Just got an allotment (Merged)

Zazen999

Hi
Does it say in your terms and conditions that you have to inform the secretary of your every plan; if not then just tell them that you are hoping to grow veg; given half a chance to be left alone to get on with it.
Or try the 'in what context' line; so every time she asks a question, answer it with 'in what context' or just reply with another question; she'll soon get bored.

Oh, the grapevine forum is very helpful; that's the best place to post any questions to be honest; loads of real experts [unlike me!]

quietheart

Zazen999 wrote: »

Hi
Does it say in your terms and conditions that you have to inform the secretary of your every plan; if not then just tell them that you are hoping to grow veg; given half a chance to be left alone to get on with it.

exactly! i'm sharing the plot with a friend and she even asked if we were having a row of potatoes each?!:rolleyes: crazy lady in my opinion! we're thinking of having a little bit of fun with her and just trying to outweird her with odd replies to her questioning.
we've now dug over one area and planted some raspberries. we'll get more done at the weekend and hopefully she'll find someone else to interrogate.
thanks for your advice!

Ladygrim

My parish council (Perranporth) will soon be having a meeting to sort out allotment space for thoes of us interested in starting up an allotment.

Before the meeting comes round I was wondering if anyone could tell me about their own allotment plots?

What size are they? How much do you pay for them? What are the rules/laws for maintaining the sites?

As you can guess, I am totally new at this. But I am really determined to get my own plot to start growing my own produce. (grew up gardening with my dad and I still miss it).

Any and all advice would be greatfully received.

Thankyou

LG

Gebo26

It's good to hear that new allotments are being provided.

A traditional standard plot is 300 square yards, 250 square metres, 10 rods. Now that is a lot of land and many people are not prepared or able to spend enough time on working a plot of that size, so they can easily be reduced by half or even further, and this would allow more people to have plots on the site.

As for the rent charge, this varies a great deal depending (usually) on the local authority. I pay just under 10p per square yard per year, for example, so a 150 square yard plot would be around £15. Reductions are available to over 60's and some other groups. Then we pay perhaps another £10 to our own local association who actually manage the site for the Council and this covers affiliation fees, public liability insurance and a few other things. Some Councils charge much higher rents.

You will want a water supply on your site, and some means of disposing of non-compostible waste.

There will need to be a Tenancy Agreement between each plotholder and the provider, and this should set out what the plot can be used for, when the rent should be paid, termination of the contract, and other terms such as a requirement to keep the plot well manured and weed -free.

More information can be had from the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners www.nsalg.org.uk , the Allotment Regeneration Initiative www.farmgarden.org.uk/ari (you can download some very useful factsheets from this site), and The National Allotment Gardens Trust www.nagtrust.org .

Best of luck with this exciting project!

mikeywills

Hi there, got some great news today, I am now the proud custodian of one of our village allotments. I've been caught a little on the hoof, I was top of the waiting list but only after the previous 5 got theirs earlier in the year, as such I was not expecting one until next year.

I am going down later 5.30pm today to see what state it is in, and how much hard graft I can look forward to over the next few weeks.

I could however now do with some help, I gave away all of my seeds from last year, so am starting from scratch. Can anyone recommend some shops with deals on seeds at the moment. I have access to most multinationals around me, but thought I might cadge some collective scouring first.

regards, with much joyous glee, mike:D

Farway

Lidl always fairly cheap for seeds, as is Wilkinsons, and Woolies have offer on at moment, think is is BOGOF but can't remember exactly, sorry.

Skint_Catt

Might be better on the Greenfingered Board?

Good luck - sounds like hard work but fun!

jennybb

Congratulations! We took ours on in January and it's great. I'm hooked. Someone on the greenfingered board recommended this forum
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/index.php

Lots of helpful folk with useful advice.

You might find that as you get chatting to your neighbouring allotmenteers, you might get offered stuff. Also - may be worth talking to the other newbies and swapping some seeds.

Enjoy!

squeaky

Hiya

I'm going to move you across to our Greenfingered Board where the enthusiasts there will be able to give you lots of tips and advice.

Good luck

In the menatime you might like to browse...

allotment threads here on Greenfingered MoneySaving

katskorner

Congrats on getting your own plot! I have had mine for three years now and I love it! The best advice I can give you is get hold of as much homemade compost, manure and bark as you can get and mulch mulch mulch! Improve the soil all the time and it will reward you with higher yields.

Remember to rotate your crops too to reduce build up of disease in the soil.