Topic: Appt to view plots next week

[sazhig]

Hello everyone - new here so please be gentle :)

I am a growing novice (I have been know to kill what few plants I had in the past :-\) and have an appt next Thursday with the parish council lady to view one of the allotment sites in my village. It is a fairly big site & has quite a few empty plots which the newly formed associated have started strimming to try to get more of them rented out. I had a brief tour last week by one of the secretaries when I popped in to have a look round so have an idea about some of the plots, but she was unsure which were available still (I caught her without any paperwork that day!). The site itself is on a slop that faces north east I think and has plots of varying sizes. What kinds of things should I be looking at when I go next week to help me decide? Would sites at the top or bottom of the slope be best? A couple of these vacant plots have had bonfires on them - will this affect the soil at all? I intend to be completely organic so am keen to avoid chemicals etc. I felt a bit lost last week - I would like to get a good sized plot, but it was quite hard to tell how big some of them were as some are wide & short, others are long and thin & some were odd shapes ??? I am a bit of a planning & control freak so will probably agonise over this decision for ages, wasting time when I could be digging it over - please help me!

Thanks

Saz

[Columbus]

Hi sazhig, Don`t be scared we are really nice  ;D

As I have just taken the plots I was offered  (the council policy is take-it-or-go without) this isn`t a decision I`ve ever had to make but things that the plants need like soil quality, light and water availability are important. Trees hanging over your plot will provide free leaf mould but also rob you of light or provide you with dappled shade - it depends how you look at it. And possibly drop millions of their babies into your soil.

Things you will like such as paths, closeness to taps or water supply, and entrances will be important. How far will you have to carry water, compost, supplies etc. These things will affect your work-load, and use of time.

Fringe benefits such as pre-existing sheds, cold frames etc, or permanent planting such as trees and bushes and rhubarb, will add value to a plot.

Personal preferences? would you like an odd-shape plot with secret corners and opportunities for beds of various shapes and sizes? or would you like something more linear?

As far as I can tell bonfires help produce good onions. In your case you don`t know what other people did on any plot in the past so you just have to live with it and do what you think is best.

I think all plots have their unique features and people learn to work with them or improve them and produce a crop. I think the hardest plots would be those that flood, hopefully other people here will write about that.

Best of luck, have lots of fun, Col

[emma h]

I agree with the above, every plot has it's pros and cons.  The thing I've found the hardest to deal with is non compostable rubbish, beer cans, rusty wheelbarrows etc so I'd go for a plot without too much rubbish on it, as weeds can be dug up and don't need a skip :)

[growmore]

Unless there is water available I would avoid top of slope ..Middle of slope sounds best if there is  a plot available in that position ...Cheers ..Jim

[weedbusta]

i think its all been covered, but a good views  nice when your on your feet, and one thats been worked recently shouldnt be to hard toget back into shape. good luck.

[sazhig]

Thanks for all the help :)

The site has taps at varying intervals along the middle track with 2/3 allotment rows 'above' them up the slope & 2 below them down the slope. Water was something I hadnt really thought of - how much watering will I need to be doing - is it an everyday thing in the summer?

Most of the sites from memory dont have any large trees etc overlooking them so hopefully I will have a sunny plot pretty much which ever one I choose. The one thing I cant choose between is being near to the car park or near to the pedestrian gate (they are pretty much at opposite ends of the site). On the one hand the car park would be handy to be near to, but I will be visiting it on foot as well & it would be nicer to go through the side gate as it avoids the horrible fast busy road (which I would like to avoid as I have a 21 month old). What does complicate matters is the vandalism problem - they have had problems in the past (the site is right next to the worst area in the village) but have just put up new fencing and coded gates etc and it seems that most of their problems are confined to rotavators etc being nicked for the petrol (which wouldnt affect me I suppose as I dont have one). So do I go for a site near the gate for convenience or away from it so my plot isnt the first one any potential vandals come accross? ??? Decisions decisions - I sometimes wonder if it would be easier if there were only one plot available - then I would just have to put up with anything there!

Oh well - at least I will have lots of help - PIL grow lots of stuff in their garden & have offered lots of their seedlings if I can clear a spot quickly and one of the chaps who works at the butchers has an allotment at the same site & has offered to help if I need it - Village life is starting to look very good at the moment ;D (we only moved here last October)

Thanks again - no doubt I will be picking your brains loads more!

Saz

[weedbusta]

near the car parks handy when your transporting heavy stuff in, or not got long and just popping in to water etc. i've got kids too. it would be nice to come in the pedestrian gate and have a walk through (and a good nosey) at the other plots. whichever you choose i'm sure you'll enjoy it. good luck.

[sarah]

I will be interested to hear which plot you go for. I am a bit of a dithering plan and control freak too but rather too disorganised for this to be a positive trait!  I have found that although i have big beautiful plans for my plot it kind of has its own plan, its own adgenda and i have had to compromise to a certain degree. 
It sounds as though most of the plots on your site have their pros and cons and I would suggest you take one near water, near enough to the carpark to carry and remove stuff to and from our plot, but not so close for the vandals to bother with.   Dont expect to get it all sorted in one season especially with a little one, it may take you two or three, but relax and enjoy it and plan plan plan!

[kippers garden]

My plot is long and thin.  On the down side, my shed is right at the bottem and i must walk miles up and down getting tools each time i am there...On the plus side, it is a lovely sheltered paradise where my shed is at the end of my lotty.  I sit and relax, have picnics and BBQ's...i wouldn't change it!

[Pigface51]

Hiya Saz,

I have had a simlar issue (but less of a choice - either plot 1 or 1B), but some friend of mine have also been going through the same choice option as you.

Other things to consider include:
The general state of the land - specifically how much couch grass is present! (Couch grass is the work of the devil) - much to cut back/dig up/burn?
Are there any "buildings" on it? (shed, green/hot house etc)
What is the water supply like? (taps, hand pump, utility for hose use etc)
Distance to water supply (a few trips with a full water can may weigh you down)
Soil type - may limit what you can grow - a fgood tip to to look at the plots bordering onto your prospective plots.
Any 'residual' crops? (i.e. rhubarb, apple trees, fruit bushes etc)

If you are concerned about shed theft, and you liev suitably close, then just don't leave anything of value on your plot.

Good luck.

[Growbe]

My plot is a long way from water, not near any gates, a long haul to get manure in but I would not change it for the world.

Being out of the way means I get peace and quite when I want but also I can chat with all the other people around the plot as I wander around with tools, plants, wheel barrows etc.

Near a site entrance is not for me ;)

[Looby Loo]

The general state of the land - specifically how much couch grass is present! (Couch grass is the work of the devil)

I think Pigface has hit the nail on the head.  My first plot was riddled with couch grass.  It was so disheartening when I thought I'd cleared it then this stuff came back almost over night.  My current plot only has a little (a disadvantage of being the end plot I think) so I am very carefully removing it.  It's laborious, but I know it's the right thing to do.

Being the end plot also has it's advantages.  I am next to a grassy car park which isn't used by many people but is a great place to sit and have a picnic.

[sazhig]

Well I've picked one  ;D

Its pretty much covered in knee high couch grass with patches of nettles and dock(as were all the others!) but its right next to the track so very easy access for loading & unloading things and it means I will have no trouble getting our ridiculously wide all terrain pushchair to it! Its also got a water tap a few feet away (which has a hose attached). On one side there is an other vacant plot (so my little one will have a little bit of a playground for the time being!!) and on the other is a plot mostly taken up by a wire chicken run, which is the only thing that overlooks the plot as its right in the middle of the site (so not much shade :)). So I've got a completely blank canvas - nothing except weeds! But the first year is free, except for the association fee of £1.75 - bargain!! ;D

Now to start planning how its going to be laid out so I can work out which bit to start clearing first. Sooooo excited now (especially as dh has said he will get his dad & his mate to help dig it over - so free labour as well)

Thanks for all the help - I'm sure I will be back very soon with a few questions about planning the plot!

Saz

[dandelion]

Congratulations Saz :)!
Couch, docks and nettles... sounds just like my plot. No bindweed  ;)?

[Robert_Brenchley]

No bindweed, no ground elder. They're a lot harder to deal with than couch.

[sazhig]

Well almost no bindweed - I saw none on the plot I have taken on, but I did see a very small patch of it in the vacant plot next to mine & I do know it is rife in other parts of the site which are unused. What does ground elder look like ??? I am still learning to identify weeds!

[Robert_Brenchley]

A bit like a coarser version of cow parsley, except that you get a mass of it. It'll be flowering before long. The roots go all through the soil, and being brittle, they snap and it's a lot harder to get every bit out. Same with bindweed.

[dandelion]

All winter I dug out these white roots which I thought were couch. Turns out it's bindweed!

[lancelotment]

I took on a new plot ( the only one available) this year after moving last year.  Great I thought when I saw it, there's rhubarb, gooseberries, loganberries and a couple of big comfrey plants.  What I overlooked in my enthusiasm was the mares tail, docs, couch and bindweed.  I would gladly have foregone the former if it meant none of the latter.  Lance