Lucky me

[filsgreen]

I applied for an allotment last sunday via my local council's website. I got a letter on Tuesday stating I would go on a list and could possibly only have half a plot due to demand. Imagine my surprise when I received a letter yesterday offering me a plot on a site about five minutes away from my home. I feel so lucky, my brother waited four years for his. I phoned the chap post haste and we've agreed to meet this Tuesday at 2pm to view the plot. The half plot is 140 square meters and cost £66 per annum. I've worked out the area as 35 meters x35 meters, is that correct? I phoned my mate who lives two minutes from the allotments; he nearly bit my hand off when I asked him if he wanted to go halfs. I'm not a loner type, so having someone there helping me with the work will be great. Also, I would probably have more produce than I can eat so it makes sense. It will be all new to me so I've bought a book off Amazon for £6 entitled "Allotments month by month", it got great reviews and sounds like it's right up my street. Any advice would be most welcome, especially practical stuff like security and dealing with vermin.

Phil

[Deeps]

I applied for an allotment last sunday via my local council's website. I got a letter on Tuesday stating I would go on a list and could possibly only have half a plot due to demand. Imagine my surprise when I received a letter yesterday offering me a plot on a site about five minutes away from my home. I feel so lucky, my brother waited four years for his. I phoned the chap post haste and we've agreed to meet this Tuesday at 2pm to view the plot. The half plot is 140 square meters and cost £66 per annum. I've worked out the area as 35 meters x35 meters, is that correct? I phoned my mate who lives two minutes from the allotments; he nearly bit my hand off when I asked him if he wanted to go halfs. I'm not a loner type, so having someone there helping me with the work will be great. Also, I would probably have more produce than I can eat so it makes sense. It will be all new to me so I've bought a book off Amazon for £6 entitled "Allotments month by month", it got great reviews and sounds like it's right up my street. Any advice would be most welcome, especially practical stuff like security and dealing with vermin.

Phil

Mrs Deeps would be 'well jel', her allotment is a 20 minute drive away. 140 square metres will be roughly 12 metres by 12, 35 metres would be a bloody field.

If its been used recently it may well be fenced off and in good nick already, no need for fencing it etc. Good luck with it, there are plenty expert gardeners on here, I'm not one of them.

[Briggs 2.0]

Before you go halves with your mate be careful because 140 square meters is about 12 metres by 12 metres but hey, that's still a huge area for growing. At this point my advice drops off considerably because I'm not all that clued up on allotment etiquette. A mate of mine does struggle with watering as water is limited on his plot so perhaps check that out first. There are loads of peeps on here with security focused sheds that collect water and solar energy so it's over to them.....

[filsgreen]

Thanks guys, I'm glad it's only 12 x 12. My estimation had me worried.

Phil

[Brambles]

Welcome to the noble art of allotmenteering!

A few pointers.
Have a walk round the field and identify the well tended plots full of produce(even at this tie of year and cultivate friendships with the old boys. They will know what you can grow and what will struggle. Check water availability and if you don't have a shed, set up some tarp or corrugated metal sheet to catch the rain, as much as you can. A full plot will easily take a couple of thousand litres in a dry spell. If the plot is overgrown, don't go mad trying to clear it all in one go. clear a bit, manure it and plant something, anything at least then you will have a small harvest of some sort for your efforts.
Good luck and enjoy!

[filsgreen]

Thanks Brambles for great, practical information, which is similar to what my brother gave me. I'm not sure about there being a shed on site, but I was telling a girl in work about my good fortune and she offered me an 8x4 shed which she had in her garden if I need it. It does need a bit of restorative work, but hey can't complain for free.

Phil

[Brambles]

That's great! I'm about to move from a half plot to a full plot myself next week, can't wait! Looking forward to growing a winter garden as well as a summer one next year.

Just a thought, keep a photo diary of your plot. I did with mine and when you start to feel a bit down or you need cheering up looking back at the photos certainly gives you a feeling of satisfaction when you can see what you've achieved.
You might also want to learn how to preserve your goodies, cuz you'll have gluts! From 26 Runner bean plants I must have picked a good 12lbs if not more.
Don't be in a rush to plant things out, if the field is open, it's always worth waiting an extra week or so before putting out the tender stuff.Allotments are a harsher environment than a garden (one of the many lessons I have learned)

Oh and two books I can recommend for allotmenteering are The Essential Allotment Guide and Vegetable Growing Month by Month. Both by John Harrison.

[Deeps]

That's great! I'm about to move from a half plot to a full plot myself next week, can't wait! Looking forward to growing a winter garden as well as a summer one next year.

Just a thought, keep a photo diary of your plot. I did with mine and when you start to feel a bit down or you need cheering up looking back at the photos certainly gives you a feeling of satisfaction when you can see what you've achieved.
You might also want to learn how to preserve your goodies, cuz you'll have gluts! From 26 Runner bean plants I must have picked a good 12lbs if not more.
Don't be in a rush to plant things out, if the field is open, it's always worth waiting an extra week or so before putting out the tender stuff.Allotments are a harsher environment than a garden (one of the many lessons I have learned)

Oh and two books I can recommend for allotmenteering are The Essential Allotment Guide and Vegetable Growing Month by Month. Both by John Harrison.

Cheers, I've wishlisted them for Her Maj's Christmas. She has a bit of slapdash approach to it, even when she first got it and I was advising to get the infrastructure in place first, she was desperate to grow stuff then leaves it to rot sometimes. I have to chase her at times to make use of the stuff she grows, she's getting a bit better but a 'programme' might help.

[filsgreen]

Thanks for the book recommendations; I'll hang fire on them Brambles as I've just bought this one.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/140534 ... UTF8&psc=1

Great idea about taking photos; I don't know what to expect on Tuesday, I'll take photos on my phone. The girl in work who offered me a shed said her father had an allotment for ages and used to sell his excess produce to friends and workmates. Anyway that's all in the future, probably got a lot of weeding to do first.

Philip

[filsgreen]

Well I've just been to visit the allotment site to view possible plots, and to say I was underwhelmed would be an under statement. Here is the plot that was the pick of the bunch.



Basically what you can see is what I've got. It's this side of the path up to the water container. The hexagonal flags will come in handy for the shed base. There is no skip on the site and there is a problem with owners fly tipping their rubbish on vacant plots. It's no wonder there are so many vacant, but with council cuts, it's hard to manage the site. I couldn't get to the plot to photograph it properly because the owner of the other side had put a padlock on the gate.

Here is the other one I considered.


Here is a photo of one of the others I was offered.



So I've just got to wait for the confirmation letter and pay £66 for the half plot, £20 key deposit and £20 for admin costs, plus £5ish a year for water.

Items I'll need, Shed, water butt, long hosepipe and plenty of elbow grease. Any suggestions, besides "run for the hills".

Phil