They want to take my allotment away from me.

Nelliegrace

It would be a good year to record all of the crops you get, and perhaps its value. 
I grew the crops which cost most in the shops. Lots of soft fruit, quince and medlars, forced rhubarb, and interesting vegetables.

twopenny

This is with you in mind.
Are the leaves on the allotment from the trees above or a mulch? Thats what stands out the most. Can you harvest the leaves from their trees, put in a black plastic bag to rot dow some more? I did this with council tree leaves falling in my garden with great sucess.
Next, are those red currants or goosegogs? You could easily make some definition there with light pruning.

Being watched and judged isn't nice. Been there. But you know if it's to your advantage.
Great that you're educating them 

FreeBear

twopenny said: Are the leaves on the allotment from the trees above or a mulch? Thats what stands out the most. Can you harvest the leaves from their trees, put in a black plastic bag to rot dow some more?

Had a few bags of stuff quietly rotting away in some plastic bags a few years back. The bags disintegrated, and I'm now constantly picking out little bits of plastic from all over the garden. If you are going to compost leaves, build a dedicated composting bin for them.

KajiKita

@Sapindus so this wasn’t actually about your plot but others on the site?! Like you say, horrid to get caught in tbe collateral damage! 

So relieved for you that this is sorted 😊

KK

Sapindus

twopenny said:

This is with you in mind.
Are the leaves on the allotment from the trees above or a mulch? Thats what stands out the most. Can you harvest the leaves from their trees, put in a black plastic bag to rot dow some more? I did this with council tree leaves falling in my garden with great sucess.
Next, are those red currants or goosegogs? You could easily make some definition there with light pruning.

Being watched and judged isn't nice. Been there. But you know if it's to your advantage.
Great that you're educating them 

The bushes level with the rhubarb are blackcurrants - the taller growth behind is wild things in the hedge bank.  Yes they could do with a bit of a prune but we got caught in a thunderstorm this afternoon before we could get round to it!  I think I'm the only person up there who actually prunes their blackcurrants, which is why mine are the size of marbles...

There are two big oak trees right over my plot, which is why I go for soft fruit in a big way because not much else will cope with the shade.  I bring in bagfuls of leaves each autumn to cover the soil where the potatoes are going.  I'd rather they fed the soil life and kept the weeds down while they're rotting, than just crumbling away in a plastic bag.

KajiKita said:

@Sapindus so this wasn’t actually about your plot but others on the site?! Like you say, horrid to get caught in tbe collateral damage! 

Well it was a general purge I think.  I met a young family this afternoon who'd also had a letter and have not long taken their plot on.  They'd covered some of it in tarps over winter but it's still a huge task for them to get 75% of it dug.  And a thankless task as they are basically working in sub soil after a previous tenant used a mini-digger to "weed" and dumped most of the top soil in the hedge.  I explained that to them so hopefully they might reverse some of the damage now.

Nelliegrace said:

It would be a good year to record all of the crops you get, and perhaps its value. 
I grew the crops which cost most in the shops. Lots of soft fruit, quince and medlars, forced rhubarb, and interesting vegetables.

Yes, rhubarb is a winner.  There is more to it than crumble... we've done chutney, wine, jam too.

twopenny

Fair enough 
You really know what you're talking about. Hope you all manage to talk sense into the 'committee'

Murphybear

Nelliegrace said:

I feel for you @Sapindus

Every year the best plot award went to a show plot which was grown just for judging day. The huge vegetables were too tough to eat and chemically bug free. The soil between the rows was bare. It was watered daily, and woe betide anyone who wanted to use the tap. There was a token row of tagetes useless to insects.

All winter the plot was bare earth.

We had the hugely productive permaculture plot just beyond it. It was crammed with insect friendly plants. We harvested our useful weeds for the rabbits and hens. Our bees improved everyones crops. We made the soil fantastic with tons of compost from seven compost bins. We provided comfrey feed by the gallon. We were always in disgrace.

I think this is very sad.  I always thought allotments were to grow food to eat and flowers for show.  I didn’t think it was to show your efforts in a competition.  Have you tried your MP.  Our MP lives locally and is passionate about  getting  involved in local issues.  (He also sent a successful rocket to the DWP on my behalf).  How about getting a local paper to do a name & shame.  

FindMyWayBack

Sapindus said:

Look at that garlic.  Size of leeks, they are.

Get stuck in mate, have a wonderful summer, don't let the beepers grind ya down

Sapindus

The irony is that alongside trying to save my allotment from the ignorant during the last few days, I have been busy creating a display at our village library about Making Space for Nature (it's Green Libraries Month) with a section entitled "there is lots of room for nature on an allotment"...

Make lots of compost, compost feeds the worms, and the worms do the digging for you.

Let calendula, buckwheat, poppies and musk mallow seed themselves here and there and the insects will pollinate your beans and eat the aphids.

Leave a little undergrowth for frogs and toads and they will eat the slugs.

Etc. 

Not if you're XXXX Parish Council.

twopenny

That was a great opportunity Sapin.

I once had a self appointed official comment 'well your garden is a bit overgrown'

I replied 'it took me 10yrs to get it to look like that!'
Always plant dense a) for the reason you said b) less weeding.