What have you done on the plot today?

[Wobbly John]

Planted out 1/2 a row of dwarf beans, and about 20 courgette plants (through compost on top of cardboard). Potted on lots of peppers and toms to refill the green house, but used soil from the bottom of the 'compost bin I have been filling with weeds for about 3 years'.

Going back soon, for the 3rd time today with about 45 litres of water on the bike trailer. 

[The Family Cyclist]

Wobbly from the above I'm guessing you do no dig?

Cycled to mine tonight and gave it a good soaking. The water trough I use was fairly slow in refilling so had to draw from a few different ones. The plot was waterlogged over the winter due to the sheer volume of rain and is now like a desert where I've not watered

[ElyDave]

It is absolutely dry as a bone here, the lawn looks like the serengeti already.  Wildebeest anyone?

[Wobbly John]

Wobbly from the above I'm guessing you do no dig?

Nope, It's clay so would set like concrete. I'm just borrowing the technique to try to retain moisture and reduce weed growth on a small (10 x 3 metre!) area. 

[Wowbagger]

Ho-ho-ho-ing. I was given 8 tomato plants yesterday, and a courgette. They are in the ground now. My first runner bean showed its cotyledons. I also weeded the patch where I sowed the radishes. And this evening I took a photo of the hedgehog who seems to live in a large pile of dead 3-cornered leeks.

[Riggers]

Spent yesterday up the allotment, ostensibly to water, but in the end, building defences around our onions that have come in for some harsh treatment from what can only be, Mr Bastard Badger. Previously, we’ve seen signs of exploratory digging in parts of the allotment, and been perplexed as to what could have caused it. But a fellow allotter said it’d’ve been a badger. He’s indiscriminately chewed on some, trampled them, pulled up some. Bastard. So we managed to find sufficient chicken wire to put round that area. As far as we know, Badgers don’t like onions.

[The Family Cyclist]

Not strictly what I did but nearly did and can't now. Was considering a second allotment. When watering mine from troughs Monday night went to a distant trough as my nearest two were slowly refilling. Spotted a wild flower meadow which I thinks meant to be a plot and when we took on our plot in late autumn had a choice of about 15.

Email newsletter from the allotment organisation today and there is now a waiting list. It's amazing what uncertainty does for allotment up take. Just before the credit crunch a load of people I knew got allotments and had a choice of which ones. There is currently a five year wait on that site.

I might however get a second one in a year or so when people realise they can be quite hard work and need regular attention

[madcow]

We had 3 allotments occupied this time last year. Now we have 7.
Only one is what I would call a corona virus decision.

In fact ,occupied is a bit of an overstatement as they all started out as an arable field  that was full of docks and couch.
Nobody has refused a bit of chemical assistance in clearing the weeds.

My neighbour, the only farmer left in the village,gave us some cow  muck and another neighbour (who works on the farm) gave us a load of topsoil that he was clearing out of his garden.
Everyone has gone for raised beds , with two trying no dig methods.
The soil is medium to heavy but structurally knackered as it sits wet in winter .
Great for brassicas and onions , crap for everything else.

This winter the parish council secured lottery funding for water troughs so compared with two years ago, this dry spell isn't too difficult.

The only plants still to go out are my second lot of squashes, some tomatoes (9  plants out already) and some late sown kale and PSB which will hopefully be the winter greens.

[ElyDave]

our village has pretty full occupancy, but then there are people that have 5 allotments themselves, so the rest of us don't get a look in

[Wobbly John]

our village has pretty full occupancy, but then there are people that have 5 allotments themselves, so the rest of us don't get a look in

...and here in the next village North, the parish council tell people there is a waiting list, despite there being a few vacant plots, and two that have now become 'the car-park' 

[The Family Cyclist]

A lot of the problems is how they monitor cultivation. I had to get an allotment in the nearby village rather then the town I live in but its only 3 miles away. The one in my Town has lots of plots that I can only assume are paid for but not cultivated

Where I have my plot there is a cultivation policy but when we took ours on were told it's hard to enforce when there are empty plots.

[MikeFromLFE]

Our site is an odd one. It's owned by the City Council (but located outside their boundary) but managed by t'committee.
There is a twice-a-year joint inspection by the council & committee.

As I understand it the committee have to agree to an aggregate percentage (possibly 75%) of the let plots being in cultivation, and that 'degree of cultivation' is agreed by both parties at each inspection.
If your plot is looking unkept after a couple of inspections I gather you get a warning letter, and get turfed off if it's no better at the next visit.
I'm pretty sure that the committee use their discretion when they know about illness / other extenuating circ's

Our site is huge* having around 120 full sized plots, plus a few communal areas, car park, shed-shop, toilet, water troughs etc. We've got maybe half a dozen vacant plots as far as I know.

*The site used to be huger but it was split in two when the middle of the site was sold for housing in the early 70s. The two (split) sites are managed by one Committee with waring factions from each part of the whole.

[SteveC]

Yesterday and today.
The outdoor tomatoes are in their grow bags where the cold frames used to be.
The plants which were in the cold frames are out waiting to be planted.
The remaining tender plants from the greenhouse are now in the cold frames, which have been moved round the corner to the west facing side of the garage. Squashes and tuberoses which will be planted next weekend or thereabouts.
And I mowed the lawns.
Doesn't sound like much, but it seems to have taken most of the weekend.

[hatler]

Finished digging the bed I didn't quite finish last weekend. Planted a whole bunch of cavalero nero (?) kale seedlings.

Mrs h planted a new set of runner beans (the last lot failed spectacularly), masses of weeding, and planted a set of tomato plants from our plot neighbour.

[The Family Cyclist]

Up the plot before work to give it a water..... Heard a rumour on the wireless of water coming from the sky later this week

[De Sisti]

Have just cut the lawn.

[The Family Cyclist]

What's a lawn? There is a dead brown thing over some of my garden. The wheat from under the bird feeder is doing well though

Up allotment to water before work again. Please let it rain

[Wobbly John]

Last weekend I filled a header water tank with soil (from bottom of weeds compost heap) and planted carrot seeds, in the hope that it's height will deter carrot fly.

I might go down later and plant another row or 2 of carrots in the ground to use some of the seed up (16 grams for 79p goes a long way!).

Aspargus now finished, broad beans now cropping. a few potatoes on flower, but you can tell from the size of the tops, that there's not much below yet.

[Riggers]

Well, Badgers don't like onions I guess, but Wood pigeons certainly like Brussel Sprouts. Chewed every leaf of the 36 plants I'd lovingly grown from seed, into small children, and released into the nursery of our allotment. Initially, could not fathom out what the hell could cause such devastation, then a friend we share the lot with, came up to spot Mr. Bastard Wood Pigeon, finishing off the last leaf of the 20 Kale plants we've got had in the allotment.

Have now, retrospectively netted as much as we can, to see if any will rally. But I'm not hopeful Just disappointed.

[ElyDave]

yes, pigeons are bastards for pecking at stuff, I always net teh salads adn brassicas these days.

Thsi year, blackbirds have been driving me ccccccrazy since I mulched one bed with crass clippings to warm it up and get some moisture in it, buggers just keep digging it up and seem to have a thing for pulling out my seedlings as well for soem reason

[Riggers]

You can now add Beetroot leaves to their list of tastes. Bastards. Actually, now it's become Mr Fucking Wood Pigeon!!

[Regulator]

Well, Badgers don't like onions I guess, but Wood pigeons certainly like Brussel Sprouts. Chewed every leaf of the 36 plants I'd lovingly grown from seed, into small children, and released into the nursery of our allotment. Initially, could not fathom out what the hell could cause such devastation, then a friend we share the lot with, came up to spot Mr. Bastard Wood Pigeon, finishing off the last leaf of the 20 Kale plants we've got had in the allotment.

Have now, retrospectively netted as much as we can, to see if any will rally. But I'm not hopeful Just disappointed.

Wanna borrow an air rifle?

The Bastard Pigeons have eaten all my early strawberries.

I've got two courgettes in - I've got my first flower today.  Three tomatoes (including a Black Globe) are growing madly and beginning to flower.  The second tranche of pak choi, lettuce and spinach are in.  First and second plantings of French breakfast radishes are coming on well.

[The Family Cyclist]

Firstly we rescued a black bird that was caught in the netting on another plot. Good job I put gloves on as had a bloody good go at my fingers. Suppose it didn't really know I was actually helping it

Then some weeding and harvested a load of Swiss chard as also got growing in garden.

Dug the last bit but then the welcome rain arrived and the kids were getting a bit ratty so called it a day

[hatler]

Cleared the bed that had become the dump. Lots of grass grown through the black plastic cover stuff. Lots of weeding.

[perpetual dan]

The tip had opened, so I took a couple of car loads of garden rubbish there. We now have bags to put stuff that won't compost in again.