new style allotmenters

matt987106

hi

we took over a new allotment in may this year, after a while of "council issues" they said we needed planning to put up a shed, they then decided we didnt

now this site is right next to ( rather behind ) a existing site

now are todays allotment users a new breed

why i ask is this :

the new sheds are popping up every week now and some are spending 600 plus pounds on them :shocked::shocked:

now a look on our local freecycle and in the free papers will get you a shed for nothing or 20 - 30 quid, i spke to a few today, when i said about freecycle the response was " we want a new shed "

now this to me isnt the allotment way, i know we all have different ideas BUT out of the 15 sheds up now, only 2 are 2nd hand

Vibrant

Hi Matt,

Ah, the new trendy allotmenters, they saw it on telly and fancied a go. Personally I don't think they will last and there will be an allotment surplus in a few years.

After helping a friends father with his allotment when he was poorly, I ended up with three plots to tend (I garden for a living), owned by rich professional types (two teachers and an aroma consultant???? don't ask me ), who liked the idea, but not the reality.
One dropped his plot mid summer and the other two only visit once every few weeks (as far as I can tell). They have had some reasonable crops, but I have had the most benefit, as most of it would have gone to waste otherwise.

I have quite enjoyed it, it makes a change from lawns, shrubs and flowers. But I think paying to have your plot tended, rather goes against the spirit of the idea.
Funniest thing I saw, was one of my customers planting radishes, from a shop bought tray.

Antispam

I hope some of them dont last there is a huge waiting list in my area it will be donkeys years before I can get one and I have been passionate about gardening for 30 years my only regret is I didn't apply earlier

valk_scot

I bought a new shed. It was an ex-display model from the local garden centre and was reduced by 75%. I paid them a tenner to deliver it onto the exact spot on the slabs where it sits today, twelve years on. Cheating? Well, I'm 5`4" tall and I don't think I could build a flatpack shed solo, tbh. It was worth it to me!

We have one plot on our site which is owned by the Lady from the big house up the road. Her gardener comes and looks after the plot and she comes down with a trug to pick the odd bean. She wanted an allotment so she didn't have to have the veggies in her showpiece garden. Still, she's a nice old bat and her plot is kept in far better shape than some others I could mention, so why not?

Davesnave

Are there really lots of sheds in the regional free ads? Looking in Bristol-based Trade It! at the moment there are very few, and none at all in my local rag. This means even more people chasing the Freecycle ones.

stitching_witch

We too have ordered a new shed for our allotment because we are very specific in our needs. An 8x6 pent roof shed which will have an 8x4 overhanging roof at the front to maximise water harvesting.

Okay, it may seem excessive to some people, but we don't have a water supply to our allotments so we need to have a huge roof connected to a huge water butt! It also means a decent "verandah" for DH to rest as necessary.

The local small ads couldn't supply what we needed and, as Davesnave says, every shed that appears on Freecycle has the world and his wife going after it, and we wouldn't be able to collect one either.

Le-y

yeah I've just taken over my plot -its silly because there are still two free on my allotment site and I applied for mine and got the go ahead within 7 days yet people wait years!!- anyway I believe in recycling for my allotment and don't want to purchase anything expensive (plus I can't afford it what with 2 children under 2 and being on maternity wages lol).

I've been desperatly seeking on freecycle, wood for the beds and walk ways, water butts or containers and a shed to no avail as yet.

Managed to scrounge a few pallets today which can be broken up and I've got my mother on a promise to give me her shed should she look to replace one of them at any time.

I don't undestand why pay so much for something that you can recycle from someone else after all, reduce, reuse recycle!

irishwexford

We took on an allotment two years ago and noticed most of the new tenants bought new and expensive sheds but we decided to wait a year to see how we got on. This year we bought a shed from a local man who makes them, delivers and erects for a reasonable price. We would have been happy with a second hand one if we could have found one. Well some of the tenants with the fancy sheds will be giving up their sites as they look like jungles, with the few crops planted left to rot. They were more interested in buying a shed than getting stuck in and digging as we did. Some people do not realize how much work is involved, they see a programme on tv with people digging up their veggies but this does not show all the digging, planting, weeding and watering and people with young children have problems finding the time for all this. We did the right thing in waiting as we didn't want to waste money but am glad of our small plain shed.

Lotus-eater

Who cares what shed someone has, it's how they look after their allotment that counts, I've known people of both ilks, some with nice new sheds who care passionately about their crops and want somewhere nice to sit with their family, or it is just more time efficient to buy a shed which does the job they want.
And then I've also known complete scroungers who won't buy anything and their plot is a complete mess and they only turn up 3 times a year (at most).

I'm a complete scrounger btw.

Everyone who comes onto an allotment should be given the same treatment/respect and help that they deserve, regardless of skill or how wealthy/skilled with saving money, they are

Zazen999

I'm a complete scrounger too; followed a chap round town as he had a load of wood in his estate car hoping he would drive to the tip....he did and we loaded the wood into my car and I got 70 pieces of wood for free.....

Anyhow - I bought a new shed because I didn't still have my old pickup and
a - couldn't have got a second hand one into or around the car
b - couldn't have put it up myself; my OH is rubbish with diy and at the time, I didn't know any of the lottie neighbours and the ones that were around at the time were pretty frail themselves.

However, I am there regularly, and my beds are used year round - alot of the 'old style' allotmenteers have empty beds all winter...we are out there year round sorting beds out and digging over as the space becomes free.....no matter what time of year.

I think being judgemental about what people do and how they do it is what causes more problems on allotments than anything else.

valk_scot

Well, the good thing about not very dedicated allotmenteers and their £600 sheds is that when they leave, they probably won't take the shed or will sell it to the next tenant for a nominal sum. We've got a clause in the lease that says that if you inherit a shed on your plot for nothing you must also leave one when you leave, unless you're moving to another plot. We get some good sheds that way!