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Allotments!
SweetPea93
Posts: 446
Hello all,
I've decided to join a waiting list for an allotment locally to me, there are three other people on this waiting list, and currently - according to the website - three vacant plots... Hopefully this means I am next in line for a plot.
Is this a bad time to be acquiring an allotment? What can I expect, and will need to buy, besides the obvious - spade and fork and the such...
I'm very excited and can not wait to hear from the council, and hopefully in the none too distant future!
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Posts
Fab time of year for getting an allotment,
depends on how the plot has been left. We put our name down for one on a boozy night out with friends who had already got an allotment. Within weeks we had a brand new plot, which needed clearing of grass. That was around March/April 3 years ago and we haven't looked back. It's been fantastic and we enjoy time as a family down there (me, OH and 3 kids) and I often enjoy time on my own down there. Last autumn we took on the plot next door too and have had to clear it completely. Great place for relaxing, spending time together and obviously for growing fruit and veg! We bought a really cheap small shed (you could look for second hand) keep a few tools there. OH enjoys making raised beds from offcuts of wood etc. We did have the choice to fence ours off, which we did choose to do. You can spend as little or as much as you want. That's the fun. We have old wellies planted up with marigolds in the summer which the kids love doing, planting sunflowers etc.
Enjoy your little piece of 'the good life' when you get it.
I suppose I'll find that out when we get to see it! We only want a half size one, big enough to grow some veggies, potatoes, carrots, onions.
I'm going to be rather impatient now! Our own garden doesn't have any earth to plant things in, it's all in pots, I'm very much looking forward to digging to victory!
Hope you get your plot SP93, where I used to live there was a 3 year waiting list for allotments. Some really good advice already. Digging can be very theraputic, it's a good feeling to see a patch of freshly dug ground with no weeds and so much potential, knowing that you're responsible for making it that way. And the long hot bath after is even better. Good luck.
@Lisa, I used to live in Birmingham, and directly opposite my house was a huuuuge allotment, it must have had 200+ plots, and the waiting list was something like 2 years too. My Dad had one for a couple of years, hardly waited at all, there seems to have been a massive boom in people taking them up.
I live in Worcester now and there's one a few minutes walk away, and another another couple of minutes away. There seems to be a lot in the city centre, which is great considering how many homes there are that are minus gardens!
I should add the one I'm waiting on, only has 60 plots. I was quite surprised to hear how short the waiting list is!
Very exciting news Sweet Pea. All very good advice given above. Also when you get your plot, if it is overgrown, just take it a little at a time and don't do too much and hurt your back - just small manageable chunks at a time. Let us know when you get your plot.
Got the email from the rep confirming me being on the waiting list...
I'm not so fond of waiting!
We got ours this week. I am very excited! Could anyone tell me what veg a good to start with? And what flowers to grow to attract bees? I grow tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuces in containers every year but I haven’t got much experience with growing in ground.
Our plot is quite big and I was wondering if anyone could suggest anything that would help us use all space. I am thinking pumpkins, gherkins and courgettes to make use of big space?
Any suggestions and advice welcome!! Thank you!