Allotments are hell on Earth..

misskool

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8119428.stm

That's according to this person.

Maybe someone should have told him not to rotovate the roots of weeds across his entire patch? :rotfl:

Lotus-eater

Ha ha, my Dad started veg gardening at that Good Life period as well, I think these two were kindred spirits. he lasted about the same amount of time

You must remember when you get your zealous mind on to grow your own organic vegetables. If you don't enjoy getting out there in nature and doing the actual work, you ain't going to enjoy it.. ie you won't last long.

Davesnave

I had two allotments in the mid-eighties. It was indeed a nightmare, keeping the weeds away, especially with so many empty plots. We also suffered from a small amount of thieving and a disinterested council, which was only interested in telling you what wasn't allowed, rather than examining its own poor provision of facilities. I was lucky in having a plot next to the water trough and the dump, which were the only facilities provided IIRC.

I was also lucky to be on the other side of the access track, because opposite me, several plots were seized by archaeologists excavating the site of a Roman glassworks. They went down about 3', so the guys who had those plots had them well turned-over, but lost them and everything they contained for a couple of seasons.:mad:

Not sure what happened next, as we bought a house with a large garden and I began my own excavations, thanks to a previous owner being a concrete fetishist....:eek:

Patchwork_Quilt

I think I'd agree with him when he says it's a nuisance to have to go there in the car. It doesn't seem very eco-friendly either. However, you do get the benefit of the advice from all the other plot holders, free seeds etc if you are all together.

Megansmum

hmmmm, so i CAN'T get away with just going up my allotment once a month just to check things are still growing??

olly300

Megansmum wrote: »

hmmmm, so i CAN'T get away with just going up my allotment once a month just to check things are still growing??

Funny.

Some councils clearly state on their website the minimum number of hours you are expected to spend on an allotment.

savemoney

There is a allotment site near me and there is a long waiting list. I seen at least 4 allotments on there and haven't looked the entire site that are empty, seems unfair when there are lots on the waiting list.

I know people get ill and that but surely there could be provision for people giving it away even just for a year while they may recover from a OP etc or split allotments into two

misspenny

we manage dispite having little prior knowlege of growing both holding down jobs, raising a toddler and one of us (me) being pregnant again, its a hobby that requires a fair amount of input you wouldnt take up knitting buy some wool and needles and then expect a jumper to magic itself into exsistance!

see people come along clear a bit of their plot sprinkle a few seeds on it and leave and then wonder why 4 weeks later their carrot patch is been taken over by nettles and promtly quit.

also allotment sharing always ends baddly in my experiance its usually two familys who have a beer together on a sat night or their kids are friends at school and they decided to got an allotment togther and then the argument about spliting the cost of seed tools etc spliting the work an spliting the harvest start, watching this pantomine at least once a summer still amuses me.

we have a good mix of people on our sight from young families, to the slightly bonkers old gents that have had their plots 40 years and are always on hand with advice.

savemoney ours has a waiting list and a fair few plot that are barly used as the owners are getting on a bit and struggleing to keep up but the chairman darent kick them off for risk of offending the other old timers and getting voted off.

Megansmum

I have a five year plan for mine...... this year i have a small area and im growing sweetcorn potatoes, onions, blueberrys and spring onions. The area is too big for me to tackle in one go. Late autumn i will clear the whole thing and put membrane down to try and hold the weeds off. It can be overwhelming if you have a big plot full of weeds, but if i look at it as a whole i will give up - looking at smaller chunks over a longer period helps it to seem manageable!