Got my Allotment - yay!

[corshamjim]

After nearly four years I had the letter today to say I've been allocated an allotment.  Bizarre really because a couple of days ago I was contacted by someone from Landshare offering me some garden to work - just as well I didn't get around to replying.  I must close my Landshare account.

Right .. time to dig out (pun not intended) the allotment book I bought in optimism last year. 

[Palinurus]

Great. Hope it's not too weedy.

Nice and early in the season too, you'll be able to clear a bit and get planting straight away.

[a lower gear]

Great. Hope it's not too weedy.

Nice and early in the season too, you'll be able to clear a bit and get planting straight away.

Nice and early in the season too, you'll be able to get the shed sorted out, the kettle installed, and the spot for the deckchair sussed. Then you can contemplate the weeds in comfort whilst nattering to the other shed-dwelling, tea-supping, deckchair-inhabiting allotmenteers. Surely that's they way it works?*

[*Never been on an allotment; am reliant on TV and cartoon sterotypes - which must be closely based on fact] 

[corshamjim]

Being new to it myself I'm assuming that's how it works.   

I understand the cricket club bar is a handly place to slake one's thirst after a hard half an hour or so graft on the allotment too.

I went for a look today - couldn't get in because I haven't signed the tenancy and got the combination for the padlock on the gate yet.  It seems mine is the middle of three allotments, and a fair size.



I see there are a couple of chairs already!

Of course I now need to go shopping for a trailer so I can cart my tools and stuff there and back with the bicycle.  I'm looking at the Adventure CT2 unless anyone has any alternative suggestions - I don't want one that attaches at the wheel axle, as I have hub gears and a hebie propstand so it would probably be just too complicated.

[Palinurus]

By christ!

-it looks neater and less weedy than our allotment before you've even started!

You've even got a path!

[Palinurus]

Get that padlock combination and then you can get to doing all those fun allotmenty things.

Like burning stuff.

[Palinurus]

For the first few years of allotmenting I used a really cheap trailer that attached to the QR on the seatpin clamp. Solid plastic wheels, steel frame, plastic box attached to frame (Orbit city trailer, no longer available. It was less than £80 new). It was fine for getting produce back and stuff but not capable of carrying truly large loads (big bags of stuff from garden centres etc). I got all my tools down there with it- I have a shed and leave them there. I get the manure delivered so I don't need to carry that in a trailer (A big tractor delivers it- it's great! I get so much it takes four hours to barrow it from the roadway to the plot. £20, I think).

Really depends on what you need to carry, if you want to take a rotavator down there or something you might need to choose the trailer based on that.

[corshamjim]

Thanks.  Push comes to shove I can use the car for really bulky things.  I've carried a sack of compost on the rack of my bicycle before now though so hopefully either that or the trailer will be fine for most things I'll need day to day.

[a lower gear]

Looks a jolly fine allotment - lucky you!

Your neighbour to the right is clearly the one to keep up with...

A lot can be carried on a bike if it is pushed. When I were a nipper my father used to replenish the sand in the sandpit by bringing a hundredweight sack at a time in the triangle of the frame of his bike, three miles from a builders merchant in town to our house. Are there any rules preventing you putting a small store (say single wardrobe size) next to that black tank? It would be sufficient to store all the necessary tools. What is security like at the allotment? - locked sheds tend to be a magnet for youths and petty thieves.

[corshamjim]

I think I'm probably allowed a small tool store, but definitely not a large shed.  TBH, I think if I had one it would eventually get broken in to.  The wall around the allotments is only about 3ft high, and it's not too well overlooked but is next to a public footpath which I guess is a route to/from the pub for some.

You're right, that neighbour probably has the surname 'Jones'.    I haven't met either of the other allotment holders yet, but hopefully will soon.

[graculus]

Looks good - the well made paths are a definite bonus as it gives you a good edge to work out from. We are lucky in that theft does not seem to be a problem on our site  and we are able to keep basic set of tools in an old waterbutt with a brick to weight the lid down.
My only bit of advice- grow things that you want to eat! I found it easy at first to get carried away when looking through the seed catalogues and end up buying all sorts of things that grow well but the rest of the family turned their noses up at.

[corshamjim]

That's good advice.  Thankfully we like most things 'cept I won't be growing many/much beetroot, broad beans or curly cale.

You can't see it on the picture too well, but the edge of the path on one side is gone so one of my first jobs will be to edge it - thankfully I have some lengths of timber in the garage, and if I need more Wiltshire Wood Recycling isn't too far away.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Two years on the waiting list, and we've been offered one of two small allotments. Both very overgrown, but the ground hasn't been walked on so it's really friable.

Dunno when we'll find time to work on it, but it is a great location, next to a green lawn bit in the middle of a vast area of allotments and near a water tap.

Now, what to plant, so late in the year?

[arry_b]

You should be able to get a crop of French beans in if you're quick and can keep them watered.

Swede can go in now, I've had to redo mine this weekend as the seedlings died off because the dry spell coincided with me being on a cycle tour in France.

How about sprout plants if you can find any?

[mrcharly-YHT]

French beans - sounds good. Don't think the kids will eat swede or sprouts.

Any variety of potatoes that can go in this late? I like growing potatoes. I used ot have a big garden and grow lots of veg, but that was 7 years ago and I've forgotten all the planting times.