Any new allotment holders, how's it going?

wellused

I applied to be placed on the list for a local authority allotment earlier in the year and was told that there was up to a 2 year wait, I read on here that it was advisable to chase the authority up after 6 months or so to enquire as to my position on the waiting list thus showing that I was still interested. Before I do the chasing up I wondered if there were any new allotmenteers and if the experience of owning an allotment had lived up to expectations?
By the way I heard on the local radio garden show on Sunday morning that a local allotment society had 6 vacant plots and they were inviting applications, although the allotment in question is further from my home than I would have wanted to travel as I wanted somewhere that I could get to without using the car.

Yorkie1

It's been a rotten year so far for newbies and longstanding allotment tenants - too wet and cold, and too many slugs!

NB. Don't necessarily expect to get bumped up the waiting list by ringing for updates - in my council you just wait till you reach the top and we don't allow gazumping!!

rosy798

I got my lottie end of March after waiting 3 years, and love it despite the stupid weather. I did think I would meet lots of people there to pick their brains as I am quite new to all this, but never see anyone there. Muddling through and fighting the weeds, birds, and slugs. OH build me a fab brassica cage which I am delighted with. How crazy is that?

sveedy

i got my allotment a few months back. i'm a complete novice at it.

stuff isn;t growing that well (apparently not my incompetence thank god, something to do with the lack of that big yellow sky-thingy-ma-jig!) but the weeds seems to grow well enough. Potatoes seem to be good, gherkins got killed by the cold, and my beloved chilli plants are struggling (apart from the dorset naga wierdly enough). squash doing ok as are courgettes. peas a write off and runner beans struggling. strong winds snapped my tomatoes. radishes cropping well and quickly.

it is really hard work as our one was completely grassed over. I've dug about 6 beds but have room for heaps more. I've got some black tarpaulins and also weed control fabric down now to try and kill the weeds and grass to make digging easier.

slugs are everywhere too. big huge ugly slugs. using pellets and also nematodes but they are still numerous.

it is great fun though...once i get the hang of it and get the place properly dug over (and we get a decent spell of heat and sun) things may get easier......

bluemeadow

I have had my allotment for 3 years but still consider myself a newbie as there is so much to learn!
I absolutly love it, sometimes its an escape and sometimes my family come up and we all work together, my 8 year old daughter is a fab weeder! Its also encouraged my kids to eat alot more fruit and veg.
Its a realy great feeling to sit down and eat something you have grown yourself.
The one thing I would say is that it is very time consuming and judging by the amount of people who only last one season it does come as a surprise how much hard work it can be.

wellused

Thanks all for the replies it does sound as if this year has been less than prolific if you don't count the reproductive life of slugs and snails that is, I might give the local authority a ring to see if many have dropped out due to the bad weather I may have moved up the list, fingers crossed!

Foxy0810

I've had mine since 1st April and love it, it was a right mess when we got it and it's looking good BUT I have a long way to go I won't give up

wellused

Well after waiting about 7 months I received a call this morning to go and view some allotment plots, I believe that the site is not the best one around but it is the nearest one to my home and the people seem to be friendly. The site does slope more the further from the road that you go and I was warned that the ones at the bottom were in a "frost pocket" so bearing that in mind and weighing up the distance from the gate, the upkeep of the surrounding plots, and the work needing to be done to clear the plots I chose the one next to the vice chairman of the society. I figured that if the chairman and vice chair were happy to have plots in this part of the allotment then it must be a good choice.
There was quite a variety of plots available from one which was part cultivated to one which was rent free for 12 months because it needed so much work doing on it. So now on with the planning and hard work it is amazing how quickly cultivated ground can become choked with weeds if left for a few months isn't it?;)

warehouse

Where I live it's difficult to get an allotment. I've been on the waiting list for 2 1/2 years now, so I think tonight I'll ring for an update.

wellused

I know that it's coming up to the end of the growing season but apart from the vacant plots quite a few looked as if they were bordering on being totally uncared for and others only partly used. On the other hand one in particular looked to be in perfect upkeep and another was laid to lawn with rows of grape vines done in a professional way.

kayjay1809

Well we've been on the waiting list for our local allotments for about 6 or 7 years now, we put our name down and were told we'd have to wait for someone to die before we got one!!!! This evening I got a phone call offering us an allotment (thankfully the gentleman hasn't died, he's just giving it up and we're next on the list). We've been down to look at it and it's beautiful, like a big garden, rather than an allotment, with a few raised beds, an overgrown pond and a very large shed. There's an apple tree, raspberries and strawberries. All for £40 a year!! But we're complete newbies, my dad used to grow all our veg and fruit when I was small, but I've never been greenfingered and my hubby certainly isn't. But our son who is 12 is keen and I think we'll accept it as we won't get the offer again. 2013 could be an interesting one!