Equipment advice request!

[Mrs Dobby]

Ok, we are off to the allotment to try and catch the council liason in a few mins, (Mr Dobby is very excited! Lol), hopefully she will be there and we will find out a bit about how to go about getting one of the vacant plots (if not then we will be ringing her tomorrow and trying to sort something out for later this week).

Anyhows, I digress, we have a few basuc gardening tools, handtools, rake, couple of spades and forks, hoe, watering cans etc, but were wondering what specific tools others have found to be vital (or extremely useful) in setting up a new allotment, what brands are best value and where to get them for reasonable prices? Any advice would be very welcome!

Oh, and we know we definitely need a wheelbarrow, what should we be looking out for and where is the best place ot get one relatively cheaply?

Many thanks in advance for any help or advice that anyone can give us!

[HappyMouffe]

Mrs Dobby,
I've found Wickes to be good for cheap new bits of equipment like wheelbarrows. Ours came from there last year, much cheaper than garden centres.
Good luck with the allotment - I'm just waiting for the signed contract to come back from the council & then I'll be down on mine

[Snadger]

Large items like wheel barrows, stepladders for shed building etc can usually be shared. I have my own wheelbarrow at home but old Billy on the next allotment told me just to use his whenever I like! I reciprocte by leaving a set of stepladders for any allotment holder to borrow when building huts etc

Sharing most tools works well on our allotments as long as you don't take liberties! Frees up a bit of shed space as well!

Same with veg, if I have a glut I will leave some cougettes on his 'chair' to pick up the next day and in return he asks me to pick some of his scarlet runners as there are far too many for him!

Its good to share, although I realise this doesn't work for all!

[winnie]

Hi Mrs Dobby,
Yep-sharing works well for us. If we borrow a watering can, we have to leave it full!!!! We also share strimmers & petrol mowers, so don't buy any thing too big without checking. Also, we bought a new jeep wheelbarrow really cheaply in an internet sale, but now use an old rusty one that my neighbour gave me cos anything nice gets pinched! We've managed for a year with a good spade, a good fork, a trowel and thats about it. We bought some cloches & membrane from Wilkos but they soon became brittle & will need replacing again, so a false economy really.
I would say that a good quality spade is vital for your back and they do different length handles for tall people like me!!

[nick the grief]

The most important thing is a Kettle, a stove & the mugs to drink the tea/coffee that you will drink whilst planning the attack

Other bits I've found useful,
Hammer,
Scythe/sickle,
penknife (I keep one down there)
Secateurs (same as penknife)
Pad & pencil (you 'll be amazed the amount of time you think of something & then forget it by the time you get home)
Chairs to sit on (folding ones are easier to store - car boot sale?)
Bulb planter I find really usefule for planting all sorts of stuff rather than a trowel,
Tape measure ( builders one that is 30' long is about right, any bigger & I find them a pain to use)
Measuring stick - I've got a beice of wood 4ft long marked out in feet, 6" & 3" intervals, handy for planting.
Line - I've got some Aluminium tube with bright yellow tops on & Bright orange builders line on it (easier to find when you put it down)

If I think of anything else I'll let you know

[Mrs Dobby]

Hi all, thanks for the replies!

We bumped into the liason and got the allotment, (spent 4 happy hours clearing weeds from about a third of it yesterday), and on talking with a few folks down there have been told we can borrow any one of 3 wheelbarrows, as long as they arent being used and we return them from whence they came, which is good news indeed! Mr Dobby still wants his own at some point tho (boys and their toys methinks), but at least we can manage for the moment!

As to power tools, the site has a petrol strimmer, lawnmower and rotivator available for a few pounds a day (plus petrol), and a scythe that can be borrowed for free, but looking at the weeds we have we both think it best to pull them up by hand and then go back in and dig out the roots when we double dig the beds for the first time!

HappyMoufe, hope the paperwork comes through quickly and you can get on down to your new lottie, keep us posted on how it goes please!

[Snadger]

The most important thing is a Kettle, a stove & the mugs to drink the tea/coffee that you will drink whilst planning the attack

Other bits I've found useful,
Hammer,
Scythe/sickle,
penknife (I keep one down there)
Secateurs (same as penknife)
Pad & pencil (you 'll be amazed the amount of time you think of something & then forget it by the time you get home)
Chairs to sit on (folding ones are easier to store - car boot sale?)
Bulb planter I find really usefule for planting all sorts of stuff rather than a trowel,
Tape measure ( builders one that is 30' long is about right, any bigger & I find them a pain to use)
Measuring stick - I've got a beice of wood 4ft long marked out in feet, 6" & 3" intervals, handy for planting.
Line - I've got some Aluminium tube with bright yellow tops on & Bright orange builders line on it (easier to find when you put it down)

If I think of anything else I'll let you know

Here's me thinking I had a unique idea with the stick with notches in...its a four foot slaters latt because my beds are four foot wide and is notched every 3"...Its one bit of kit I'd be gutted if I lost it! Necessity is the mother of invention , so they say!

[Lesley Jay]

I've got a measuring stick as well. Marked in three inches on one side and four inches on the other. Makes planting much easier.

[Mrs Dobby]

Cool! Thanks for the ideas and inspirations guys, keep it coming!!

[Earthbabe]

Was only thinking today about a stick with markings on it to aid with planting. Will DIY one, saw one in a garden centre which was also a kneeler, £30.00

It was a posh area of hampshire so probably a lot of people who would go for it. I don't even live in a posh area of southampton.

[dexterdoglancashire]

not sure I can believe that! mind you, where there's muck there's brass! dexterdog

[Digger-07]

I always look at the builder's merchants for kit, especially wheelbarrow and fencing. Look out for timber also. It seems the best places to get stuff cheap is where the trade go and with a bit of cheek you may be able to get some discount. For example builders steel barrow £15, wellies £7, gloves less than £2 and what used to be 4 by 1 at less than 40p per metre.