Topic: 10 poles... 5 poles...?

[vaca]

Hello,

I'm currently trying to get hold of a plot and have found 2 sites pretty close to my home with available space. I've sent my cheque for the keys so hopefully I should be able to have a look around them sometime by the end of this week. My question is this, should I start with 5 poles, or jump straight into 10? I do realise the work involved, but I'm also thinking ahead to the future and believe that if I don't get 10 poles now, I may never get another chance as I'm in London and there aren't many plots going around.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Alex

[bupster]

You could always take the ten and cover half the plot with weed suppressant fabric. It's my cunning plan as soon as I can afford the weed suppressant!

[amphibian]

It depends how many mouths you have to feed, whether you want a little leisure space too and how much work you want/have to do on each plot.

I have 17 poles, all covered in couch grass, but I have a good few mouths to feed and I want to grown as much of our food as is absolutely possible.

I would suggest you take the 10, though I would consider the following factors.

• What weeds are present
• Shade
• Position of plot, in relation to water, gates etc.
• What is already present
• Shed
• Greenhouse
• Perrenials and fruit trees.
• Compost area, water butts, etc.
• Whether the adjacent allotments are overgrown.
• Shelter from wind.
• Quality of soil.
• Other factors I haven't thought of.

If all is satifactory with the ten, I'd take it, work half and cover the other half. Ten Poles was traditionally seen as the amount of land needed to feed a family of four.

[daveandtara]

hey, fellow londoner  ;D
snap up the 10 poles!!!!
if the worst comes to the worst and you really can't cope you can always give 5 back or share with a friend.
we've got a half plot and now we're waiting (and waiting ) to get hold of another on the same site!
it's so easy to underestimate how much space spuds and onions x one family x one year can take  ::)
good luck, Tara xx   (SE London)

[supersprout]

Another vote to snap up the 10 poles. Get time on your side, cover half with weed suppressant (or keep chickens? :o, after a couple of years the weeds will be truly dead under their wraps (ALL BEING WELL ;)). 

[Robert_Brenchley]

Alternatively get a decent strimmer, and keep the half you're not working well cut back. That'll kill the weeds and turn it into a lawn faster than you'd believe. Then it's easily dug in when you want to plant it. But definitely go for the ten poles, even if part of it just ends up as sitting out space for barbecues.

[amphibian]

Alternatively get a decent strimmer, and keep the half you're not working well cut back. That'll kill the weeds and turn it into a lawn faster than you'd believe. Then it's easily dug in when you want to plant it. But definitely go for the ten poles, even if part of it just ends up as sitting out space for barbecues.

Does strimming despatch the couch grass too?

[bupster]

Does anybody know where to get a half decent, reasonably priced battery strimmer? Argos laughs in the face of my enquiries and keeps offering me cordless kettles instead. I suppose I could boil the couch grass...

[supersprout]

Have you asked around your neighbours for a swap? Then you can see if you get on with a strimmer, I never have. I have a little sickle! :)

[wardy]

Sorry to hear you only have a little sickle supersprout but it's what you do with it that counts  :o    I would have preferred to use a sickle to clear the plot but I think I would still be there in ten years time  :)  Our lotty association has a strimmer it loans out and we just pay for the fuel - maybe yours has one Afubini  :)

Sorry to hear about Argos Bupster - a cordless kettle!  I ask you  ;D
Do you want a cordless trimmer or strimmer? I think strimmers are too beefy to be battery powered.  You only want to be clearing the plot once so if your lotty association doesn't have one then I'd hire one in.

Robert B is exactly right about cut back, then keep cutting back with lawnmower til you get a "lawn" which you  can cut into if you ever need the space.  This is my lawn which is just strimmed and mowed weeds.  Looks good and is now my leisure area

[SpeedyMango]

Bupster - try this huge link:

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=3801&langId=-1&searchTerms=STRIMMER&viewType=seeAll&sortBy_1=16384&searchScope=458&searchType=&maxResults=26&fltrCatIds_1=28884&catId_1=28884&catName_1=DIY%2C+garden+and+car&catHits_1=26&catId_2=29541&catName_2=Clearance+garden+tools+and+maintenance&catHits_2=7

For listing of strimmers (and so on) in Argos (hope it works).

If you've got some serious clearing to do, you really don't want a battery strimmer. They are far too weedy for attacking anything other than already short grass. Get a petrol one (or hire one, but hiring it twice will cost the same amount as buying one).  You'll more than likely use it more than once anyway.

[bupster]

I'll try the lottie association, they seem to be pretty good and very kind. Otherwise  it's finding a lickle sickle, as I'm on a very tight budget for the next few weeks at least. After that I'm lady muck,  8) so could hire in an army of goats to clear the plot?

[sarahr]

Go for the bigger plot, you never know when you'll get the chance again.

Could someone explain poles to me, please? My lottie is 18ft X 67ft & 15ft X 67ft - how many poles would that be?

[bupster]

A pole is a unit of area equal to a square rod. :)

[bupster]

A linear measure equal to 5.5 yards or 16.5 feet (5.03 meters). Also called pole.
The square of this measure, equal to 30.25 square yards or 272.25 square feet (25.30 square meters).

I think yours is about 8 poles, a little smaller than standard, but to be honest I haven't a clue - I got this off google :-[

[amphibian]

A linear measure equal to 5.5 yards or 16.5 feet (5.03 meters). Also called pole.
The square of this measure, equal to 30.25 square yards or 272.25 square feet (25.30 square meters).

I think yours is about 8 poles, a little smaller than standard, but to be honest I haven't a clue - I got this off google :-[

It's actually 8.12recurring [square] rod/pole/perch. :P

[Mike J]

I managed to clear our two new 5 rod plots (full of weeds) in two or three days with an old (long handled) scythe my OH found in a charity shop recently for a pound. Found it very effective and relatively easy and efficient - used Tim's technique from an earlier post. My lottie neighbour - an older person - said I should look after it as it turns out it could be a bit a collectors item. I had used one before, that had an extra hand hold on the handle, when I did some reed cutting on a conservation holiday some time ago. I would recommend trying to find a scythe - also it's a 'green' option. Good luck with your new plots. Incidentally, my two new plots are because we ran out of space on the original 5 rod plot (how many poles is that?) so I would say go for the largest you can get now, rather than later when they might not be so close together - you will almost certainly need extra space if you go for the smaller plot.

[vaca]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Last friday I received a key to go see 2 different allotments, both with available plots - all were completely overgrown with weeds as expected. A couple were so overgrown with blueberries that my girlfriend who came with me to see them suggested I pick one of those - and have an instant blackberry plot with no more work required but picking!!!  :D

I've decided to apply for 2 adjacent 5 pole plots - as most of you have said, I should probably take the opportunity to apply for 10 poles as I'll probably want the extra 5 sooner or later, and later it may be gone.

...now off to post my application :)

                          ...and to find a suitable strimmer...

[wardy]

Congratulations on your latest acquisition  ;D  Good news about the berries.  They're right expensive to buy so you might as well pick them and enjoy them - even if it's not your lotty.  If no-one else is eating them .....  :)

Your lotty society or officer may be able to lend you a strimmer.  That's what our does and we just pay for the fuel.  Once strimmed we went over the whole lot a few times with a petrol mower and it's looking good now.  Divots filled in with sieved soil and it's looking like a lawn (kind of).  That's our relaxation area but if we need more growing space we can take some of the lawn  :)  When all the weeds are cut down you'll realise just how big your plot is.  Ours is about the size of a footy pitch  :o

Strimming is hard work so don't go mad  :)