Uncultivated plots

[Digeroo]

I took a wrong turn and ended up by some allotments.  So I parked and had a nose.  There were several very well done plots one with some raised beds with different compartments and triangular sections at the corners which I was rather taken with.

But there was a huge amount of uncultivated land, yet I know that there are vast waiting lists on all the sites in Swindon because I was trying to find one for a friend.

[northener]

Same on hours. Supposed to be a waiting list but half are like jungles, i think uncultivated letters get sent out in October.

[Le-y]

i went to all three allotment sites over the course of this year (think i visited 4/5 times in total before deciding to go for one) and noticed on each lots of uncultivated plots covered in weeds or just general jungles.

When i went to apply for one myself i found there were excessive waiting lists on all sites bar one where 3 plots were available so i took one, yet there are at least 10 plots unloved on my site .

[Trevor_D]

I'm afraid it's the same on a lot of sites. As Secretary, I'm the one who has to write the non-cultivation letters. It's not easy to get land cultivated, either by persuading the existing tenant to get their finger out, or throwing them off if they won't. The process can take a year or more. We now have regular plot inspections and I walk the site every time I go there (ie. most days). But we still have several rather unloved plots. And a waiting list.

[shirlton]

Its the same on our site. It riles me every time I see the jungles. I think a few people who dont want to bother anymore just keep them on till October cos they have paid for the year. If there wasn't a waiting list it wouldn't bother me as much. Rant over

[flowerofshona2007]

We do plot inspections every month, two members of the committee go around and mark every plot on out points system (mainly for our plot of the month award) any plots not being looked after and scoring 2 or under get a gentle reminder form the site manager, next month if no improvement they are sent a letter giving them 14 days to get the plot sorted, failing that the next letter is you have 14 days to remove your stuff, works well for us.
We have 2 plots in a pretty bad way with annual weeds but we are splitting them into 4 small starter plots and anyone who wants to come onto the site will have to do a min of 6 month- a year before they are offered a half plot, this might stop the waste of plots and time !

[1066]

congratulations on your new plot Le-y! At least there will be another loved plot on your site now 

[northener]

Whats the prize For allotment of the month flowersof shona?

[cornykev]

I think we've all got unworked plots on our sites, and it does wind you up when people don't turn up for months on end, unless theres compost or wood chippings been dropped off, then they are down there like a shot.            

[flowerofshona2007]

Whats the prize For allotment of the month flowersof shona?

They get a certificate, its mainly to encourage the new members to do well 

[Bill Door]

Well I received my annual bill for a half plot yesterday, £15 including water.  Price is not the problem.  They have said that they have 356 people on the waiting list for about eight allotment sites in our town.

I have a great difficulty with this as I have recently seen two young guys start working an overgrown plot (so they are allocating them)and around me there are at least 4 overgrown half plots that have been like it for nearly two years.  Nearby there are another 4 that have been cleared by the youth group but no one else has worked them.

I currently work full time and took on my plot in preperation for retirement  I was thinking of taking on another half plot but I don't think I will get the chance this year.  However, I do have the feeling that this high "want" of an allotment we have recently seen will die off again.

Shame really I don't suppose anyone else has seen the "digging fairy" whilst sitting down having a drink of tea and sweat poring off them.  I have been told by a allotment neighbour that one group came down and had hoped that the council would have prepared "their" plot and when they were told they would have to dig it they picked the Autumn fruit and said that thought they would turn it down


On second thoughts I might ask to take over one of the overgrown plots and see what they sAY

Regards Bill

[Squash64]

I know how frustrating it can be for people to see overgrown plots on sites when they are desperate to have a plot.

We are Council owned/self-managed so we have to go through a procedure set out by the Council for evicting tenants.  This can take months and the weeds keep growing.....

[raisedbedted]

The plot next to ours is the same every year.  They start with all good intentions planting stuff into their myriad of raised beds.  Then, once that is done they do not return until the letters of non cultivation get sent out in October.  Then they come down and strim.

Really annoys me when there are so many people who want a plot and these people just want one 'for the fashion'.

Rant over...

[Trevor_D]

Unfortunately, the vast majority of people are so out of touch with growing food that they don't have the skills and grossly under-estimate the amount of time & effort involved.

As one prospective plot-holder asked me recently, "Do you come every week?" (She didn't take on a plot!) And we've got newcomers - lovely people, bags of enthusiasm - that I'm having to teach how to dig, because they've never done it before.

It's no wonder they drop out. Perhaps we ought to be doing more to help & teach & encourage?

[Deb P]

That could be a good idea, I know some sites run short courses 'on site' which can be made compulsory for those on the waiting list who have no previous experience.
You only have to look a the number of 'where do I start' threads that we see on here to see the potential demand. Perhaps one plot could be used for this purpose as a teaching area, so basic and more advanced skills can be passed down like they used to be ............Just a thought....

[saddad]

Well I'd be prepared to do that on the "school's Plot" 

[Old bird]

On our plots we have a couple that need a fair bit of work but - surprisingly - one of them is rented to council gardeners two fellas who are paid to cut the grass and do the flowers round the town.  They are up there every week cutting the main path and yet theirs is the untidiest of all.

They started last year and were given the plot for free for a year as it had not been cultivated before (it was just grass)  first year was not very good second year they started really well - the plot was tidy and everything looked very neat late spring - then they just forgot it!!!  Very little has been picked - the weeds are HUGE and blowing seeds over other plots.  They said that they would wait until they got a tidy up letter and then they would do it!!!

There is a site inspection tomorrow and as usual the untidy plots have caught wind of it and have done just enough to keep their plots!

Unfortunately - as Bill Door has pointed out - price is not a problem.  He said about £15 for his half plot.  That to me IS part of the problem.  The rents need to increase to a level whereby people will value what they have.  Discounts could be given for OAP's people on benefits etc.

O B

[Trevor_D]

We've just embarked on Starter Plots. Very early days yet, with just 3 of the 6 plots let. Each "plot" is a pair of raised beds, each roughly 12 feet by 4 feet, plus a small cold frame & a communal compost heap. (The infrastructure was inherited from the previous tenant.) They are renting initially for just one season, from October to October.

But part of the deal is that we are on hand to help & advise as necessary. We've had an initial working party where we cleared debris from the plot and started cutting back the grass & weed. Last weekend, they had their own working party to continue this and start clearing their beds. We were around to give them a hand - that's when I ended up teaching how to dig - although they were in charge as we were involved in a Tidy-Up working party over the entire site.

Our immediate aim is to get enough dug & prepared to plant garlic & onions to over-winter. Then they can get the rest ready for spring.

Watch this space....

[Chrispy]

Unfortunately - as Bill Door has pointed out - price is not a problem.  He said about £15 for his half plot.  That to me IS part of the problem.  The rents need to increase to a level whereby people will value what they have.  Discounts could be given for OAP's people on benefits etc.

Increasing rents to prevent uncultivated plots does not work.
A plot near me is in a very bad state, but earlier in the year the tenant spent a fortune with plants from garden centers, much more than ever I could afford, but after the spurt, they just stopped coming (again).
Many people have part time jobs, with not much income, or like me, self employed and with the recession things are not going well, but we don't get any benefits or discounts (I have relatives who are on benefits who have a lot more money than me).
Increasing rents will push many off maintained plots long before the uncultivated plots are vacated.

[Robert_Brenchley]

It's very often the people with jobs who find they can't cope with a plot, unfortunately. No need to penalise the ones with time and no money. Uncultivated plots need to be handled on a case by case basis. The unfortunate thing is that it takes a couple of years, or even more, to get rid of them.