Competing allotment holders

[biscuit]

I love my allotment. I love the fact that it is just a hobby and I make everything out of old bits. It may not look tidy but it does the job.

However, I've notied a new breed of allotment holders who seem to want to compete with each other over how nice their plot looks, or how successful they are at growing x, y,z. 

At the moment I'm stuck between two couples who are constantly trying to outdo each other - one got a greenhouse, so the other got a bigger greenhouse, then  keep shouting loudly 'oh look, I've picked 21 million courgettes today'......

Now I find myself hoping each time I go down there that neither couple will be there cos I just want to get on with things and not be drawn into a my raised beds look tidier than yours debate.

Sorry for the rant but having spend the weekend being subjected to their nonsense I'm really a little down.

I know the best thing is to just ignore them, but it is so hard and I don't want to get drawn into their competition.

[biscuit]

[doris]

Don't be down, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if they are sad enough to make alotmetering into a competitive sport get your ear phones in and ignore them till they realise what really matters is the joy of nature doing its thing!
My plot is a mishmash of everything and I think it looks beautiful..if somewhat "artistic"....from the self seeded sunflowers popping up here there and everwhere to the potatoes happily growing where I must have missed a few last year! I even love the evening primrose which one person on our plots always comments on about the fact its  a weed!!! :D

[bennettsleg]

Awww, bless 'em ::).  If they're yelling to each other acropss your plot it may pay to have a polite chat with them (disturbing the tranquility etc.).  If it's occaisional, then don't rise. You enjoy your plot the way you want to.  Personally I may take delight in letting mine becone even more heath robinson or even lining the edges of your plot with jerusalem artichokes... ;D

[supersprout]

Good advice! Like you say, you can cheerfully ignore it most of the time, just have a rant here when it gets too much ;) It sounds like you're having a great time on your own terms. I'm not immune to a brag either :-[ but it's turn and turn about normally. Cut them some slack - growing for the first time can turn peoples' heads. Only time will tell if they're in for the sprint or the marathon!

Hmm, just had a thought, are they after a response from you to 'oh look, I've picked 21 million courgettes today'?

Yes, it's really hard to plan successional crops and avoid gluts, isn't it?
Haven't they done well? (note 'they' ;))
Ooh, how are you going to preserve all that?
What veg are you going to be grow this winter in your greenhouse?
::)

Keep smiling biscuit :)

[delboy]

Gentrification of allotments!
Saw a plot last week in west London that was one third growing stuff and the rest had a hardwood John Lewis swing and table and chairs/bench, aussie barbecue - ie not a small one, and with propane, 2 hardstandings for a car and an SUV, etc etc.
Not for me or you I reckon, but each to their own.

[robkb]

Gentrification of allotments!
Saw a plot last week in west London that was one third growing stuff and the rest had a hardwood John Lewis swing and table and chairs/bench, aussie barbecue - ie not a small one, and with propane, 2 hardstandings for a car and an SUV, etc etc.
Not for me or you I reckon, but each to their own.

That'd last about 5 minutes on my plot before it got nicked!

Cheers,
Rob ;)

[SMP1704]

Whereabouts in West London? I want to go and have a look - then I'll go back to my plot and attack the Horsetail - grrr

[bennettsleg]

Gentrification of allotments!
Saw a plot last week in west London that was one third growing stuff and the rest had a hardwood John Lewis swing and table and chairs/bench, aussie barbecue - ie not a small one, and with propane, 2 hardstandings for a car and an SUV, etc etc.
Not for me or you I reckon, but each to their own.

But what were they growing?

[Robert_Brenchley]

There always has been competition around allotments; what are vegetable shows and 'best plot' prizes all about? I just avoid it all; my wretched family aren't into veg. much so it's my escape from everything.

[Mrs Ava]

teehee.  We have a little of that on our plot, but only a teeny weeny bit.  Always seems to be a competition who can get their beans in first and pick the first (I won by the way  ;D)  Glad to say, ours is lighthearted.

Maybe you should create something really wacky and brag about it, I dunno, solar powered heating in your waterbutt  ??? and see what they come up with!  ;D

[Digger_07]

I once had a neighbour with a machinery fetish.  He must have scoured Exchange and Mart for anything vaguely agricultural.  One day he turned up with a monster of a rotavator.  Apart from dripping paraffin everywhere it needed to overhang the path by 18inches on each side.  Once in gear it ploughed down the plot and dug about 8 feet before it had to be stopped and turned round to go back so there was only a small square in the centre that was cultivated.

The last straw came when he "got it into gear" and it ran away across my plot and the next one, only stopping when it hit the ditch and buried itself in the mud at the bottom.  It was still there when I left 2 years later.

[Mrs Ava]

>:( ;D

[OllieC]

lol @ Digger's tale.  ;D

All sounds a bit dull. A bit of competition is fun, but that involves credit where credit's due, and a bit of humility on the part of the winner. I was recently told by an "old timer", "Nobody likes a smart arse". I had been proudly showing my half-bag from a row of spuds, he had slightly less.

A gentle reminder to me - it's nice to win, but you'll never make any friends by gloating. And having friends on the allotment has already saved me lots of wasted effort & helped produce more & better crops.

[spacehopper]

The last straw came when he "got it into gear" and it ran away across my plot and the next one, only stopping when it hit the ditch and buried itself in the mud at the bottom.  It was still there when I left 2 years later.

lol 8)

[bennettsleg]

lol @ Digger's tale.  ;D

All sounds a bit dull. A bit of competition is fun, but that involves credit where credit's due, and a bit of humility on the part of the winner. I was recently told by an "old timer", "Nobody likes a smart arse". I had been proudly showing my half-bag from a row of spuds, he had slightly less.

A little humility is necessary, yes, but his response sounds like he was having a bad say or narked that someone with less experience than him had a better crop on one or two plants. You can't please everyone... :)

[biscuit]

Thanks guys and girls - you have cheered me up. Decided they can compete alll they like but they are not going to try and make me change my ways!

[Belinda]

Hi Biscuit,
Why not get a Walkman (or whatever the modern equivalent is ::)), then you could block them out almost completely.