still under cultivation (infact it seemed to have a row of spuds growing !) a few raspberries (unsure what sort ) and a few gladioli at the bottom ...

Down sides

• Theres no mains water on site so I'll have to look at moving my IBC up to there and use the shed
• The rent is an exhorbitant £10/pa ... they've just put it up.
• It has a shop on site that sells the usual stuff Blood fish and bone, Lime etc. 60ltr bags of manure from a local farmer (he composts it down so no straw and weed seeds) £3 / bag and on a saturday tea, coffee and cake ... bang goes the diet again

So when I get back from darkest Pembrokeshire I shall be going up to sign the papers etc.

I daren't tell Mrs G she's been badgering me to give the old one up for ages as she says its too much ... Maybe if I made her a crochet corner in the shed ...

[Nicos]

Ha!…..you do make me chuckle
How thoughtful creating a ‘She Shed’! …nice bit of bunting…a kettle , sink ( for your use!)comfy chair ,mini cooker/ stove , heating, a bit of decent lighting…..have a goooogle of beach hut interiors - its amazing what you can fit inside 6x8 ft …and as long as you have somewhere to leave a few bits and pieces like spades etc ( under a bench maybe) you’ll be fine.
Go on….I challenge you!( OH and I converted a van’s cargo area 5x8 by 4ft high into a camper van
and we have all that plus a loo and bed! - that’s VERY doable with a bit of thought )

But good for you - it sounds the perfect way to go. It’s not easy giving up plots you’ve tended to for years. I’ve gone through it twice and I still look back at all the things we did to improve them both.
The hardest for me was giving up the three plots to move to a single plot on a different site…but that worked out much better in the end.

It’ll be the same for you…and at least your new one sounds,like it’s in great condition….and wow…your very own gladioli patch!…bet that was the clincher eh?

[nick the grief]

...Go on….I challenge you!( OH and I converted a van’s cargo area 5x8 by 4ft high into a camper van
and we have all that plus a loo and bed! - that’s VERY doable with a bit of thought )

I've always tried to get Mrs G to come up the lotty but she's just not up for 'camping' these days ... not even the promise of a comfy chair and a G&T

...your very own gladioli patch!…bet that was the clincher eh?

Strangely enough I like Glads and have just sent off for 12 varieties as Cormlets - I used to grow them years ago like that.THe posh ones cost £'s a corm but the cormlets ( the tiddlers that grow around the base each year) you can get for pence and they take an extra year to flower but you get loads for the cost of a couple of corms.

When I come back off holidays I take some piccies I'm just sorting it all out at the minute in my head (plenty of space there)

[Snoop Puss]

Sounds like a great move, NtG. Half the size, closer to home and cheaper, to boot... Got to be good.

Hope you have a great growing time, there.

[Bren In Pots]

Congrats on your new plot NtG

[bramble]

Well done Nick..sounds like a good deal.

[nick the grief]

So to give you an idea, this is the new plot from google earth and was taken a couple of years ago ( They only update their AP every 5 years ... hang up from a previous life ...) Its the bit in the green box and theres a bit at the front thats sort of car parking and it goes all the way up to the hedge. The tree in flower is a cherry not sure if its a culinary one or ornamental, and there's and apple tree not sure what sort but it was laden with what looked like Granny Smiths.

The small green thing is one of these cheap polytunnels but I think the chap wants that as soon as his toms are ripe... I hope he does anyway as they're only good for fruit cages or brassica cages ... the chap in the plot opposite at my current plot has had to retrieve his about 5 times due to wind

[Nicos]

Nice one
I can see why you are excited!

Out of interest…(well….you know how nosey I can be!….) how is the plot now actually demarcated ? Have both sides contributed to a narrow path or is it now fenced?

Good to know you are still into glads. You kindly sent me some cormlets many many years ago!

[Snoop Puss]

Very nice and tidy, NtG. Congratulations.

[nick the grief]

Nice one
I can see why you are excited!

Out of interest…(well….you know how nosey I can be!….) how is the plot now actually demarcated ? Have both sides contributed to a narrow path or is it now fenced?

There's a path on the right hand side as you look at that screen grab and the Left is marked with a small fence. But I'll replace that with a bigger one that I won't trip over . Once I've met the neighbours. current thinking is top half will be Shed, perennial stuff like Rhubarb ( 1 crown there already), Raspberries (some there but I may replace them not sure - see how they go, Strawbs ( got 2 lots in pots in the grrenhouse at the moment (Florence and Marshmallo and Mara des Bois on order) and then the cut flowers. then there will be the small greenhouse and my 2 x Carrot and 1 x Parsnip boxes then the bottom half will be the veg plots with the compost bins at the bottom.

Nice one
Good to know you are still into glads. You kindly sent me some cormlets many many years ago!

I thought I'd sent some to someone but didnt realise it was you Nicos ... was that when you were living in the UK?

[nick the grief]

Thanks guys - yes looking forward to it.

Something else I forgot to mention, for a couple of cans the Chairman will rotavate it for me or I can rent the sites rotavator for £3 for the day ...

They have a little communal area up near the shop bit - I think it was 3 plots or so and they put the the shop on it and made a bit of a car park and the top halves has some benches to sit on and a small wild life area ... I'm ok to trim the hedge on mine but they want it leaving as natural as possible for wild life. i've got some rose seed I'll sow and they can have those to dot around (some are Kiftsgate so that will run rampant thru the hedge ) Already working out how mant daffs and tulips I'll need to run down the path and some Forget me not by the compost bins.

[Nicos]

I thought I'd sent some to someone but didnt realise it was you Nicos ... was that when you were living in the UK?

It was indeed! Very kind. …About 15 years ago!

[Zjho]

Is it on the flat or sloping and if so which way ? One big thing i miss from my allotment days is facing south on a hillside, so lovely in winter. My current veggie plot at home addy is equally sloping, but north !

[Mr Bones]

So to give you an idea, this is the new plot from google earth and was taken a couple of years ago ( They only update their AP every 5 years ..)

Nice looking plot you're taking on there Nick - If you get Google Earth Pro (free download for desktop PC - link below) it has the facility to wind back the clock to see images taken over the years. Our plot can be seen in 12 shots from 1999 to 2022, some are clearer than others but on two of them Mrs B and me are there and we can even make out certain crops, cloches etc.

[nick the grief]

Is it on the flat or sloping and if so which way ? One big thing i miss from my allotment days is facing south on a hillside, so lovely in winter. My current veggie plot at home addy is equally sloping, but north !

It’s a very gentle slope to the north. Maybe 3ft over the 100ft length but that’s OK I can sit in the shade at the top and let gravity water it for me