Topic: To lottie or not?

[Amazin]

Rob.

My local council has allotment plots available

I'm gobsmacked!
Which part of London is that, then?
I'm in Camden where there's a ten year waiting list!

[robkb]

Hi Amazin, sorry about the slow reply, haven't really been online this weekend.

As for which council I'm under, this is and will remain a closely guarded secret until I've actually signed for the lottie!! :)

Good news is, my OH has now agreed it's a good idea to try and get one (think my image of sitting there on summer evenings with a bottle of wine chilling in the freezer bag won her over!) and when I mentioned it to the kids they immediately dragged me off to the garden centre to choose their seeds for next year! :o So they seem quite keen too...

Cheers,
Rob. ;)

[robkb]

No problem with the wine - I'll enjoy it too (as well as the odd beer! :D). As for the tea and coffee, when I get myself organised I'm thinking of getting a small camping stove to brew up on - saves taking a thermos every time.

Both my daughters want to grow pumpkins and courgettes next year, so I'll be heeding your advice not to plant more than 4 courgette plants (I love 'em, but not for every meal...). Mind you, when it comes to broad and runner beans I could easily eat industrial quantities!

Cheers,
Rob :)

ps. like the milk bottle plants labels idea - must try that one.

[robkb]

I like your stove Wardy. I've got enough spare bricks at home to build one of those - in fact, I've probably got enough spare bricks to build another house!

And yes, if and when I get my plot the water butt is top of the list.

Cheers,
Rob. ;)

[robkb]

Didn't set out to be a brick collector, they just turned up (literally!) when I dug all the borders over in the garden - hundreds of the bl**dy things, obviously dumped there by builders in the past. And then I thought "hmm, they might come in handy one day" and they're still there, in a big pile in the corner of the garden.

As for the 'doing nothing in particular' thing, I can do that! In fact I've been practising for years...

Cheers,
Rob. :)

[Amazin]

And then I thought "hmm, they might come in handy one day" and they're still there, in a big pile in the corner of the garden.

Same here, Rob - I started working on my garden over twenty years ago and have turned up a serious quantity of "house-seeds" ever since. Turns out my block of flats was built on a site that was bombed in WW2. Anyway, I piled mine up in a corner, threw some earth over them, and hey presto! - a herb rockery!
I once had a very weird dream that I finally dug the last brick out - and the whole block sank without trace!

[robkb]

I have a horrible feeling that if I ever manage to dig the final brick out, my whole garden will sink without a trace! Mind you, I'd rather dig up bricks than the remains of someone's old family pet like last year! :o :o

Cheers,
Rob ;)

[robkb]

I dug up the remains of a previous home-owner's cat! Strange thing was, the cat was just bones but cardigan it was wrapped in hadn't decomposed a bit!  :o

Cheers,
Rob ;)

[chuff]

I have just taken an allotment after a lot of umming and ahrring, And yes I have bitten off more than I can chew,  blood sweat and tears have all been shed, the majority of it was 2 foot of grass which has been killed off with weed killer by the council, the rest of it has been used has a land fill site for house hold rubbish including asbestos :'( >:(
I decided the best way for me was to dig what I had to, mainly removing rubbish and cover the rest with thick black plastic (bought from my local farm supplies 8m x 50m £45 ;D) and let nature do the hard work, I plan to spend the winter just getting things ready for next year, erecting a shed, laying paths etc, I'm in no rush to get me veg in just yet, just doing it a bit at a time, at my own pace. But the best thing of all is that its my little haven away from the house ;D. So go on do it ;D

[robkb]

Hi Chuff,

I'm going to do it, but not at a back-breaking pace. I'll do what I can when I can to clear it, and realistically I'm not expecting to plant anything until next spring. I reckon I'll spend most of the winter sorting out what I want to grow next year!  :-\ Ah, the joys of seed catalogues...

Cheers,
Rob ;)

[robkb]

Don't want  to run before I can walk! Although if anyone's got any good recommendations for winter/spring stuff...

Cheers,
Rob. ;)

[Svea]

welcome robkb

most things have been said, but just to chip into the mix:
i have a half plot and grow enough for two people and a little to give away. i havent bought any veg for months now - apart from onions (as i dont grow any). it's been great
it got me thinking about a whole host of things, actually, growing your own veg: reconnecting with the seasons and eating what is ripe now, not what has been flown in from the other side of the world! so apart from eating more healthily and cheaply, i also save the planet one bit at a time :D

i dug up the remains of a cat in the spring, which the previous plot holder had buried on the allotment! i mean, people bury their pets in their gardens, but on the lottie? :o but the tomatoes appreciated the fertiliser, it seems - all my veg has been doing very well this year.

as to time, i spend about half to an hour on the plot each evening (it IS only round the corner from my house), and then maybe two hours or so on saturday or sunday. nothing too taxing, you see. OH doesnt do much gardening, but has helped with digging, weeding and harvesting. and enjoys that too

so yes, go for it.

another londoner, i wonder how central you are? i know brent council have lots of spare plots, maybe that is where you are then? i am in southwark :)

have fun

[robkb]

Hi Svea, and thanks for the encouragement.

I agree completely about reconnecting with the seasons (is  anyone who gardens  not aware of this) and eating what's fresh now. A while ago I sort of converted to organic veggies and then very soon realised any eco-benefits were being completely obliterated by the distance they travelled to get to the supermarket, just so I could eat celery and fennel etc. all year round. Add to that a very good essay by Huge Fearnley-Whittingstall in his River Cottage cookbook about seasonality and veg growing and you get the idea why I started growing stuff at home, which led naturally to the allotment idea...

As for being a Londoner, I work in Southwark but I live (ok, the secret's out) in Greenwich.

Cheers,
Rob ;)

[Svea]

hugh fearlessly-eatsitall is a favourite read of ours, too
i agree 'local' food is more important than 'organic'
farmers markets are great for that
at least it's all grown round about the M25 so not too far.

re: the seasons - another by product of this is i now rejoice when it rains in the middle of summer - not recking my summer day, but saving me from having to water :D
and i noticed in the middle of august that autumn started with falling leaves and that. it's marvelous :)

[Svea]

you mean the cloud, wardy?
http://www.lusas.com/case/civil/images/mqc2_800.jpg

[robkb]

Greenwich.  Ooh good - you have sommat at the Greenwich thingy building which belongs to us (or a model of it at least).  Apparently up here in Derbs we're supposed to be getting a massive sculpture - bigger than the angel of the north apparently.  They're erecting this edifice by junction 29a when it's built that is.  BUT no-one round here has a clue what it looks like as the thing is at Greenwhich which is miles away.  Praps you'd be good enough to go and have a look and tell me what it's like  ;D  so we know in advance then we can object if is pants ;D

Soz, don't know which building in Greenwich so could you try them all.  Thank you kindly  ;D

Bigger than the Angel of the North? Blimey, that's going to be enormous! And if it is pants, it'll be the biggest pair in history!

Cheers,
Rob ;)

[robkb]

A solar pyramid at the observatory? Must go and have a butchers and see if I can get a photo... That Cloud thingy is probably okay on a small scale, but on a huge scale it'd look like a collapsed pylon struck by lightning!


Cheers,
Rob ;)

[Svea]

any update on the plot, rob? (stop flirting with wardy already ;))

[robkb]

Am currently exchanging emails with Greenwich Council as the site I originally wanted now has no vacancies (since Monday!). But there's another 4 or 5 sites within a couple of miles which - allegedly - have vacancies so fingers crossed...

Flirting? Moi? Too busy reading back through this site, emailing the council and thinking of the lunchtime visit to Borough Market for that. Who knows, I might even do some work soon... :o :o

Cheers,
Rob ;)

[Svea]

hmm borough market. a little pricey for veg but such fun to visit :)
have a monmouth coffee company coffee for me :)
and dont forget to buy some nice (real) bread at neil's yard dairy