Is it trespassing?

[dominic10]

Good luck at the meeting - I would add to try and keep comments general and avoid words like 'you' - talk in the third person. I appreciate it is all very personal to you and I hope it will be a constructive meeting rather than the reverse. Stealing is a very subjective word likely to raise hackles but taking other people's veggies is a definite no no. It is very likely the secretary will support his wife to the hilt even if he is thoroughly ashamed of her so I would talk about your passion for gardening and be very positive about why you enjoy your allotment. You have shown you are very co-operative i.e. moving your compost pile. It is possible, for example, it was thought they were doing you a great favour cutting down your nettles so you need to state your position and express your disappointment - the two people you are meeting might be unaware of this activity. Thought of standing for the committee - you may be asked.

[Two_Sheds]

I'm less than diplomatic sometimes (that won't surprise some of you!) ~ I sometimes suspect I'm on the spectrum ...

So when I'm trying to be diplomatic, I phrase a statement as a question, because it gives the power to the other person (opponent). Rather than saying "they cut down my nettles", I might say "are other plotters allowed to go on my plot and cut down my nettles?"

(btw, nettles are a crop if you make them into soup; a fertiliser if you make Nettle Tea; a butterfly habitat if they're in the sunshine. Just make sure you cut the flowering tops off so they don't send seeds everywhere)

[insy]

Well i have a cheeky sod who walks himself and his wheelbarrow of tools through the middle of my plot, at the moment i dont have nothing cultivated so im willing to turn a eye. When i approached him he told me i need to put a path in my plot for him, i said i will do no such thing ive made you a path around my plot which is what should be expected.

For now im leaving it, but soon as crops go in if he continues ill be setting a few little traps to pop his wheelbarrow tyres.

I made him a nice path around my plot and he still thinks he has the right to argue, makes me angry.

[Andromeda]

What do your rules say about right of way insy? It would seem very strange to me if he had the right to demand ROW across your plot (around it can understand).

[alldigging]

I would assume there's nothing to stop you having a simple rope and stick 'fence' around your plot.

Just for the purposes of marking out beds etc.

[insy]

Once i get myself motivated ill be putting some bordering and small fencing around my plot just enough for him having to lift his stuff over and be a nuisance.

There are paths going round all plots, he's just lazy and thinks he has right away. Its not just my plot he does it he does it to my neighbour aswell as he comes through the gate and just goes diagonally through peoples plots to his own. Walking is not to bad but its his damn wheelbarrow that annoys me.

[zazen999]

I'm off to the plot in about half an hour - I'll take some photos of what I use to keep people off my plot...and post them here for you all.

[Snadger]

I'm off to the plot in about half an hour - I'll take some photos of what I use to keep people off my plot...and post them here for you all.

I know what a blunderbus looks like................

[Florence Fennel]

I know what a blunderbus looks like................

And he's not afraid to use it

[Florence Fennel]

Although I sometimes envy you all with allotments because of the camaraderie, reading this I'm glad I grow on my garden. I don't have the two German Shepherds anymore, but I still have a 5 foot fence.

[binley100]

We have five foot hedges round our plots and no-one is allowed on someone elses plot without their permission ......end of. How lazy , annoying and rude of people just to traipse across another plot to get to their own .
Good ;uck at the meeting

[zazen999]

I know what a blunderbus looks like................

A what?

Anyway - I put these 'frames' up all round. This one is around the top bed [the one that we are using as a compost heap this year as it was contaminated by Aminopyralid]. I will grow squashes up the inside of this.

I put them all round the plot - the good thing is that you can grow inside them and they keep annoying people off whilst still being seen as 'frames' for things like 'peas' or 'beans' that may or may not actually grow 'properly' each year.

All you do is to put canes in the ground in a straight line, and weave other canes through them. The messier the better as this leaves spiky bits that can put people who may want access to your plot off from accessing it. Put enough in and it becomes a tight wad of spikiness.

I also leave some tubs and some compost bags in the main entrance and make it so that it looks quite unwelcoming to those that might want to steal crops.

I did this last year and the old boy who used to have the whole plot, only nicked veg off the bit that I didn't do it to.

They cost very little to put up and if you put them in places where you don't want people to walk - it deters them without you looking like you are being unreasonable.

[Feral007]

Cool zazen and you can still see thru, so it's not shutting out the light to the plot, and doesn't look unfriendly. And you don't have to prune it!

[Florence Fennel]

That's great Zaz

[zazen999]

Buy some very cheap pea seeds [the soup peas work well, 40p for a pack] and sow them all along the bottom and you can even use the lower bits as peas sticks.