Allotment Wars

RAS

Own_My_Own wrote: »

Not sure what you owning 2/3 of the site has to do with it.
Or maybe it has everything to do with it.

Floss says that she own 2/3 of a plot. There could be a hundred plots on the site.

sarah222

I had a plot on a local site to my home walking distance it was great. However, we had one guy there who liked to flash (yes I mean flash) at woman. I contacted the police and contacted the council who run the site. Id spend weeks digging preparing etc. The police showed up couple of times but said couldnt prove it (this is around 20 years ago) but I didnt feel safe when on own there. I spoke again to council and they said they would move me. I had to move site - they didnt move him as again no proof other than my word and couple other females. I did move but new place was just too far and having spent so much time preparing old plot I felt I didnt want to start again and lost interest. Now when I think about it what a situation to put off a young family and allow a flasher to remain !!!! Im lucky now to have moved and have a huge garden and fields of my own but I found both the places I had allotments at to be scarey and unfriendly places :-(

Own_My_Own

RAS wrote: »

Floss says that she own 2/3 of a plot. There could be a hundred plots on the site.

Oh Sorry. But I still don't know what is has to do with anything.

Takeaway_Addict

sarah222 wrote: »

I had a plot on a local site to my home walking distance it was great. However, we had one guy there who liked to flash (yes I mean flash) at woman. I contacted the police and contacted the council who run the site. Id spend weeks digging preparing etc. The police showed up couple of times but said couldnt prove it (this is around 20 years ago) but I didnt feel safe when on own there. I spoke again to council and they said they would move me. I had to move site - they didnt move him as again no proof other than my word and couple other females. I did move but new place was just too far and having spent so much time preparing old plot I felt I didnt want to start again and lost interest. Now when I think about it what a situation to put off a young family and allow a flasher to remain !!!! Im lucky now to have moved and have a huge garden and fields of my own but I found both the places I had allotments at to be scarey and unfriendly places :-(

The point is that you had no proof and from the side of the council you could just be being vindictive ala the plot wars tv programme

sarah222

Oh I agree that I had no proof but sending a lady ( with support to investigate etc) would have proven it as he did it regular when he felt ladies were alone. Also I wasnt the only person complaining I felt they should have done more to investigate not just say oh you'll have to move.

lindseykim13

We as a family have an allotment and watched the prog last night, i was shocked and i'm glad we don't have to put up with that sort of stuff.
I'm not sure if it's because of who they were run by in the programme but ours is a council run one and i was given a key and the plot a couple of years ago. Told that there was a shed open once a week where we could buy seeds if we wanted and that was it. Haven't seen the guy since.
Apart from our immediate plot holders next to us you don't really see many people other than to nod hello when walking past.
There are loads of plots i'd say 200 my only complaints would be that we have had the shed broken into 3 or 4 times but now just don't bother locking it at all which seems to put them off bothering lol
I've also had too many letters threatening to take the plot off me because i haven't been cultivating it. This is normally during the winter and it baffles me every time i get one. I keep the plot covered with plastic sheeting from oct onwards.
I suspect our newish perfectionist neighbours have been complaining as they want the plot for themselves.
I fear unless i keep the plot really tidy it will get taken off me at some point. It is a bit nasty as you get one warning to tidy it and thats it.

Blackjack_Davy

lindseykim13 wrote: »

I've also had too many letters threatening to take the plot off me because i haven't been cultivating it. This is normally during the winter and it baffles me every time i get one. I keep the plot covered with plastic sheeting from oct onwards.
I suspect our newish perfectionist neighbours have been complaining as they want the plot for themselves.
I fear unless i keep the plot really tidy it will get taken off me at some point. It is a bit nasty as you get one warning to tidy it and thats it.

Yeah that happened to me. I've also had people yelling at me. Was glad to be shot of the place to be honest.

sarah222

I started growing stuff in pots on the patio and down side of house as less stressful to be honest. As said I now have huge garden and have a plot at the bottom fenced off for veg. I have to say at present it is covered in an old carpet to suppress weeds and help warm soil when necessary. I also have a lovely greenhouse lol would hate to go back to an allotment the hassle made it a hassle not a pleasureable pass time

avantra

Our allotment is on a site one block away from home and it is a plot tended since 1920, no one stick their nose to other people biz and it is a quiet place. Few of us practice the no-dig permaculture way although the old users are mostly into 'intensive' traditional growing.

We are not allowed a shed which is quite good in my opinion as the sheds on allotments always look a bit like a bomb site, so we concentrate are tools in big plastic storage boxes (enough for my spade and rake). Never remember seen people like the one on the program in our plots, truly vile, and switched it off after 15 minutes.

Our problems are mostly from wild deer and the blxxxdy pigeons!

neet87

My experience of our allotment has been the complete opposite of what has been described. It is a quiet, peaceful place. Plot holders are allowed to do there own thing and we have a large variety of aporoaches to growing. We have some intensive growing plots, some with ponds, completely raised bed plots, fenced in plots, not fenced in plots (usually correlated to dog ownership!), some with picnic areas etc. Everyone has been nothing but friendly and hapy to offer advice. We have communial compost area where people regularly put out surplus plants/veg when they have too much. In the summer I had so many plants given to me from other plot holders I was running out of space, I hope this year to be able to return the favours!