Allotment share

[brumbird]

Hey folks

I appear to have bagged myself a few beds at the local allotments - the secretary said there is a waiting list but if i wanted a bit of hers she would share it as she is 78 and her health isnt what it was.

So obviously i am very excited and happy! And needed to share this with people who understand and wont just roll their eyes (aka my husband)

I have one big bed which is sown with green manure amd another which needs a good tidy.

I think i will put potatoes, cauliflowers and broccoli up there so i can concentrate on salad, herbs and beans in the garden. I have some plans to draw now!!

[Bren In Pots]

Congrats Brumbird, you do know you'll be awake all night having your head full of plans

[idiotwind]

Congratulations! Hopefully things will not take too long to get ready and you can get planting! I know how exciting and how daunting it can be!

[muddled]

WOW!
That is a very rare offer....most allotments prohibit sharing so be be offered space by the actual secretary is a real coup!

I think your ideas for the beds are bang on....put the big, ugly stuff that is slow to crop up there and keep the pretty things that enjoy daily attention and which get picked little and often close to home!

Looks like you're shaping up to have an excellent year!

[Bigmallly]

Nice one!...........Hope hubby knows he's got serious competition...............

[sparrow100]

That's lovely! I share one of mine with a friend while she's climbing the (long) waiting list. Having someone offer to share with a stranger is a rare and fab thing though! Keep us posted on how you do. Sounds like you're joining a nice site.

[brumbird]

I am so chuffed! Plus i have my first seedling. Lettuce sown on Sunday

I think the guy who showed me round on Tuesday put in a good word for me. I think she really values the social side of things and the idea of a willing pair of hands was welcome. Her plot is amazing, slabbed paths, an orchard with cordoned apples, cherry, plum and fig, fruit bushes, cabbages, all sorts. It did feel like a bit of an interview in the gentlest possible way, but i obviously passed the test

I am relieved in a way to be able to put the big stuff somewhere else, it would have been a squeeze to cram everything into the garden patch (which is 21' by 4') so now i can keep tender, faster growig things at home and sneak in some flowers in and about without it feeling like wasting the space. Have got nasturtium and marigolds to celebrate

[vixylix]

ah congratulations! great news! don't forget to share some pics with us

[brumbird]

Will do. Told hubs and hes up for some digging - result!

[Alison]

most allotments prohibit sharing so be be offered space by the actual secretary is a real coup!

Do they really though? This is just somebody helping out, the same as my OH giving me a hand or my mum keeping an eye on things while I'm away. When I first started a friend of mine helped out, her name wasn't on the contract but it worked well to start with. I'd say over half our plots (possibly more) are worked line this and it would be detrimental if it was randomly banned. My friend only stopped as her personal circumstances changed. The OP wouldn't have any official rights as I read the post so it's not like it's subletting which is where things potentially do get unfair as it can obviously be seen as queue jumping.

[ESBkevin]

Congratulations, we have some elderly plot holders that are lending space to their neighbours because they can't cope but don't want to give up completely. Another former teacher in her late 70s gets help from some of the retired gentlemen with her digging and I cut around her grass paths when I do mine. It's nice to have a community.

Enjoy the soil.

[brumbird]

Oh yes i dont officially own or rent anything. She asked for £10 to go towards communal resources which is fine - is a small site with only 40ish plots, but its got a clubhouse, toilet, communal wheelbarrows, hoses, woodchip piles and a massive polytunnel (got lottery funding) which has a communal area for seedlings. Its a nice arrangement for me as it means i have access to her wealth of knowledge and a managable space to start me off

[vixylix]

I think it sounds perfect brumbird - and maybe a concept more councils / allotments / whoever is in charge of these things should be pushing! Its helping build a community, allowing someone to keep on an allotment where they might have to otherwise give it up and stops newbies being daunted or losing interest.

Well done your site

[brumbird]

I completely agree vix, she is a lovely lady and i get the real sense that she wants to help me out and she said to use all her tools and store whatever will fit in her storage box that i want to take down. Feel like ive got a bit of a mentor who will stop me makig any glaringly obvious mistakes. Feels unusually kind, but also like how these things *should* be

[muddled]

Do they really though? This is just somebody helping out,The OP wouldn't have any official rights as I read the post so it's not like it's subletting which is where things potentially do get unfair as it can obviously be seen as queue jumping.

Well, yes...I think so. OP said she visited, there was a long waiting list, but the secretary offered a share of her own plot, not to help out but to garden for the OP's own benefit two raised beds. She went on to say she was contributing £10.

I would have thought that counts as a partial sublet?

Certainly in my borough this kind of arrangement is prohibited. Spouses, family members can work a plot and a friend can help out but no-one else is allowed to be given a key or their own section of your plot.

Whatever, I'm glad that brumbird has the opportunity.