Fruit trees - allotment 'not cultivated'?

[binley100]

Our allotments rules are that there should be 75% cultivated which doesn't include any wildflower meadows .........

[Uber-Uncool]

If the changed rules came into effect after the planting of the fruit trees then i would be in favour of allowing him to keep his allotment and for newcomers to allotmenting to abide by the new ruling.

[alldigging]

i'm on the council side... they shoud di that law nationwide... the fact they said that 75% of the land must be cultivated in 2 years time...

There should be an aim of cultivating on 100% from the start.

I know you can't if you're digging from scratch but leaving areas of plots to grass for months and strimming/mowing makes the end task harder. Cover the weeds and stop it needing that extra effort each fortnight.

(And it'll annoy neighbours less :-) )

Every minute you spend strimming or mowing is time you could be spending doing something more constructive. I've got a Bob Flowerdew book that pushes the idea to solve problems not keep making work for yourself.

[binley100]

What do you class as 100% cultivated? We have a composting and storage area , shed, pond as well as a small area to sit so in theory they are not cultivated .......

[alldigging]

What do you class as 100% cultivated? We have a composting and storage area , shed, pond as well as a small area to sit so in theory they are not cultivated .......

They'd be fine - unless your seating area is huge.

They're normal parts of an allotment.

There'd be nothing wrong with having a few fruit trees - but to have a few sticks in a bit plot is just silly.

We've got an orchard area on our site and that's mostly because that end of the site has too much rubble and massive tree roots in to make it usable as a plot.

[veggiechicken]

We've got an orchard area on our site and that's mostly because that end of the site has too much rubble and massive tree roots in to make it usable as a plot.

You could be describing my garden! Raised beds ?

[binley100]

They'd be fine - unless your seating area is huge.

They're normal parts of an allotment.

.

Phew that's a relief.................

[Samurailord]

We've got an orchard area on our site and that's mostly because that end of the site has too much rubble and massive tree roots in to make it usable as a plot.

The Orchard is right next to my plot, and the trees are all still fairly small - I think the biggest is about five foot.

I just hope that they don't get too tall in the near future and block out much light.

Andy

[hamamelis]

Our allotment has a limit on the number of fruit trees you can have- which I think is fair enough. It's 6 for a half-plot, I'm not sure how many for a full. There is a communal orchard, who have an exception from the rule, which anyone can join for a fiver, and get a share of the fruit (they give any spare away to schools and other groups); I think that's a pretty good compromise.

When he got that plot, there was probably no waiting list, and lots of spare room, but now so many sites are really tight on space, it's no surprise at all that the council are stamping down a bit on people who are just wasting ground. It's not fair on the people who have been waiting for ages.

One of my neighbours has a plot with just 4 fruit trees and a small herb patch on it, and she just shows up and strims the grass every few months; she's been down there three times this year, and hasn't planted a single thing. She's been doing the same thing as that guy, and claiming it's cultivated because it's got trees on it (most of which are pretty big and were there before she got it). I think that's a real waste.

[alldigging]

The Orchard is right next to my plot, and the trees are all still fairly small - I think the biggest is about five foot.

I just hope that they don't get too tall in the near future and block out much light.

Andy

I think the monster trees behind will be the source of any shade!
:-/

[binley100]

No point in letting fruit trees get too tall . It'd just make it difficult picking the fruit.

[Samurailord]

I think the monster trees behind will be the source of any shade!
:-/

True.

They don't need any help from the orchard, they are doing a grand job of shading the back of my plot all by themselves

Andy

[areia]

mixed views too, I mean fruit isnt cheap in supermarkets nor is nice jam

a plotter next to me had a letter complaining her plot isnt culitvated enough she has two half plots one with fruit and one with veg, as far as i know shes just had a warning, but surely people with a whole plot put fruit one end and veg up the other so its no differant in my eyes, she has put stuff in just not been able to go an forth to weed etc

[Feral007]

I am planning on growing under all our trees to reduce the amount of mowing etc. So will be planting fruit bushes under the trees, and climbing fruit up them. The Jackie French book recommends that style to reduce the amount of work you do, and also - the birds have the top of the fruit trees and eat that - with the canopy style the birds are less inclined to get under the canopy as it's not as safe.

I can't imagine not having a sitting area even on an allotment, but just a few trees is unfair if a lot of people are waiting. I like the one where they have a communal orchard. Best of both worlds. I could maybe put a table and chair in there for a sit

[alldigging]

I'd read about putting comfrey round trees ... suspect that's in the Bob Flowerdew again.

You'd be welcome to sit in our orchard cos you'd keep the blackbird off the apple tree. He's eaten half of one of the apples cos he can sit on a branch and nibble!