Allotments 4 All

Yesterday at the plot I was took some tomato plants to someone who has been kind to us giving us a row of florence strawberries a couple of sweet cicely plants & a clump of Welsh onions. While I was there he gave me a cabbage to go with our lunch & some lettuce plants for the plot. Someone else came along & gave me 10 runner bean plants & someone else offered 2 courgettes. So kind of them all & very much appreciated. I shall return the favours as & when I can. We have been so busy working on the plot that seed sowing has got behind.
Janet

Allotment people are kind.Me and the O.H. have a philosophy if you can't RETURN a favour PASS IT ON . We've found over the years that the people who have done us favours tend to be well set up it's the newbies who need a hand and doing them favours introduces them to the  whole concept of swapping and sharing which is one of the nicest things down the lottie :)

Yes allotment folk do tend to be kind to each other-and even after 16 years I still miss it.

But there is always a but----do please ensure that whoever offers you plants has `clean` soil.

A kindly gesture might mean you getting disease

Very true Cleo.

We have a 'scratch my back and I'll scratch your back' culture on our site too.

Just this morning a couple of spare tomato and chilli plants I had went to a newbie.

However, I am very wary of accepting plants to plant e.g. I never accept any brassicas!

As the longest serving allotmenteer on our plot I always keep an eye on the newbies without getting in their hair!

That is; some accept advice others don't and thats fine by me!

The ones I am most wary of are the ones who ask for advice,and when it is given, they say words to the affect; ...........'I knew that' ........that gets right up my nose.

Then there are those that ignore your advice and wonder why their stuff failed.

But at the end of the day I love the association of fellow allotmenteers!

Maybe now is the moment to confess.....I don't actually have an allotment, just a very large garden full of vegetables. I started looking at this site because I felt the lack of fellow spirits, and while I can't precisely benefit in kind, the advice and ideas I have read here (and those wonderful photos) have been brilliant. I distribute odd leftovers and bad advice to friends with gardens, but it's not the same. Are the rest of you all allotmenteers?

I've been on here for about 2 years now but we only got our plot just before christmas & just after my 60th birthday. It's been a hard slog but we have both enjoyed it far more than we thought we would. OH is not a gardener but is a very good organizer & a very hard worker. We bagged up 150 rubble bags of manure & over 200 bags of soil, weeds & rubbish. We worked as a team & it may sound odd but it has brought us closer. It's something we can do together. I have ME & other health problems so am restricted in what I can do. I can potter all day & am fine but if I were to go for a walk I would be exhausted for days.
Janet

Small there are plenty of people on here who don't have an allotment.
I don't have a garden just a half plot a few minutes walk away.

Having an allotment isn't compulsory, being interested is..  :)

It's good to hear of acts of kindness, gladdens the heart.   :)

Hi Small.  I don't have an allotment, just a little garden, and I grow all my edibles in containers.  Lots of the advice here is still relevant to anyone who loves growing things.   ;D

G x

Quote from: small on May 25, 2009, 15:22:47
.....I don't actually have an allotment, just a very large garden full of vegetables. .... Are the rest of you all allotmenteers?

Same here small :)

I used to have an allotment but then moved town, then moved town again! Now I've got a thriving (if shady) vegetable plot in my garden and muck buckets full of potatoes.

Phew grannyjanny you guys have worked hard! :o
Like you i too have health issues when we got our plot 7years ago i had been housebound for several years  suffering anxiety attacks and originally found being away from home difficult but now the lottie is my 2nd home.My health has improved and life is wonderful (grandchildren help)
About swapping plants we grow mostly in cell packs in new compost and only accept the same .
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK :) :) :)

only a garden here as well, welcome small.

Hi Small   just a half a plot here and a backyard at home.
Guess it's love that keeps us all together.
A big WELCOME x