Overwhelmed

[Annmarie1988]

Does anyone else feel completely overwhelmed at times with their allotment? Ours measures over 4,000 sq foot and it has been left in a complete mess. We don't have a car so getting rid of rubbish is hard. Today under a huge mess of brambles I found frames for 2 green houses and also a huge pile of melted plastic. We have made some progress since September but it seems as soon as we take 1 step forward we go 20 back.

[Snoop Puss]

You're not going backwards. You're just coming across setbacks you hadn't expected. But you're still definitely going forwards.

That said, it's a miserable task, I know, and I can imagine how you feel. Have you spoken to your allotment officer or committee about the mess the place was in? They might provide a skip or something, because to a certain extent they should have known what was going on on the site.

One thing I advise is that you keep a photographic record should you need it to show how much effort you've put in.

The only real consolation I can give you is that when it's cleared, it will be well and truly yours and a source of great joy.

Best wishes.

[nickdub]

We all probably get a bit down with the work involved in gardening sometimes -my low points have generally been when the various types of wildlife which regard my place as home have polished off virtually everything I've been trying to grow at one fell swoop.

My best advice is to try to get a small patch fully cleared and get something growing in it asap. Even if its just some radishes, lettuces and spring onions the sight of your new seedlings will cheer you up and give a bit more heart to dealing with the weeds.

BTW I know nothing about allotments, but wouldn't the re be a possibility of a communal rubbish pile somewhere, which could then be trailered down to the recycling rather than everyone struggling individually ? You never know one man's trash is another s treasure, so some things might be re-used on site, rather than having to be taken away.

[Annmarie1988]

We have 4 beds dug over now and we have planted onion's, shallots and garlic and they actually seem to be growing really well. By the time we have all the beds dug we should have 14.

We contacted our council about the waste because we found a used drug needle, they said they would come clear the needle for us but the rubbish is our problem to deal with. It seems like our allotment had become a dumping ground for everyone, there is an old gas fire, huge pieces of old rotten wood and so much broken glass you wouldn't believe it.

[nickdub]

We have 4 beds dug over now and we have planted onion's, shallots and garlic and they actually seem to be growing really well. By the time we have all the beds dug we should have 14.

We contacted our council about the waste because we found a used drug needle, they said they would come clear the needle for us but the rubbish is our problem to deal with. It seems like our allotment had become a dumping ground for everyone, there is an old gas fire, huge pieces of old rotten wood and so much broken glass you wouldn't believe it.

Pile the rubbish up on the corner pro-tem, and have an allotment meeting about whether something collective could be done ? - I'm assuming its not your plot alone that was affected.

Sounds like you are well on the way to turning the corner between work and reward .

Don't forget a bench or hammock in your plans, so you have somewhere to contemplate your work and triumphs from. :-)

[SelkirkAlex]

the afrikaaners have a great saying that is apt,vasbyt ! literal translation is bite fast, grit your teeth keep your head down and plow on and before you know it the task will get lighter and lighter and eventually be done

[Bluenowhere]

Yes we took ours on in February last year so can sympathise that it does seem overwhelming at times to get it into a usable state particularly as we work full time.

However once you start harvesting/eating it is all worth it. Up until then it can seem like a slog but don’t give up it is slowly slowly catchy monkey.

Fortunately most of the things we unburied were useful or will be and the chairmain of the allotments was prepared for us to leave the rubbish in a designated place for him to deal with which massively helped (our allotment is self managed rather than council) so I can imagine it would be demoralising if that wasn’t the case.

Although two greenhouse frames seem promising to use longer term. You could cover with mesh and use one as a fruit cage and potentially cover the other with plastic sheeting if you can’t get or afford glass even if you need to do a bit of jiggling to account for damaged/missing bits (or I’ll take it off your hands ).

If you take photos you begin to realise just how much you have achieved. People kept telling us how well we had done during plot inspections but all I kept seeing was how far we had to go to how I wanted it!

Also year two is so much easier, basically mulch everything over winter with manure then it is all mostly weed free and ready for digging/planting rather than pure hard work which frees up time to sort the remaining bits you couldn’t deal with in year one.

We concentrated on making space to plant and getting the paths in, only made of weedmatting, but a structure to the plot make you feel like you are getting somewhere. Then eventually covered everything else to keep weeds from spreading over us and everyone around.

[Guest]

Does anyone else feel completely overwhelmed at times with their allotment?

Yep, not my allotment but still gardening orientated. Here is one I prepared earlier. https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...med_96112.html

Just the thread helped me feel better and I have been a bit more focused. With the sun yesterday I got a few more jobs. I keep reminding myself 'just a little bit'.

I do feel for you where the rubbish is concerned. I hope you are not paying for your plot yet with the state it is in. It also sounds like you might just have to bite the bullet and get a skip, but least it will be done with.

[Bluenowhere]

Also forgot to say the weather has not been great this year so think everyone is behind where they would like to be so don’t get too down if you had hoped to do more by now.

Almost every weekend I’d intended to do something on the plot has been hampered by rain/snow and it has been too cold waterlogged to plant anything so my potatoes are still chitting and my onions still in their net bags!

However I’ve noticed that even the old hands on our allotments haven’t planted yet either and I feel under less pressure (mostly self inflicted) to prove myself this year than I did last year which I know did contribute to feeling rather overwhelmed on occasion.

[Snoop Puss]

Bluenowhere, those are great ideas on using the greenhouse structures.

[veggiechicken]

Old Greenhouse frames are great. Even if they're bent or bits missing, they can usually be reformed into cold frames, veg/fruit cages or similar.

[Annmarie1988]

The green house frames are beyond use, they are rusted and breaking apart, would of been brilliant if I could of used them though.

The weather here in Yorkshire has been shocking, I've lived here 7 years now and never known it so bad.

Our goals for the next few months are to get all the beds dug and edged and clear the rubbish. The rubbish wasn't really on show when we got the allotment, it had been left for over a year with no tenant so it was hugely over grown, the council strimmed it down to ground level and that's all they would do.

I'm glad it's not just us who find it over whelming

[jonahjonah]

I know how you feel, Annmarie.

I'm in my second year on my plot (started midsummer last year). It's much smaller than yours without too much rubbish, but the weeds and out-of-control plantings from the previous tenant were taller than me when I took it on. I've only just got about 1/2 the plot cleared. We also don't have a car, so we haven't manured or done anything particularly clever to improve the soil. I alternate between optimism and mild despair.

I'm trying to prepare myself for the worst (especially given the weather) and remember that I like the work. I'm looking forward to seeing the fruits, vegetables, and flowers growing (fingers crossed).

If all else fails, my neighbor's plot is lovely and I can enjoy his work after flumping to the ground in exhaustion. A pair of ducks have decided to take up residence in his tiny pond

[bikermike]

It's a rubbish year for weather so far.

I would suggest dividing it up. pick a bit (probably where you come in) and deal with that and get planting. everything se can be ignored or sheeted over with weed membrane.

it won't go away, but just covering it will be a good start.

I can't offer any useful suggestions with the rubbish beyond what's been said, but it'll be easier to deal with after you've had some produce out of it...

[Baldy]

Get a little bit sorted out so you can grow something - spend a bit of time doing that so that its not ALL about clering the plot etc.
Best of luck