General Chat

We'd love to have an allotment. We live in a flat and there isn't a garden as such, just a small grassy bank down to the kerb. There are acres of allotments a short walk up the road, but on asking the council they say there is a huge waiting list.

But when I look at the allotments up the road, only a few are actually used to grow veg. The rest are just weeds and left to waste? They are obviously not used, so why is there a waiting list?

It's really frustrating for my partner, who would love to have an allotment for the exercise and for something to do, as well as all his fresh veg.

Morning.

I know somebody who had one for about a year.found they didnt have the time to do it or maybe the idea wsnt as good as they first thought etc.
Anyway I asked how it was getting on, they no longer had it,they 'lost it'
I dont know if it was taken off them or if it was due to complaints etc.

Teresa - as I think I have said before on here, we have an allotment. Perhaps instead of contacting the council, you should loiter around the allotments when you can see people working on them, and ask them what the situation is. They will be able to tell you who is running them, and maybe you can contact this person to get a more fuller picture of what the position is, as to the availability. Be prepared to work hard though, as you may be given the worse one on the site, just to see how sincere about it you are. Just my thoughts really, but it may pay off.
I wish you good luck. It is a very fullfilling 'hobby' to have excercise wise, and so productive.
Best Regards
Julia in Derbyshire

TW my friend has an allotment and the Council are very strict (in her area anyway) about how they are maintained etc and if anyone allows theirs to start going to rack & ruin, they normally get a blast up the wossit by the council (as happened to my friend). She was told to get it sorted in x amount of time or she'd lose her allotment, so chances are those you have seen are being "dealt with".
I grow most of my own veg now it is hard work but worth it. Last night I picked my first Pak Choy of my crop and stir fried it...there's nothing like the taste of freshly picked veg. I'm hoping to make my own wine from my grapes this year too.
Put your name on the waiting list:)

If you dont have any luck with one you could always try growing some in tubs etc.,better than nothing.
I've got tatties and carrots in tubs. I got my grandsons to plant them. I gave one of the the tubs,compost etc etc as a birthday pressie lol.
Now if they produce...thats another matter lol.

Marion, that reminded me of a few yars ago, when dad was too busy looking after mum, and had not set his tomatoes, which are important to him as he is a vegetarian. So, for Father's Day, I gave him a hanging basket with three Tumbler tomatoes planted in. He was well chuffed, and 'know it all' cousin was most miffed because he had not thought of it.
Many herbs, and chillis and peppers can be planted up in hanging baskets also. Make a tripod of beans in a large plastic planter, about £2-3 to buy, but you have got the pot for another year. The possibilities are endless, whilst waiting to come up the Waiting List.
Julia in Derbyshire

I've seen tomatoes in baskets ,they seem to do well.
I'm hoping my grandson gets some veg out of it. I told him he can sell his produce to his Grandparents and his aunt and uncle and get some money for more seed's/pot's/plants etc.
He said he wanted to grow red roses...he is 6 lol

He hasnt seen them for two weeks as he has been on holiday, so he will get a suprise at they way they have grown


Marion

We do have a few peas broad beans lettuce and carrots in tubs, but there's not a lot of room for those either, it really is only a grass verge. By the time we've got the wheelie bins on there, most of the space is taken up.

No reason why tomatos shouldn't be grown in tubs, you can grow them in growbags, which are not that deep....

Thanks for that, I'll take a wander down there and see what's what with those who are working their allotments.

They are not just being let go, they look like they haven't been touched in ages, they really are like waste ground, with sheds falling to bits.

Teresa, my husband has an allottment and I really don't understand the system either. There are at least two allottments that have not been tended for ages. People who have got them, came down twice and disappeared. I know that you pay for a year, but the council do come down sometimes to inspect and if they are not being looked after you get a threatening letter. Still hasn't stopped those two being empty. At the same time, one of the regulars died last September and within a couple of months we had new people who had been on the waiting list for three years.

Hi TW,
I hope you get an allotment as there realy is nothing better.
grew up on fresh allotment veg!! we had one for a while when our kids were young it was bliss to have our own strawberries and veg. The best bit I remember is the Raspberries they were something else for the taste!superb
.
Our council wants to sell off allotment land and are telling people there are none. Er yes there are!

So yes get down there as others have said talk to the allotment holders as they might know someone who might want to share there's have half each.
Oh and it's so nice to take a flask,pack-up and a good book and watch OH toiling away and the kids running round in the fresh air,I remember it well. LOL
Good Luck
Tricia xx

Teresa, not wanting to make you feel jealous, but this weekend I have coming up from the allotment, New Potatoes, Broad beans, peas, Cabbage, Carrots,Cauli. And, Strawberries, Raspberries, Loganberries, and Beetroot and Radicchio (sp), and possibly the last of the Sweet Peas. To come, is plenty more of the above, also Runner Beans, Borlotti Beans, Dwarf Beans and Sweet Corn, Red Onions, White Onions, Spring Onions and Shallots. The only thing I bought in this line in Morrisons this morning, was Tomatoes, beacuse mine are not ready yet. I have a Chilli plant and Pepper plant in the greenhouse, and herbs in pots, around the garden.
There is so much you can grow if you have the facilities to do so. It usually cuts about £10 - £15 off my shopping bill each week, at this time of the year, by growing our own.
But, then you need to bring your cooking skills into being, to be creative to make something of it all, and preserve for later what you can't use straight away.
So go and rattle somebodies cage. Remember, it is not the paper pushers that know what is going on down on the allotments, but the spade pushers
Good Luck
Julia in Derbyshire