It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

sammy_kaye18

MovingForwards said:

One of the first things I did after purchasing my flat was put my name down on the waiting list.  Each year I email them to ask what my position number is. 

I'm lucky as I deliberately purchased a flat with a garden, most of it is for edibles. 

When I've got the allotment place, my mortgage will be paid off and I'll drop a few days at work.

Ive emailed ours and I never seem to get a response so I think next week once things are open again I will ring them and see where I am. Last I heard I was 12th and even that was about 5/6 years ago. 

Onebrokelady

nannygladys said:

Just been reading through and this year I have been trying to utilize every bit of space at the allotment for growing, especially for Autumn and winter veggies. It's not quite a full size one and on the site I'm on, each individual lottie has its own gate and fencing or hedging round, so a bit like a private garden really, I have a lock on my gate but haven't used it for ages so I think I will oil it when I'm there and you have to have a key to actually enter the site as well, so hopefully we are quite secure!!
The Secretary was telling me the waiting list has that many people on it at the moment , they've closed it for the time being, I think more people are thinking of growing most of their fruit & veggies, but what many don't realise is the amount of time you have to put into it most of the year, its not as easy as some think, especially if it's over grown to start with and you work full time. 
We have our annual seed/plant sale next Saturday so I'm hoping to pick a few bits up, plants I would like to try but haven't got around to it. One veg I don't grow is cauliflower because at my first attempt there were so many slugs in them it put me completely off, and if I want one I'll just buy it lol!!!
Nannyg

My DD had an allotment a few years ago and as she was still living at home I agreed to help her with it, we lasted until she got onto a full time uni course and I was working 37.5 hours a week back then so we ended up giving it up in the end because we just didn't have the time to look after it. I'm glad to say that the person who took it over seems to making good use of it from what I can see. I now only work 22.5 hours a  week so would have time but I have health issues so I think I would struggle if I was lucky enough to get one 😟
I have two elderly chickens in my garden at the moment and I have decided not to have anymore so the ground where they live can be used for veg. I'm also thinking of planting some fruit trees along my fence line instead of the straggly hedge that is currently there 😊

Onebrokelady

sammy_kaye18 said:

nannygladys said:

The Secretary was telling me the waiting list has that many people on it at the moment , they've closed it for the time being, I think more people are thinking of growing most of their fruit & veggies, but what many don't realise is the amount of time you have to put into it most of the year, its not as easy as some think, especially if it's over grown to start with and you work full time. 

I have been on the waiting list for an allotment for years - nearly 10 I think and never hear anything about them so I took to making beds in my own garden and putting up a plastic walk in greenhouse so I am able to grow in my own garden. Thankfully our garden has plenty of space being that its an old miners house on the side of the mountain so we have a large shed come workshop for husband (when he decides to fix the roof and organise it) and plenty of grass space. I have also cleared space behind the shed which is a little sun trap most the day so I'm trying to decide what to grow down there but I am thinking maybe some small fruit trees might be a good shout to keep us in things like Bramley and eating apples etc. 
I have been really focusing on getting my garden together this year, I have dug up areas, put weed control sheeting in place for more difficult areas, I leave the edge of the garden long so that butterflies, bees and insects are ok and in my garden pollinating. My daughter also has a bird table that we feed on daily so birds are in the garden too. 
I currently have one bed with runner beans training over an arch and in the bed underneath have just planted cucumbers and put struts to the fence for them to grow up. In the greenhouse I have just re potted on 9 tomato plants and have a load of pepper plants that I will probably need to do the same with soon. 
I have 3 empty beds in my garden at the minute that I am planning on sorting today. One will be for lettuce and rocket (we have lizards and a guinea pig so none of it goes to waste) and then the other too I am hoping to direct sow a few bits which will be winter growing like cabbage, sprouts, parsnips, swede. I also have small carrot variety that I am hoping to put into a tub but I do have carrots growing already as well as radishes which I had my first harvest of the other day and 2 courgette plants. My peas seem to be doing well as well and I don't seem to have taken much damage since I put sawdust around them. 

I am also trying to make in the house work better for me. I'm currently having a declutter and joined the declutter thread on here but one of my tasks was to defrost the freezer which I did and then refilled yesterday (that cost me £70) but I'm hoping we will be ok and I am being much more savvy with food - freezing left over portions etc as well as home baking and making things from scratch. 

I have noticed obviously when I am kept busy that our electric and gas usage is much lower (it literally heats our water) so I am finding that good as well. I am hoping that I will be able to turn my hand to crafting more and then in theory should use little to no electric in the day whilst its just me home. 

Loving the sound of your plans for the garden and house, it's very similar to what I want to do, being out in the garden also helps with my mood too 😊

cbsexec

As I sat in my car today I watched a local garage changing the price on their unleaded and diesel - it went up 4p!!   Not far of £1.90 for each now.   And it was a supermarket petrol station too.  

London_1

I topped my tank up on 1st June and it was £1.67.7 per litre, by yesterday 3rd June it had gone up to £1.71.7 per litre so probably be £1..75-6 by the middle of next week
 Its as if petrol has gone up by 22p a gallon every time it goes up We will soon have the £8.00-£8.50 a gallon petrol in the UK. No wonder the price of food is rocketing, I only use my car for essential journeys now, and walk a lot more than I used to which is probably better for me healthwise, its just so exhausting and painful when you use a stick and have arthritis  in your joints as I have. Plus it take twice as long. But only shopping twice a month is better for my purse as I no longer buy unncessary stuff.
So swings and roundabouts When I topped my tank up on May1st it cost me £68.60, on June 1st it cost me £37.45 so less shopping and less petrol expended saved over £30 odd. I usually top the tank on the first of every month so I know exactly how much its costing me to run. Today every little expenditure is listed and looked at carefully to see where corners can be cut a bit. This month I shall do very little shopping as I am away on holiday on the 1st July for two weeks, so I'm using as much of my stuff at home as I can. Slowly running down my freezer but its taking ages and I really wanted to defrodt it before my holiday but at the moment I can't see it happening. Mind you I have not done a great deal of eating at home this week as two of my grandsons had birthdays plus out on Sunday at my DDs for dinner. Hopefully this month I will be able to use up some more stuff, but definitely buying very little if I can Its the 4th today and so far I have absolutely nothing to buy at all on my shopping list  

JackieO xx

Datchet

nannygladys said:

Just been reading through and this year I have been trying to utilize every bit of space at the allotment for growing, especially for Autumn and winter veggies. It's not quite a full size one and on the site I'm on, each individual lottie has its own gate and fencing or hedging round, so a bit like a private garden really, I have a lock on my gate but haven't used it for ages so I think I will oil it when I'm there and you have to have a key to actually enter the site as well, so hopefully we are quite secure!!
The Secretary was telling me the waiting list has that many people on it at the moment , they've closed it for the time being, I think more people are thinking of growing most of their fruit & veggies, but what many don't realise is the amount of time you have to put into it most of the year, its not as easy as some think, especially if it's over grown to start with and you work full time. 
We have our annual seed/plant sale next Saturday so I'm hoping to pick a few bits up, plants I would like to try but haven't got around to it. One veg I don't grow is cauliflower because at my first attempt there were so many slugs in them it put me completely off, and if I want one I'll just buy it lol!!!
Nannyg

 Where we are there are spare allotments and we have had a couple over the last 12 years. Unfortunately, they are handed over in a deplorable condition and we found ourselves unable to get them into a manageable state to take forward. Pressure of work and home life (plus other holders…) meant we had to give them up. Will possibly get one to share with another couple when I’m semi/fully retired and can put the time in. This is what people underestimate… for a full sized plot it is a HUGE commitment. At least 5-10 hours a week, most weeks, including winter. I wish everyone looking to get one and on a waiting list the best of luck! We have had a lot of produce off ours over the years and managed to save money doing it!

Spendless

It does take ages to eat up a freezer contents, though I'm getting to the belief that Jackie knows how to stretch a meal so much that the contents just multiply for her by magic  and that's why she's not getting to the end hahahaha xxx

I think it was brought home to me yesterday, how one person's budget is considered 'wealthy' compared to others. DS and fiancée have come to stay for a few days, we are all going to a relatives tomorrow for a Jubilee celebration. Yesterday afternoon we took them out for a drink, we paid as they have very little. In one well known pub chain I suggested  we had the pubs offer of 2 pitchers of cocktails for just under £13 for the lot. As this gave us at least 8 drinks between us, it netted it down to under £1.65 per alcoholic drink. As we stood at the bar to order DS said to me, "I don't know why you're getting excited at the price of these drinks Mum as though you're only paying 20p - £13 is still a lot of money".  The pair of them are leaving their digs later this month and going to live at her parents. They have a similar sized house to us, but more space because we still have DD living here until October but we do live in an area with better transport links both road and rail, so the option to later move to us is open too, though would be better if that wasn't until DD had left. For now they intend getting jobs, anything they can whilst DS will also start applying for graduate jobs. 

Woolsery

cbsexec said:

As I sat in my car today I watched a local garage changing the price on their unleaded and diesel - it went up 4p!!   Not far of £1.90 for each now.   And it was a supermarket petrol station too. 

If people have old lawnmowers like me, the cost for E5 petrol is well over £1.90. Yes, they will run on the normal stuff and it will kill them off quickly too!

I suppose we aren't allowed to talk about the reasons for the increase in prices, the coming famine and the rolling power cuts next winter, but I think  those primarily responsible were all in the same place last week and they didn't seem particularly concerned.

JinJinBlue

About petrol prices. I went on a day coach trip last Saturday to Skipton and Harrogate. Prices at the service station was £1.99.9
Thats £2.00 of anyone's money. Like Jackie O, I only use my car for essential journeys. Many ordinary people will be priced off the road at this rate. On another note, Betty's Tea Room in Harrogate had queues going round the block to get in. At £35.00 for afternoon tea I was glad that I'd taken a packed lunch and my own snacks and treats.

dreaming

I haven't driven now since February 2022 when I was ill and subsequently diagnosed with a condition which I have had to notify DVLA about. Other health concerns have also been flagged up and I have had a number of hospital appointments. These are often early in the morning before my free bus pass kicks in, plus I would have to get 2 buses to the hospital which isn't easy due to the condition. I am often being fitted in for the appointments, which is why they are usually so early, and I am so grateful to the NHS for this but it has made me realise how much I took my car for granted. My daughter has been able to take me to some appointments but she lives and works in a different town so it means she has to take time off  to drive over (I do offer to pay for her fuel but she won't accept) but it isn't always convenient for her to do that so I have taken taxis. So any savings I have made on fuel by not driving has been eaten up in taxi fares. I am also having to have a supermarket delivery as although I have a Tesco Express just a few minutes walk away (and I can manage that on a good day) its range is obviously limited and pricy so I just really use that for milk and bread. I've always meal planned and budgetted, so in itself it isn't too difficult to shop this way but it does mean I can't take advantage of any reduced items or shop in the budget stores. I haven't quite worked out whether it is cheaper to order one big shop on a monthly basis and pay one delivery charge (and hope I remember everything) or to break it down into 2 smaller ones. I use Morrisons (mainly because I used to shop there as it is closest to me so I know their range) but if other people have good experiences of other s/markets I would be grateful to hear about them.