Hello all,
I am not so very long a member of A4A and as a starter you all been very helpfull with all my questions. Thank you!
Most of you will have their plot a little bit further away than the 3 minutes walk I have to do to get to the walled garden where I am trying to grow some vegetables and plants. Or maybe not?
Question: I was wondering and also very curious how much time each of you is spending on their lot.
A curious Han!
I think it depends really on what the is to do and the mood!
today we took our lunch down and spent most of the day clearing the older of our two allotments,
I think in general when we in construction -organisation mode we spend longer then if we are planting and digging. People might think that sound odd, but definately more full days are spent at the allotment in the non growing season rather then high summer where we might just pop down for an hour or two each day
My plot is just a few minutes walk from home. Weather permitting I'm usually there four mornings a week for about three or four hours.
The past two weeks I've been there every day, and in winter if it's snowy or wet just a couple of times a week when I'll walk there, look round then come home.
I to am very lucky to only be 5 minutes walk away from my plot, with regard to time spent there as an average six or seven hours a week.
I spend 2 - 4 hours on 2 - 4 days a week plus spend up to an hour picking and watering most days "in season". That just about keeps me on top of it. Plus the time spent off site growing seedlings.
In spring and early summer I can be there for hours, 4-15 hours per week. During winter it is usually much less - go in, harvest then home though there is the odd bit of DIY or ground preparation. This past 3 weeks I have spent about 10 hours there total. I suppose it depends how much care you need to give to whatever you are growing, plus if you want a perfectly weed free plot
My plots are quite near my home and I go there every day of the year, no matter what the weather is like. The reason for this is because I feed the cats so even if there is snow on the ground I still go there.
If the weather is reasonable, I stay there for about 2 or 3 hours, depending on how I feel. Not all of this time is spent working on my plots however, I wish it was!
And luckily A4A isn't limited to those with an allotment! When we were in the UK we had the luck to have a fairly large garden, with a big veg patch at the end of it. Now in SW France we have a huge (far too big) garden, where there was no veg patch (potager) and the first thing we did when we moved to this house four years ago was to lift the turf of a 100sq meter rectangle, and dig a veg patch. Actually the previous owners were kind enough to allow us to dig up one long line two months before we had officially bought the house, to plant raspberry canes.
So our 'allotment' is only perhaps half a minute from our back door! This is a photo of our patch earlier in the year.
(http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l543/peanuts46/RIMG0169.jpg)
ermm.. seems like i'm the only one w/o that length of committment compared to the others. am afraid to say it, but i only go for about 2 hrs a week these days. with all the rain and the overgrown weeds and hardly anything to crop, i'm just waiting for the winter so that i can start all over again. had done lots of work on it since feb til may where i was going at least 3-4 times with about 3hrs spent there, but when i go to the lotti now, it despairs me with all the weeds getting out of hand..
excuse for not getting the weeds under control?? lost my shears!! and two knives!! so finding it hard to do anything worth while (got a scythe so helps with the uncultivated areas..)
Mine is on the side of my village, 5 minutes on my bike, uphill on the last section. I have 2 large panniers and a handlebar bag so can carry most things. A peaceful site with lovely views and I can get carried away esp when hand weeding on my knees. Rarely just picking and going, takes maybe 15 minutes. More usually 2-4 hours at a time, pottering. Not often at the moment as I am keeping up with tidying for winter and do a bit at a time. Maybe 3 times a week in the manic season, once a week now and soon tapering down to just picking