Worried about my Plot

[Muriel]

i took on my allotment in the middle of August and i have cleared most of it,but due to one thing and another i haven't been able to go down.And as you will know we have'nt had the weather.So i'm worried about losing my allotment.can anyone offer me any advice,it would be most appreciated.

[andrewo]

Losing the plot

I don't think you need to worry, unless you get a phonecall or letter, if you have mitigating circumstances - and who isn't busy nowadays? Allotments do understand this (when I had mine I was there alot during June/July but most of the months I just couldn't get down). If you're really worried, ever thought of working in a co-operative e.g. 2-3 of you on one allotment and then split the produce (there's more than enough to go round). It's a good idea and a good way to meet people but it has it's problems BUT at the end of the day, don't worry - life is hectic and stressful, don't allow your allotment to join that long list. Weather has been truly awful.

Andrewo

[Nicos]

losing it ?

If it's only your first year then I am sure that people will understand that there is a lot to sort out, and at this time of year we are all sitting at home wondering what on earth is going on on the plot. Here's a suggestion if the plot turns out to be a bit of a handful.....Why not grass some of it over? It should grass itself if you keep it cut short to knock out the weeds - so long as you choose a fairly flat bit it should be easy to cut. If you just have bare soil it would be easy to seed it in the spring. You could then plant fruit bushes and apple/pear/plum/ cherry trees in this area.It would then only need mowing once a week/fortnight. Easier than weeding, and immediate neighbours only really get twitchy if your plot becomes overrun with weeds that spread to theirs - no danger of that in winter! And at least the grassed area and fruit trees would use up some of plot and you would have a good mix of fruit in the late summer/autumn. Also would give a nice shaded place for a tea break - remember it's supposed to be fun and rewarding

[Jaxom]

Why not grass some of it over? It should grass itself if you keep it cut short to knock out the weeds - so long as you choose a fairly flat bit it should be easy to cut. If you just have bare soil it would be easy to seed it in the spring. You could then plant fruit bushes and apple/pear/plum/ cherry trees in this area.It would then only need mowing once a week/fortnight. Easier than weeding, and immediate neighbours only really get twitchy if your plot becomes overrun with weeds that spread to theirs -

What a wonderful piece of advice. Getting rid of just the weeds would indeed leave you with the ground you normally find in a fruit Orchard.
Jax

[Lesley Jay]

Muriel don't worry about losing your plot. The people who get letters about the state of their plots are the ones who don't do anything for most of the year. When the weather starts to improve make a start on clearing it. Don't try to do too much in one go. Be sure to keep the weeds cut down in any areas that you don't manage to clear. I wouldn't advise having a grassed area though - the committee doesn't usually like that.

[Tim]

Worried ...

I wouldn't be overly concerned either. When we took our plot on it was in a right old state with waist high marestail and bindweed absolutely everywhere. We hacked it all down with a scythe then covered the whole plot in weedblock. Then just worked a bit of the land at a time, roll back the weedblock, dig remove weed roots, build raised bed and onto the next section. Whilst it is taking a while to get the whole thing cultivated we are now coming into our third season and have quite a bit (six big beds) under cultivation with plans for a wide variety of produce this year. Meanwhile the unworked land is still under the weedblock. Working it this way means you get the benefit of producing food early rather than spending a whole season just on land preparation. I'm going to cut slits in the weedblock this year and plant spuds - see if the soil can be broken up a bit and provide competition for the weeds before we get onto digging that end of the plot.

[Muriel]

worried about my plot

Thanks for all the great advice that you have all shown me.it is most appreciated.I have since gone down and put in some planks of wood for my first seedbed.I have also managed to move my blackcurrant bush.So hopefully i will get to go down again soon.

[Nicos]

grass

Thanks Jaxom for your comments! I would still suggest that grassing part of the plot can be very time saving as well as productive. We have had plots now for 15 years on two different sites- one council owned and the other a private site. It is popular (and allowed!) on both sites. Fruit trees and bushes share the area and the grass is mown or strimmed. On each of the sites some of the 'growers' also have bees and one has chickens running round this area too. With a bit of companion planting of flowers to deter disease the areas look fantastic,as well as producing fruit, honey and eggs. One guy had pigs but the grass didn't last too long there! I would suggest to Muriel that it may well be worth checking up if this would be ok to do on her site. I was saddened to hear from Lesley Jay that some committees would not be happy with this -why on earth not? Does anyone else have these sort of limitations on the use of their plots? I can understand the maintenance side but never heard on the production aspect. Go for it Muriel!!!

[Lesley Jay]

The guy with the plot next to one of ours grew grass on one half and kept it mowed. He would come down to the allotments on his push bike get out his deck chair and can of beer and read a book. The committee considered that he wasn't using the plot for what it was intended. The committee come from a different site so they did not know that he was sitting in a deck chair reading they just saw that half of the plot was being kept grassed over. He got warnings but chose to ignore them. Now he hasn't got the plot. You can't grow trees other than fruit trees and no animals are allowed.

[nick the grief]

One of the guys on our plot has half of it grasssed as he only has a garden big enough to give a can a headache He uses this for the kids to play on and grows load of veg on the rest. I don't think he's had any problems ... mind you he is the chairman!