I had a word with a plot holder about the front of his (2) plots today. He looked shocked when I told him they looked messy. The plot on the left is used to dump stuff he brings on site "because they will be useful one day"
[attachment=1]
and the front of the other plot is where he had his manure delivered...........at least three years ago. He sprays Roundup and leaves dead weeds poking up everywhere.
[attachment=2]
I asked him to remove all the wood on the left-hand plot and to hoe the other one and get rid of the dead weeds, and to remove the metal barrel. And try to get something planted!
He told me he was very busy with various things but when I suggested that maybe two plots were too many for him he changed his mind and said he would clean them up.
I managed to do this in a friendly way (I hope) because his plots are near mine and I don't want any trouble with him.
I wish people on the site could understand what it is really like being the secretary. I wish the Council Allotments dept. could understand too. I often get the feeling that they forget we are unpaid volunteers and apart from all the unseen work, we also have our plots to look after.
Sorry about the moan, it's been one of those mornings.... :'(
I wish our site had people who could get things done. We had a change of manager last year who had promised us more ground as the plot next to us wasn't being used properly. It's used a dumping ground, 6 bags of rubbish, buckets, about 4 years worth of old raspberry canes. The front of the plot, about 6' worth, is full of grass thats gone to seed & the back of the plot, about 10' worth has weed suppressant on it. The plot is about 56' in total. The rubbish bags are on the path so OH can't cut the whole path. Keep up the good work Betty ;D.
I think it's a case of use it or lose it!
Keep up the good work Betty :)
I certainly appreciate the warden we have on our site and think we're lucky to have someone willing to take it on. There'll always be the odd pain in the neck around but sure most people are really grateful for what you do Squash64.
I dint think you can win either way Betty. If you ignore the unkempt plots then you'll get moaned at for not doing your "job" and of course people will always get irritated if you ask them to make improvements..
No one wants the job on our site - we find it hard to get any volunteers for our committee.
I am sure that you do a great job so keep up the good work!!!
I appreciate you Betty. ;D
I think the sectary's that do these jobs need a medal,our committee men are lovely but firm with offenders ,we have a chap that wins the best allotment every year, his plots fab not a weed ,but hes a bit strange and grumpy ,anyway we get free manure from a kind stable that drops of a load every week or so ,now some Lotty holder are at work and by the time they get down there 's non left ,pepole began to complane to the committee that one man( that's there all day) grabs the lot ,guess who! our sectary was going to have a word,in the mean time the next load of nectar arrives and was gone in a flash ,our sectary happened to be on site so he asked this greedy man to stop grabbing every load, as their are 100 allotments and we have to leave some for others ,he was met with a load of abuse ,swearing ,shouting,then he said he was giving up the plot because everyone was so jealous of him ,then he begin to trash his lovely plot,and said he'd poison the lot ,so no one would be able to grow anything on it,the sectary made a quick retreat from the nutter. i saw the mad man to-day ripping out the veg he's crazey.
There's nowt so queer as folk.
Alison
I think the mad man should be escorted from the plot to cool down & his keys taken from him. He could then come back to collect his belongings when more people are present. Let's hope he doesn't carry out his poisoning threat :o.
Squash - could you copy and paste the contents of your letter of conern here, I'd be interested to see it, i.e. nick it for our site :)
ooops wrong post!
today mad- man turned up smashed his fruit cage to bits, we heard the banging,he then took down the shed and loaded it on to a trailer,if he's going to poison the Lotty he'll do it when nobodys there unfortunately we have open plan Lotty's and we have a public right off way shame ,hope he won't be back after today.
Unbelievable! (I do not mean I do not believe you Claybasket) Just what is the matter with some people- mind you nothing surprises me at times ???
Sounds as though this chap has massive problems in his head, response to request re manure totally disproportionate - you should be very wary of him.
thanks for your concern Alex133 my husband goes with me, and Ive not to go on my own until madman has left (could be Sept) when his sprouts are near ready.
Betty a quarter of our plot holders plots look like that. :-\
Quote from: cornykev on July 25, 2011, 19:15:47
Betty a quarter of our plot holders plots look like that. :-\
Seriously? Is anything done about them?
Not a lot, the site sec has a word, but some tidy up a bit then it's more of the same 3 months later. :-\
I symphasize, never having been involved in something like this , it sounds absolute mahem !!! Why on earth do these people bother and deprive other (perhaps) more willing people of the enjoyment of growing their own veg? I must be so lucky having the only plot on the site!!! I'm sure all the officials do stirling work, albeit often unappreciated ! :)
I am the sec of our site and it is a pain of a job, but someone has to do it! Most people don't take bad news well. Often they know their plot is a mess, but it is still an insult no matter how you put it.
To all you reasonable human beings that do the Secretarys job. It sounds to me like you are all lovely fair people who get more than their fair share of rubbish thrown at them, in more ways than one.
This makes me feel rotten because I have a thread complaining about our so called Secretary (written warning, please help thread) but I do sincerely believe he is not in the same caliber as you lot.
I just want to go to my allotment and spend time with my elderly Mum and enjoy the fruits of our labour, we love the lotty and just want peace and quiet and for our garden to look really nice, my wife has even planted some marigolds round the edges and poppys to bring in the bees so it really looks lovely.
Our Secretary is a disgrace to the word and the sooner he disappears the better, unless of course we end up dissappearing first.
Regards Tony & Karen
Thank you for your comments Tony69. I read your post about your secretary and I do feel sorry for you. (I didn't contribute because I don't have any advice to offer, the man sounds like a total nutter)
It's getting on for two weeks since I spoke to the two men about their plots. One of them has sprayed yet more Roundup, the other has done nothing.
This means I have to speak to them again. Lucky me!
Welcome to the forum by the way!
Hi, I know this is off topic but you mentoned Roundup in two posts, we have a patch on our lotty that consdtantly grows nettles, the landlord said it's the only place on the whole site that grows nettles constantly. We weed and weed to no avail. Can we spray with roundup and then plant with veggies after a period of time, not sure what though.
We really didn't want to use weed killer but this patch is making life so hard. We just do not know what weedkiller we can use and for how long we have to leave the land before we plant veggies.
Hope you can help
Kind regards
Tony & Karen
Roundup should kill the nettles but spraying is always a bit risky - if you have a largish area then use an old watering can with a fine rose - it saves it blowing around.
Alternatively you could use the nettles for soup or for making beer!!
Am I unreasonable ?if someone used that stuff ..next to my plot I would not be happy.Saying that ,I have used it years ago but I am so keen to be as organic as possible now.Dig Dig Dig is my motto now.Something strangely satisfying about digging up the old stingers as we Brummies call them LOL.
That stuff will drift on any breeze :(
I've painted on with a paintbrush to get plants in my borders...killed them withoout harming neighbouring plants
We use it where perrenial weeds are coming through from untended plots just to keep them at bay.
Tony69 -why do you not use the nettles to make fertilizer? they are just like making comfrey tea and if you keep croping them they will not go to seed. It sounds like they have self seeded for along time so as you try and get rid they will keep popping up again.
Welcome to A4A
Like most management jobs, like being Allotment Sec, you're not going to make any new friends once you've accepted the role.
So if you're prepared to take on a job where you'll probably be as loathed as you are loved perhaps the best survival strategy is being business like?
If you have to tell a tenant to tidy up their plot, then within the first quiet word explain why you are doing this i.e. quote the rules. And I would suggest making a written note of when this first word was taken & with whom because at some point someone will want to argue with you (Well you never told me! etc).
So when you've repeatedly told the same allotment holder another two times to clear their plot, and they don't, then you have legitimate grounds to start eviction (or whenever your rules say is a reasonable period).
Friendly, fair & business like. That way you'll still be hated by some but the job might get done.
I pat the back of anyone who volunteers for the vital roles on any allotment committee.
Any voluntary organisation is vulnerable to little tin hitlers, unfortunately, as they're usually desperate for people to do jobs, and don't stop to ask whether they're psychologically suitable for them. We used to have it on my site; I've come across it in churches and community organisations as well. It's got to the point where I'm a bit wary of getting involved with people I don't know because I don't want to find I'm expected to be fodder for someone's wretched ego trip.
Got it in one Robert
Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on August 02, 2011, 18:25:11
Any voluntary organisation is vulnerable to little tin hitlers, unfortunately, as they're usually desperate for people to do jobs, and don't stop to ask whether they're psychologically suitable for them. We used to have it on my site; I've come across it in churches and community organisations as well. It's got to the point where I'm a bit wary of getting involved with people I don't know because I don't want to find I'm expected to be fodder for someone's wretched ego trip.
This is very sad Robert. You must have had some bad experiences with committees in the past.
I find it quite difficult to tell people that their plots need attention, especially the two men I'm dealing with at the moment. The nice, friendly approach doesn't seem to be working. I'm not sure if I can do the Hitler thing, but something needs to be done. Any advice?
Well yes! First you talk and explain the problem. Two weeks later first written warning goes out. 2 weeks later 2nd warning goes out. Two weeks later termination of tenancy goes out with 2 weeks to clear the plot and return the key.
8 Werks to get your plot in order or get in touch is surely enough for most folk?? The problem is the worst offenders always take it to the wall and never actually grow much on their plots. Some of them are on the committee!!
If only it was that simple grawrc. I think its a month in between letters in Brum. Problem is that from when the committee decide that the plotholder need to be warned and given the first friendly warning to the last eviction letter can be up to twelve months in some cases. Sometimes even longer if the person keeps pecking at the ground now and again to show that they are doing something. Meanwhile everyone around them has to work twice as hard to get rid of their weeds.
I know! The theory is great but in practice people don't always fit in nicely with the scheme of things. It used to drive me mad because often I couldn't get past the initial friendly chat because the person never came to their plot, didn't do email, didn't answer their phone, hadn't got the letter and would turn up on the day the termination letter was going out and clear the weeds off their plot only to disappear again.
I'm off our committee now - I resigned at the AGM. Mainly because it was like having a job being secretary and I wanted a bit more time for myself. Anyway I think it's good to have new blood on committees occasionally. Only a third of our committee are pensioners now, last year it was over half and before I joined about 4 years ago there was only one non-pensioner. Not that I object to pensioners (being one myself!!) but I think it's good to get a balance.
Anyway I digress ....! It is a highly frustrating job sometimes being on an allotment committee.