Topic: so much for having an allotment :(

[lizagrowbag]

remember my last post how excited i was to have this plot?

well now we dont have one  we worked hard on it for 4 days and all the commity got together today and they told the top woman you should be ashamed to have given those young people that peice of land!  apparently  theres been all sorts of things dumped on there for years  theres big old trees going all around the outsides so nothing will grow there!   so now they tell us eh
i think she gave it us cuz she liked us and was trying to help  but now she and the others have had second thoughts
so she said we can have a little patch  of there sure start alootment untill something else  more suitable comes up.
oh i could cry lol  all that back breaking work and now no allotment i had so many plans too  but im gunna use the little  bed thingy they are lending us to learn from as at the end of the day i know next to nothing about growing

[manicscousers]

sorry to hear about that, liza..all your work down the tubes  :-\
on a slightly plus side, if nothing can be grown there, maybe it's for the best, hope you get more land soon...for next year...good luck

[debster]

maybe they will be willing to give you a hand when one comes ready

[Baccy Man]

Looking at the picture you posted earlier it doesn't look too shaded for things to grow, the weeds are certainly thriving. http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,44046.msg441138.html

Now you have put the work into clearing it they should at least let you try growing something there this year. I think there will probably be a bit of rubbish buried under the weeds which other plotholders have dumped there over the years but I don't think it's very likely that nothing will grow there. They were going to give you the first year rent free anyway so they are not going to lose anything. If the plants you put in grow well then you could clear & prepare everything properly through the winter if not then you haven't had to put any more work in as you will just be using the bed you have already prepared.

[luckybear]

Oh, bad news.
I agree with the previous one...surely something will grow there?

What about a bunch of manure, compost, etc. to dig into it over the coming months to enrich the soil?

And, if there are weeds there already, then it's a sign of growable soil, surely?!!!

Good luck.

[lizagrowbag]

after reading the last 2 posts im thinking there must be something more to the reason why they told us its a no go , as she did mention also that the fencing they promised us has gone walk about too
i guess if they dont want us there theres little we can do  but i feel very deflated now i was so excited now i dont even wana go there :(  will see how i feel weather to give up or not

[grahamatlocking]

Sorry to hear about your plot, I just got one myself and I would feel terrible it they took it back again.
I hope you get another one very soon.

G x

[saddad]

I don't get who took it back? You seem to have been shabily treated... by the site committee or the landowner? Don't stand for it.... and don't let them drive you out...  :-\

[ceres]

As saddad says, that is very shabby.

I think you need to decide whether you want to fight to keep that plot or not.  I had a look at your photo - it doesn't look shaded all round to me but I can't see the whole plot.  You've spent time working on it - is there a lot of rubbish dumped there?  Does it really need a fence all round?  If the whole site is enclosed in a boundary fence/wall is a plot fence necessary?  If you think the plot is OK for you, then put up a fight.  Complain to the council, tell the local press etc. etc.

If you'd prefer to get a new plot, don't tell them that.  Act as if you are so bitterly disappointed (which you are) and use it to negotiate hard for a good deal.  Get them to put you right at the top of the list for the next free plot.  Get a longer rent-free period.  If the next plot they offer you needs clearing, get them to provide people to do the amount of clearing that you have already done.  And anything else you can think of!

And if you decide to wait for a new plot, get practising in that starter bed.  It won't be wasted effort.

Chin up!

[kt.]

I would be demanding to take on the next available plot.  >:( You should certainly be next in line.  Keep an eye on it to make sure it is not reallocated to anybody else - like a committee members friend for example...... ???

[staris]

doesn't look that bad to me, a lot of the plots were i am are like that there is a wood at the bottom of them ,the whole site was derelict until a couple of years ago and there is some really great stuff being grown there now.

[shirlton]

All of our plots have been handed over in that condition. Very rare for someone to get a plot thats been done. Perhaps it's just an excuse. Watch and see that it's not given to someone else. I would also ask for the commitees decision to be put in writing,Then if someone else gets it you will have the evidence

[Robert_Brenchley]

That sounds terrible. There was no problem before, and you didn't show us anything that would suggest veg wouldn't grow there. So what's going on? If it's a Council site, take it up with a local Councillor. My plot was far worse when I took it on, I ended up woith a pile of rubbish six feet high and twenty feet across, and that was only what I couldn't burn. It grows perfectly good veg.

[luckybear]

Yeah - cause a stink, kick up a fuss! It's terrible.

[antipodes]

Certainly smells fishy.
Just because there are trees doesn't mean nothing will grow??? maybe you would have to make the soil more fertile and water more but seems a bizarre reason.

Is it possible that something has been put on that lot to make it unusable, like some kind of chemical.

If they don't want you on that plot, I would certainly claim my right to have the next available one! and imagine telling you now, after working on it? That is quite wrong.

I wouldn't give up if you are enthusiastic, try digging the subject, it sounds like there is something else going on there. Good luck

[Flunky]

The council said the same thing about my plot and tried to put me off. No fence, wasnt ready etc etc. i stood my ground and said i did'nt care about the fence and rubbish. They basically said on my head be it. They werent going to do anything so take it or leave it. I took it. I was a bit lucky as it was mainly grass with hardly any weeds. But they really did'nt want me to have it.

I agree with Ceres. If you want it, then fight for it. Bit at time and all that.

Best of luck.

[Rosyred]

All our plots on my site look like that when you take it on. First year is tough going but once then ground gets moving again it grows well.

[lewic]

I've just been given an allotment and its way more overgrown and shaded than yours! Not sure who is telling you what, but I'd take it with a pinch of salt..

[Chris Graham]

I think thats terrible!!!

After all your hard work, I would give them a piece of my mind, try and get one somewhere else as these people are not worth being next too!

I'm raging for you!

They could at least let you try.

[Suzanne]

My lottie 1 has worse shading than that one and grows a lot of stuff very successfully - it was also in a similar condition when I first took it on, plus had had subsoil and builders rubbish which I had to clear. Takes a while but gets there in the end.

I am not sure why the change of heart - perhaps she did not have the authority to grant permission, or maybe the land is wanted for something else - I note it backs onto garages perhaps they want more parking. Or maybe there has been some ground contamination which could affect edible crops. Whatever the reason I think you deserve to be told exactly why the change of mind, especially as you had put effort into starting the clear up.