Topic: re unworked allotment

[ladicius]

I have a neighbouring plot that is not being worked on apart from 4 small beds (i mean small) the main problem is couch grass coming on to my plot can anyone suggest a solution

[legless]

chat to the plot holder about it? see if they will clear the bit near you?

[ladicius]

have tried dropping hints but she is too busy with university stuff mt thoughts why take it on in the first place then
 >:(

[Gazfoz]

Just dump some weedkiller on her plot and tell her what you have done. If she doesn't like chemicals then she needs to get her plot cleared as you haven't got time to be weeding her plot also.

[raisedbedted]

Just dump some weedkiller on her plot and tell her what you have done. If she doesn't like chemicals then she needs to get her plot cleared as you haven't got time to be weeding her plot also.

Think you could be in a lot of trouble for that one, and I'd prefer couch to weedkiller any day.

Why not just dig a spit down all along your boundary this should stop most of the couch from migrating across, and if there are seeding weeds then either ask if she doesnt mind you strimming them off or put up a wind / 'seed' break.

Non cultivated plots or semi cultivated are a real problem and partly caused by 'allotments being the in thing'.

RBT

[ladicius]

cheers rbt thought about the corrugated route but could work out pricey may just need to go for the back breaking solution and trench it

[Gazfoz]

Think you could be in a lot of trouble for that one, and I'd prefer couch to weedkiller any day.




Why?

[legless]

i wouldn't be dropping hints, i'd be telling her that you've got a problem, and then i'd dig a trench.

[STEVEB]

check on your plots rules and regs...we have a clause to say that all plots must be worked..maybe you could frighten her with being kicked of if no work is carried out

[posie]

Just have a word with her rather than hinting.  Uni at this time of the year can be particularly hectic as it's the prime exam/essay time (not to mention an extremely stressful time) so it may be that by mid June she's going to have more time to work it.  I know I've found that's the case with mine, it's only now that I've been able to go up every day and attack it and I've been racked with guilt about not being able to get up there and give it my all.  Obviously if that's not the case then you may have to take things further but at least give her the option.

Also she may well welcome some suggestions about how to get rid of it, I know I didn't have a clue how to sort the problem out until I rooted around here and asked lots of questions.  She may welcome some advice from you.  And point her in the direction of this site - the more the merrier  ;D

[saddad]

 ;D

[Crystalmoon]

A plot on one side of me was very overgrown with weeds. I had a word with the lady whose plot it is & turned out that she didnt have any tools yet & was trying to weed it by hand  :o I have given her access to my tools & the very next day I found a totally cleared plot next to mine  ;D
I would check she has the tools she needs (students usually on very tight budget) or just clear the edge near my own plot for now as Uni finishes soon & perhaps she will really get stuck into her allotment in a couple of weeks time.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Give her time. I have problems myself this time of year due to exam marking. Couch won't spread much in a few weeks, and maybe you could collaborate over the summer holiday and sort it out.

[bupster]

For God's sake, it's couch grass, it's not ebola. I'd hate to have a plot on your sites. If yours is perfectly worked, good for you, you've a lot more time on your hands than I have, which does not disqualify me from having an allotment.

If it's rough it's because she's clearly not got a lot of time. If it's so bad it's seeding, have a word and get her to strim it. She may not even know that her weeds are a problem for other people - you don't until your own plot's clear. Otherwise, dig a trench.

[Gazfoz]

For God's sake, it's couch grass, it's not ebola. I'd hate to have a plot on your sites. If yours is perfectly worked, good for you, you've a lot more time on your hands than I have, which does not disqualify me from having an allotment.

If it's rough it's because she's clearly not got a lot of time. If it's so bad it's seeding, have a word and get her to strim it. She may not even know that her weeds are a problem for other people - you don't until your own plot's clear. Otherwise, dig a trench.

The issue is not one of time.
If she has no time then she hands the plot back.
If she has time but isn't making any progress then she hands the plot back.
If she has a little time and is making slow progress, fine.
If she has a little time but spends it elswhere then she hands the plot back.
Quite simple really.

[grawrc]

As the committee member who has to write the dreaded end of tenancy letters, I know how tricky this is. If only life were that simple!

I think the bottom line is you talk. You explain to her what the problem is and maybe even offer to help keep it in hand until she is less busy. You could find out when that will be if at all. If she's never going to have time then probably she shouldn't have the plot, but if she expects to have time soon then strimming would seem like a plan in the short term.

On our site the committee will organise to help people strim their plots (so as not to annoy other plotholders with the weed seeds etc) if they're stuck for a bit.

Needs a bit of the old diplomacy I would say and some straight talking.

[saddad]

I'm just about to enter the exam marking season, but it's only a month, and those letters are a bit*h... we desperately need to get rid of about 20 plotholders to try new blood off the waiting list......  ::)

[meandmine]

I haven't really posted much since getting my plot (end of November/beginning of December) but thought I'd give the crap-plot-keepers side here (where's the blushing emoticon when you need it lol).
When I got my plot it was overgrown and had plenty of junk in it (including lots of glass/broken glass which I didn't want around because it wasn't safe for my kids) and I worked really hard digging beds, cutting down overgrowth and clearing junk, which was all going really well.  Then in January, a run of family health problems prevented me from going up to the plot regularly until about three weeks ago and in that time the plot ended up looking worse than when I'd taken it  :o.  At the time, the last thing on my mind was informing the allotment committee of the situation.
In the last three weeks I've been going to the plot, sometimes up to three times a day, to get on top of it again (sitting on my bum with a pair of hedge clippers cutting everything down to ground level) and I've now got about half of it under control and have got a few veg plants in (thanks to the generosity of one of my plot neighbours) which I've only just been able to start watering as I wasn't given a key to the water taps and have only in the last couple of days found something at home that will fit the taps. 
A couple of weeks before I started tending the plot again it was broken into and vandalised (the locks off the gate and shed were missing, a big hole was kicked in the back of the shed and a glass cold frame was smashed.  I was pretty lucky though because other plot holders had had worse damage done  :( ).  While there was no lock on the gate it seems that the world and his wife have had a nose at my plot and formed their own opinions about what I was doing with it.  Also, during this spate of vandalism, one of the notice boards at the allotment site was vandalised and it was only last Sunday that I noticed there was a second notice board so I went over to have a look.  On this board were the minutes from the March committee meeting (which I read) and included in the minutes was a couple of references to my plot not being worked, it also said that a letter was being sent to me.  I never received a letter. 
Since I read those minutes I've happened to bump into people who have an opinion on my plot with them thinking I'd been kicked off the site.  I also had one comment in the car park when I was leaving one day (after doing two hours of solid digging) along the lines of "You shouldn't be messing about with cars, you should be working your plot".  Thankfully, the neighbours on both sides of me have been brilliant even though my weeds must have been a problem for them which I do feel really guilty about and, after explaining what the problems have been to other people when they've approached me, other people have been pretty good too.
It's just been pretty upsetting that the committee haven't been in touch with me about things rather than putting stuff up on a notice board (they have my address, phone number and email address) and also it would have been a nice gesture if someone could have informed me about the vandalism.
Anyway, to my point.  I'm not after sympathy but I wanted to say that, from my point of view anyway, I would have been a lot happier hearing of problems from a person rather than having to read about it on a notice board that I didn't know existed until a week ago.  So speak to your plot neighbour and you'll probably find her to be pretty receptive to your comments and it will also open the channels for future communication  :)  Hope this helps but sorry it's ended up being a bit long (I need a blushing emoticon again!).

[grawrc]

I think most of the problems stem from poor communication. We have the opposite problem from Meandmine, namely, we write to members about their untended plots offering assistance and asking them to get in touch if there is a problem and get no response whatever.
nothing goes on the noticeboards to preserve their anonymity.

[Sparkly]

I know I feel very frustrated when plots are not being tended, especially those that were in a reasonable state when taken on. On our site there is 1 plot, probably twice the area of ours - large shed, 2 greenhouses, paths all flagged with well pruned and established fruit trees and a 20ft long built section of compost bins. This plot has been taken on by someone who I can say I have seen once in the last year and is now a complete state. We took a plot on that was so bad that it has taken a year to clear, and that is with going down most days for the majority of that period. We have struggled to clear this terrible mess and someone else has a good plot that is now in ruins. Committees should have a support system in place where, once notified, the plot is covered up so at least the weeds do not cause issues for other plot holders.  I think that if a plotholder does not notify the committee that temporary help is needed, and they do not reply to contact within 1 month then the tenancy should be withdrawn. Meandmine this isn't really to have a go at you, sorry to hear you have been having issues.  There is no place for rudeness in any part of life, so I think that the comments made to you in the carpark were out of order and the committee have not really dealt with this in a fair manner. I can also see the other side as a phonecall/email to inform the committee only takes 5 minutes.