Allotments 4 All

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Every year when the time comes around to buying garlic seed I am becoming more and more frustrated by the diminishing number of varieties and the complete disappearance of several sorts which I know performed really well for me.  I can see that these varieties are still available in the USA as they are for sale over there ... but seed garlic is living tissue and cannot be imported legally (I think) and American companies almost never send anything abroad anyway!

Chesnok Red, German Red and many others I've forgotten the names of now have disappeared years ago despite being amazing performers with a great flavour.  Others have had their name changed with a "Wight" suffix.  In fact - if you look at all the major catalogues there is hardly a single variety available that isn't grown by the Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight.  If they don't grow it ... it's not in the catalogues.  If its name has changed ... they have changed the name!

This year The Garlic Farm has drastically reduced the number of varieties available - and so have the main seed catalogues.  The price of seed garlic has gone up a lot everywhere too!  I don't mind buying from them on principle but I have suspicions about where some of my white rot has come from when planting in ground I know hasn't had any alliums growing for over 10 years and two years ago they sent me bulbs with only 3 or 4 cloves on each one for £3 each!

Is the industry a stitch-up or am I imagining it?  Does anyone know where else I can look to buy interesting hardnecks or good solid performing garlic (without the doubt of white-rot coming in from seed stock)?

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I'm fairly easy-going and friendly towards other  plot holders on my allotment site.  I took it over about a year ago and have just finished harvesting my first year's crops here.  There are two adjoining plots - one was taken over in the spring and the other has just found a new gardener to tend it.   Both the newcomer and I now seem to be suffering from an 'I'm alright Jack' neighbour.  He never speaks but he does glare at anyone who speaks to him.  It doesn't bother me - I served part of my army service as a drill sergeant so I can glare with the best of them.  The latest-comer, however, is a young lady on her first plot and she gets nervous.  In addition, our neighbour thinks nothing of blocking the paths with tools which he leaves out for days at a time and which we have to move if we want to barrow manure from the communal muck-heap  He is supposed to refill the water-trough the three plots share but never does, leaving it to me to refill it for him.  Last but not least, he feels free to help himself to my fruit and veg.  I caught him at it twice and others have also suffered.  Compalints have been made but so far to no avail.  I never saw anything like it on my previous site.

Has anyone else suffered from this sort of behaviour and what can the allotment association do about it?

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Hello all.

Some raspberry canes from my neighbours plot have migrated over to my asparagus bed. How can I get rid of them? I don't want to dig the crowns out as I'll damage them.

Regards

Bluecar

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Sorry for hogging with a few posts, but my new allotment is raising a few new things for me! We are lucky enough to have an allotment oriented north to south with no overshadowing anywhere. I have read the fruit trees need to go north to south so will make the beds for them that way, but how important is that for other veg and fruit bushes?

Also I used to have beds 4 by 8 feet in my last allotment but because of the different shape/size of my new allotment am wondering about making them longer. I appreciate it means longer to walk to get round but wondered how much of an issue that would really be? I want to not lose too much space to paths if I make smaller beds.

Thanks for any thoughts and advice again