Allotments 4 All

So, a few quick questions re allotments:

1.  Do I buy and transport in manure myself or is there a facility on an allotment site to buy this from?

2.  What do I do with green waste cleared from a disused allotment site - are there facilities to dispose of this on site or must I take it off site?

I have unfortunately not made it over to look at the site which I had hoped to do two weeks ago already so have not been able to ask there questions to plot holders/management directly.

Any guidance appreciated.

These sort of things vary on a site by site basis but generally you make your own arrangements for manure delivery. Some sites allow fires, some forbid, and others ignore you until someone complains. It's good practice not to remove anything from the plot except the food.

There are a surprising number of horses in London and locating manure is not usually difficult and is typically free if you collect, but transport can be expensive or time consuming.

I have no problem sourcing the manure or compost (have connections in the zoo world) but since I do not own a car getting stuff moved from a to b will prove challenging.

Will have to look into this further.

Hi Rob

From one fellow Hounslow plotter to another - there is nothing available re manure.  There are stables in Ealing that advertise free manure, I do have a car and trailer but have not been to collect as it is on the North Circular >:(

There are stables in Richmond and there is grazing in Osterley/Southall, but I can't find anyone to ask if I can take away the poo (perhaps I'm being too polite??)

The green waste is next year's compost.  'Sensible' bonfires are allowed by CIP.

Hope that helps

Rob, how about asking a friend to transport your manure from A to B in exchange for some lottie produce from next seasons harvest?  :)

Hi SMP - perhaps we should collaborate?  I know people in the horse world as well...

Lauren - see above - the networking beings...

Methinks I need a bigger allotment - I undertook to catalogue my seed collection today (build up over a few years) and am now on seed packet number 210, and am less than halfway through the box...

I got my cow manure from a local farmer who brings it to my allotment.4 kub manure costs me 50 euro.No transport problems.Once a year i dig a big hole were i put all my green waste in.That is how i get my allotment going.

Quote from: ruud on November 26, 2007, 14:20:55
I got my cow manure from a local farmer who brings it to my allotment.4 kub manure costs me 50 euro.No transport problems.Once a year i dig a big hole were i put all my green waste in.That is how i get my allotment going.

Will have to see if I can come to a similar arrangement somehow.  The reason I asked was through reading the websites of the few allotment societies that have them I noticed that some do arrange for a communal supply of manure that plot holders can draw from. 

This may slow things down a bit for me if I can't get it sorted as some of the crops I wish to grow will require considerable enriching of the soil.

Oh, and final count on the seed varieties was 371, with approximately 400 actual seed packets...

Rob how about opening your own SEED shop  ;D

On our site (in sunny Slough) a couple of different stable owners deliver great, steaming piles of manure free of charge every few weeks. Then it's wheelbarrows at the ready as it's first come first served!!
Logically, stable ownres must be just as pleased to get rid of the stuff as we are to receive it, so maybe it's an arrangement you could set up on your site?

We can get a farmer to deliver (at a cost) loads of rotted manure. This doesn't smell at all as it has mostly rotted down. Also it doesn't steam.

I also use pelleted chicken manure granuls which are a quick feed.

I am still trying to get my allotment " going" after having it for about 15 years but don't believe you can have too much manure.

The best stuff I ever put in was when a circus camped next to our plots. I then got load of elephant or maybe tiger poo which smelt really strong, but produced brilliant crops the following Summer

You can't have too many seeds Rob!
;D

Quote from: saddad on November 28, 2007, 22:12:41
You can't have too many seeds Rob!
;D

My theory exactly!  ;D

I do wonder how viable some of the older stuff is though - that will be an experiment in itself when I start growing next year. 

I have heard that melon and squash seeds keep well, and some believe that they produce more female flowers the older the seed is before planting, so am hoping that is true and will work in my favour...

Regarding the manure, we have drops of fresh manure, but the old boys who are on there everyday rob the best stuff, and leave the straw for us, I find it best to make my own arrangements.  I have a mate with a horse, and I go up every couple of weeks to collect bags.  Bit time consuming, but I get better stuff.