I've just found out that the PC in the next village have passed a rule preventing allotment holders from selling thier produce - unless its for raising funds for the allotment. Are they allowed to do this ?
Does'nt effect me, but i'd be interest to know what people think...
Doesn't affect me, either, Keef, but that's what I've always understood too.
You will find that rules differ all around the country.
There is nothing in the rules for my plot that says I cannot sell surplus veg.
Our allotment rules say for personal consumption only, and must admit with my two small plots, can just about make it round to next season with some frozen stuff.
Give away some surplus to neighbours and friends that I can't freeze.
Nice when they reciprocate with a Tiramisu dessert though ;)
isn't here some way of selling a 'cardboard box', which just happens to have veg in it.
If you know what I mean, nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more.
Quote from: ninnyscrops on August 13, 2008, 23:06:15
Our allotment rules say for personal consumption only,
Our rules are the same. It is for non profitable enjoyment. Some people sell bits and bobs, or rather "
accept a small donation" ;) ;). Just enough to buy a packet of seeds or the next bag of compost. I sell my surplus eggs from my hens. (The feed is not free).
I used to take my surplus to work and give it to a fellow workmate.
The workmate sold the produce and brought me some cash.
Almost certainly all of it, after taking first pick and contributing too. People were glad to get fresh vegetables cheaply and I felt better for not having waste.
I would think that it would be hard for any one to make a worthwhile profit from growing on an allotment.
Sounds to me like there is some one out there with nothing to do who wants to make it look like they are doing something..AGAIN
So long as you dont intend making a living out of selling your produce then I doubt if there is much of a problem.
Our Town council clerk is busy producing a new contract one of the new rules is:
" The Tenant may not carry on any trade or business from the allotment site, surplus produce may be sold as an ancillary to the provision of crops for family"
So we're not allowed to sell any produce unless it's surplus....in other words we can sell produce!
;D
Our allotment secretary flogs anything and everything to anyone who comes to the gate !
How can they prove the stuff your selling hasn't been grown in your back garden and you consume all the allotment produce yourself ?
Depends on if you live in a high rise block of flats may be difficult proving!
I, as you may have read on earlier threads, sell loads of stuff at my gateway! We are not meant to but there is no way that I am going to waste anything that i have grown!!
I sell the stuff and say that it covers the cost of the seeds - obviously the chickens' eggs there is no way I could eat 6 dozen a week! That would be a bit silly!! So the committee must know but turn a blind eye. But as their food costs a bit and I had to lay out a lot in buying their house and making their run - I think I am entitled! One local restaurant was advertising that they "supported a local allotment keeper by buying his produce" that got up some of the committees' noses as it was slightly rubbing it in - trouble is no-one knows who they are!
I have grown huge numbers of farty artichokes to sell this year - as they sell very well normally in the winter! But again I will be using them myself and I would say that I needed a 10 foot high 6ft deep windbreak for my chooks!
Old Bird
;D
You're not exactly making a fortune though are you probably not even covering your costs of feed etc.
If you're reasonably discreet, nobody's going to notice.
Horses for courses I guess. I am far from wealthy but I would never ever dream of selling any left over produce I have. I grow for the pure joy of growing and whatever and however much I have over I just give away, To be honest I would feel embarrassed if anyone ever offered me any money.
On our site it is not allowed anyway.
Sinbad
As far as I know we are not allowed to directly sell veg but you can certainly buy eggs off people. We also give surplus veg to s Surestart shop.
When we have our annual open day we sell produce.
I'm with Sinbad on this. Regardless that it's against the rules on our site, there are plenty of good neighbours who appreciate any surpluss and repay in other ways, for example feeding the cats when we are on holiday.
It was written into the allotment acts that produce grown was for the consumption of the grower and His or Her family only.. It was to stop folks renting land/allotments at a peppercorn rent and treating them like market gardens . I think this act may have been amended for charitable purposes only ..
But am not sure.
I enjoy giving my surplus away, that is I have any. I find people very grateful and next door also feeds my cats when I am away, and brings them takeaways of lovely chicken etc. I have had one bottle of wine, 12 bags of crisps and sweets for the grandchildren which I accept gratefully but tell people that they won't get anymore veg. if they keep buying me things. If I had loads and loads of lovely veg (perhaps next year) I would put them in a box outside the house with maybe a donation to charity. I would find it embarrassing to ask for money and will check my rule book.
ive not looked into it at all but when we took on our allotment i was told by the commitee that they are making a shop for holders to sell on what they dont need
Our allotment secretary invited us all to take on a free table (businesses pay for their space) in the local "farmers' market" to sell our surplus.
I received a letter from the council last year and this year inviting me to take a table and sell my surplus produce at the local autumn fayre at Notcutts garden centre. and if I agreed to do it on both Saturday and Sunday I'd get next year's allotment rent paid by the council. sadly, I don't have any surplus produce, again ::) must remember to grow more next year!
If memory serves me (which it does occasionally) the restriction on selling produce from allotments was intended to prevent unscrupulous professional market gardeners getting land for cheap, and running it as a business.
Nowadays, when you've sown it and grown it, how you dispose of it is your business. ;D ;D
valmarg
This varies from one council to another. The legal bottom line here at least is don't sell stuff.
I give it away when folk will take it!!
Hi all!
It is all very well to take the moral high ground and say "give your stuff away" well my immediate neighbours do well out of me but I am a single lady, with a large mortgage no savings just enough to live on and even if I give all my spare produce away I will still have some going to waste! I feed my chickens on as much of my "spare" as I can. I, personally, don't see the problem with making a small amount of "seed money" "chicken food". I certainly am not doing it as a business my 1 full time and two part time jobs pay for the basics. But don't always assume that people are possibly as well off as yourself and a small amount to pay towards next years seeds will come in very handy.
Old Bird
:-\
No moral high ground taken. I'm simply stating the fact that our constitution stipulates that we may not sell our produce. I know that some of the other sites get around this by "giving" stuff to folk who come to their open days in return for a donation to the Association funds.
Anyway are we not talking stuff that's surplus to requirements here or stuff that can't easily be stored? Surely better to give it away than let it rot?
If you can offset your costs by selling your produce then I have no problem with that but my site doesn't allow it.
My post was simply intended to add to the information around this issue. There was no criticism of others either implied or intended.
I acquired a 2nd hand chest freezer so I could freeze as much spare produce as possible to offset the cost of living. Where I can't freeze produce (i.e cucumber, tomatoes etc) I offer it to my neighbours/friends. I only offer it to those who I know are willing to pay a nominal fee for organically-grown, freshly harvested produce. Any funds go into a seperate container to pay for seeds, compost and accessories in forthcoming years.
I have on occasions swapped surplus produce with workmates who also do gardening. Earlier this year I was able to off-load excessive rhubarb to various work mates in exchange for items such as free-range eggs and 2nd hand books.
CC
The rent for the allotment is cheap. I do not believe that people would sell food. I am a pensioner and poor but that is so, so embarrassing. I worked hard, brought up my children, without a husband, as he was useless, and then worked worked hard. After 25 years the mortgage is paid, no children to support, so what are these old people moaning about. A lovely allotment for less then a pound a week, and then sell the produce. I don't believe it. I think the families with children are hard up, and the old pensioners, who get free bus passes, heating allowance and reduced Council tax are a lot of old moaners. Most of them have paid off their mortage, if not, why not, and do not have to support children, or feed them. I was very hard up when my children were young, but over 60, free everything, and no clothes to buy as I have them all.
Free to me is free to others, but it costs me to set up my allotment, in the fist place, hundreds infact i.e shed, compost, Seeds, Fertilisers, slug pellets, Tools and anything else that I have spent along the way, trying to produce food for ourselves, but feeding the rest of the close for free would mean that I have a p*** printed across my forehead.
We also have chickens, giving all my spare veg and eggs to my neighbor's, wow wish I was my neighbour, also alot of people taking on allotments now are doing it for survival not just for fun, I agree with you old bird, well said.
Carrot cruncher - you can freeze tomatoes!
They freeze really well and are obviously only useful for cooking when de-frozen - but do well in roasted vegetables etc! Just shove them in a bag - as they are - no blanching or anything!
Old Bird
:D
quote author=keef link=topic=44779.msg447841#msg447841 date=1218663856]
I've just found out that the PC in the next village have passed a rule preventing allotment holders from selling thier produce - unless its for raising funds for the allotment. Are they allowed to do this ?
Does'nt effect me, but i'd be interest to know what people think...
[/quote]
I contributed to this thread to answer the question asked .
Apparently as the law stands they are in their rights to do this ..
It was written into the allotments act that
The plot must be cultivated by the occupier for the production of vegetables and fruit crops for consumption by himself or his family.Also witten into the acts was that if a certain number of people approach their council for land to be used for allotment purposes the council should provide it ..I think we wear 2 hats at times .
We choose to ignore one, but then quote the other at every available opportunity ..
Surely common sense tells us that if we have got more produce then we need, it's far better giving it away to someone who can eat it than throwing it on the compost heap.. That is far removed from someone setting a plot full of veg with the purpose of selling it ...Or some one paying a very small rent for a plot and erecting green- houses/polytunnels with the purpose of growng bedding plants etc to sell..
As for how much it costs us to grow our produce .
You could take a plot with just a spade, a fork and a rake and still grow stuff for your table .
That is our personal choice no one makes us spend our money on stuff like sheds fancy tools raised beds etc.
We do it cos we want to do it it's out hobby, what other hobbies cost nothing these days? not so many I think .
I remember when we didnt have the money to throw at our allotments , sheds railings etc were all sourced for free from orange boxes. old air raid shelters etc..
We had peeling rounds where folks saved their veg peelings for us which we collected on our push bikes and the folks got a cheap piece of pork or fowl at Christmas.
Sourcing old bent nails to take em back to the plot to straighten and use em again ..
Plodding though proper snow and ice after a shift on nights to light the old coppers to boil stuff up for the pigs ..I could tell you stories that would make a glass eye cry ;D
Allotments then were more of a neccessity than a hobby..They were a way of life..
P.S. You would deff need a hoe as well to go with the other tools .
.PPS..
Here is what an adult was allowed for a week under rationing that lasted for 14 years.
Butter: 50g (2oz) Bacon and ham: 100g (4oz) Margarine: 100g (4oz)
Sugar: 225g (8oz). Meat: To the value of 1s.2d (one shilling and sixpence per week. That is about 6p today) Milk: 3 pints(1800ml) occasionally dropping to 2 pints (1200ml).
Cheese: 2oz (50g) Eggs: 1 fresh egg a week. Tea: 50g (2oz).
Jam: 450g (1lb) every two months. Dried eggs 1 packet every four weeks. Sweets: 350g(12oz) every four weeks
What price an allotment then :)
I am sure that back in the 50's thing where very tough, we live for today, and today is very different to then, but that does not mean that it is not tough now we must not forget that people are losing there homes, and they have forcast things to get worse, veg is going up in price all the time, and can not be compared to the war days as far as prices go, cost of living is getting more expensive also taking into account that back then it was up to the man to provide for there family, now we have to have both partners to keep a house going I think that growing veg to sell is not right but to sell left is ok, at the moment not all people are poor but who knows what is to come. not having sheds and thing for your allotment is fine if you live down the road from your allotment, but allotments are not plentiful in some area's, some have to travel far to get one, that means carrying every thing you need every time you go to the allotment. also the human race and nature strives to improve through evolution.
Growmore
Probably why there was not so much obesity around in those days!!!
Mind you 1shilling and two pence in those days for meat was pretty generous I think! I do not know what the average wage was but I reckon that would buy a fair bit of meat - they used to eat a lot more meat in those days!
Interesting though!
Old Bird
;D
hi Kingfisher, I agree with most of what you say. Most have probably sold a bit of veg when They had a glut to help with cost of seeds etc ..
But anyone saying we have a right to do it is misleading any new plot holders .
As for it being for the man to provide,
Her indoors may disagree with you as she used to give the pigs their last meal and lock them up in winter when i was on afternoon shift . Till she saw me throwing them pieces of coal for them to chomp on. Then she realised they had big teeth . She used to mix the swill, but get the old guy on next plot to feed them . Until I built her a chute over the trough so she could feed them from outside ;D
Rules, smules. My veg. I will do what I like with it. As I rule I give to my nearest and dearest. I could'nt charge my mum (could I ? LOL). However. If I wanted to sell I would. I think we will sell our excess eggs. Helps for their food as already stated.
well I sell our excess eggs, a couple of the neighbers buy them off me, we have 14 chickens now but ten are battery hens and they are not laying at the moment, we think they in malt but the 4 we purchased are laying well so but we have managed to get enough to pay for the next bag of feed, I like this allotment and chicken keeping larky ;D
lots of good interesting posts here-i have a job which this year(and for a few previously too!)is not earning me much money-but its one i wouldnt give up for anything,and i do it by choice so i dont moan
-but to subsidise this the lottie is a necessity-and what i dont eat i barter-nowt in the rules say you cant barter is there?!
its a very satisfying way of life-the last of my savings went -after a lot of thought-on a small poly tunnel-and its worth is weight in gold ;D
i have downsized(hollow laugh)til i cannot downsized any more-but i enjoy the lottie and my job -and most of all i enjoy the excess with which to BARTER!!!
kitty
xx
If the allotment is Council land then selling 'on site' isn't allowed. It's running a business. Off site you can sell what you like, your kitching sink, your cabbages or your mother-in-law but you are supposed to declare for tax purposes your profits. There are some quirky bye laws associated with allotments which differ area to area.
Quirky Allotment Bye-laws would make for an interesting thread!
Tomorrow I'm selling half a cucumber to a very old OAP - for 50 pence :P
She reckons it'll be a bargain and a treat for her as it undercuts in price the cucs she can buy at Tesbury's - and hey! it will have taste!
If I refused the 50 pence, what would happen? She'd buy me a bottle of wine at £4.99 from the same store, is wot..
My other ladies will buy runner beans, etc. when/if? the glut ever arises.
None of them would be at all comfortable in accepting the produce as freebies - and I've my liver to think of ;D
I am sorry, but I can not agree. I will not sell my extra produce, I don't believe what I am hearing. I enjoy my allotment and enjoy giving extra produce away, a thank is all I need. Am I a Saint, or not. Whatever you do is OK by me but I am not running a business, just enjoying my retirement. Any donations would go to charity. My hobby should not be supported by selling produce. I really, really feel strongly about this and perhaps I should not visit this site anymore. I recycle and get things out of skips, but hopefully would not sell. Hope you pay tax on what you sell. My friend was grateful for her beans that she will give to her daughter who has cancer and is trying a fresh veg. diet, and my lovely neighbours give me big thank you for the courgettes. I am not rich, and do not have a lovely shed on my allotment and only a small house and tiny garden but am grateful for my lovely allotment, provided by the Council for £45 a year. A bargain and if I can help someone with fresh vegs, so what. If you want to keep chickens why moan about the cost of their feed and sell their eggs. I just don't believe what I am hearing. Does anyone else agree with me or should I just shut up.
Calm down Borlotti, what Alishka is saying is that there are people out there who appreciate your produce, but are too proud to accept 'charity'. They prefer to pay. You can give the money to any charity you like, but you both end up happy. ;D
valmarg
Barlotti, I think you are over reacting a little, what you do with your veg is up to you not anyone else, the same goes for everyone else, everyones circumstances are different, and as for saying that you might give up coming on the site, well that would be sad just because someone has a difference in oppion to you, I think you are good for giving your allotment left overs to others, if that makes you happy so be it, no one is telling you what to do, you do what you want, just be happy with what you do, and hope that you will not see it as a go at you, its not, you keep giving your veg away and all us others will try to get a bit of our outlay back, in one month I have sold thirteen pound of eggs, in the shops this would be about £30 shop prises my neighbers are very happy all the best.
Borlotti - I certainly am not "moaning about the cost of keeping my chickens" I think you are completely entrenched in your receiving thanks as payment and I am entrenched in (a) giving stuff to workmates family & close neighbours and (b) selling excess produce and eggs to cover the cost of seeds and chicken food.
We all are very happy with this arrangement, my friends, neighbours, workmates, and people who buy my produce which is ten times fresher and better and cheaper than they would purchase in any stores! I don't set out to "make money" just to cover the cost of seeds & chicken food OK?
It would be a shame if you didn't visit the site anymore because you feel strongly over this point - there are plenty of other discussions which I am sure you would not feel so strongly about and could joint in!
We will agree to differ!
Old Bird
:D
OK, I agree I would love to buy your eggs. Think chickens need a lot of work, food and whatever. Perhaps I am wrong, and courgettes I will give away as I have too many. Was speaking to someone at the allotment today and he said he agreed with a farmers market and perhaps spend the money on buying stuff for the allotment. But I said that buying a rovator etc for general use, as I had read on this site before, might cause problems with storage, people not using it properly, health and safety etc. etc. but I may be wrong. I suppose if the food is cheap and good and people love it, it is not a bad idea to sell it, but still can't get my head round it. Open to any ideas and admit I would certainly buy/like to be given fresh eggs, but have just given away courgettes and beans to next door allotment, but she will give me things back, so it is swings and roundabouts, so I suppose I am bartering so that is the same as accepting money. Oh well whatever, perhaps in the future when I have loads and loads of brilliant produce I will sell it, but don't think so as it just seems so wrong to me. Sorry everyone.
let's not forget that many people grow their own for financial saving reasons. Quality produced is the bonus but we all grow more than we need, so if someone has spares, why not sell if there's a buyer? I see lottsa sense in it. People buy 'fresh' food everyday anyway, so why not buy the local produce grown from your local allotment fella and save money as well as getting something delivered within hours of picking...? If the idea of paying someone who has spent many, many hours to produce healthy crops goes against the grain, well, let's look at scrapping the LETS scheme and Oxfam too!
In short, most people would love the chance to buy and eat fresh locally grown fruit and veg which is probably delivered to their door. It's been going on for centuries and all power to it.
well im glad that you can see the other side of it, and also glad that you will still be staying to chat to us all well done
Hi Kenkew :) and everyone
I agree with you in respect of local produce. I think it is expected that you either give away or sell your surplus, and when I say sell it, it usually is at knock down prices like an honesty box for people to leave what they think its worth.
Having said all of that I don't usually get lots of surplus (apart form courgettes and you can't give these away let alone sell them) as I plant small amounts of lots of different things so I don't get bored with dinner. Although this year I seem to have a bumper winter squash crop which I wasn't expecting. The Sucrine de Berry is a lot more prolific than I thought it would be! Luckily they store really well.
I actually got asked for courgettes today by my friend at tennis. Sorry but I had composted 3 plants in the garden, as other half was moaning, again (he has got a degree in moaning) about why have you got an allotment if you will plant veg in the garden. Well I have about 12 plants at the allotment and the 3 in the garden got a bit too big (they were only tiny when planted) so they have gone to garden heaven. How much would you charge for a courgette, perhaps we could have a competition, or perhaps pay people to take them away. I love the one about the man who took them to his neighbours at night and next morning they returned them. Tomorrow we are going to have a 'takeaway curry' and no courgette soup and no runner beans, and no I am not cooking courgette and bean curry. Well maybe??? Will look up a recipe as with all this rain the dreaded courgettes will multiply in the night.
Hey B, ever thought of advertising them on your local Freecycle? I used to take mine into the Home where my mother was and the cook made soup for the residents - they loved it. Home-made soup a novelty for them. :-\
Borlottie has a point about giving it away where you have too much of one item (happens a lot!) and it's far better to give than throw away. The point raised about paying much much less for surplus grown items has always been the way with lottie folks. Swaps between lottie people is an excepted and expected way to go on. Selling outside the lottie has been around since allotments came into being. Don't we all buy from the middleman....ie; the Superbaskets! rather than buying at the farm gate? (Although eggs, spuds, strawberries, apples, plums, pears etc are still for sale at the road side!
What about seedlngs? Rather than throw away my surplus chilli and tomato seedlings I have found people including some in the local shops who would like them and despite my saying I would just rather they went to a good home than get thrown away and don't need anything in return ,they have insisted on giving us discounted meat, fish and cheese as a result. If I'd grown the seedlings at the allotment instead of in the GH at home I would have been breaking our allotment rules.
You always sow more seed than the number of seedlings you want so what should people who only have an allotments do? It may be breaking the rules but it seems immoral to waste a good seedling for which you can find a home.
Giving veg away: I liked the point made by Alishka that if she did not accept 50p for a cucumber, her OAP would spend £5 on a bottle of wine, being unwilling to accept "charity". I have the same problem: I know an OAP who particularly loves fresh vegetables, but she keeps giving me boxes of chocolates in return, so I have given up (do not eat sweets).
Tax position of accepting money: if you DID report a small occasional income, it would be more than offset by allowable expenses, not to mention a lot of boring paperwork (I am self employed so have to do it every year).
So far I have given my vegetables to charity stalls and they are very pleased to receive and sell them. I have nothing against selling a few surplus veg and know one or two allotment people who do this on a very small scale to help pay for seeds etc at the occasional farmers' market here.
People have suggested I put an honesty box with veg outside my front door. The reason I don't do this is that my neighbours are shops selling vegetables and I would upset them by either giving it away publicly or charging for it. We are lucky in this village to have shops still, and I want to support them, not undermine them.