Allotments 4 All

Great! My allotment neighbour has a serious infestation on his blackcurrants and he probably won't even visit his plot for weeks! >:( >:( >:( >:(

Pull them off and burn them.

wouldn't be much left of the plants but I'm seriously tempted.

With black currants fruiting on new wood formed the previous summer you can if you want cut them down to within a few inches and burn all the infected shoots. You will miss one years fruit but it will rejuvenate the bushes.

I won't miss any fruit as they're not my bushes! ;D

Other people on the site are keen for someone to do something before it's too late...as the potentially most affected person I guess that I'm the someone in lieu of the owner but I'm reluctant because they're not mine.

If others support the idea maybe you could do it together; there's safety in numbers!

Perhaps there ought to be something in agreements about the committees being able to authorise disposal of diseased plants.

i was given 2 blackcurrant bushes? unknown to me they had big bud, checked the net , as     laurieuk suggests I've cut them down to ground level,hopping to have cured the problem.then burnt the infected stems.  And after a long time, watching, listening taking  advice and suggestions from fellow members, my first post  :o

Problem is if they have brought the reversion virus.  In the end it seems to take over.  Leaf shape changes fruit gets smaller and less sweet.  Not sure it is not best to get rid of them asap.  Are you just delaying the inevitable?

as I'm new to the allotment 2ND year? i would try first,watch and see if anything reappears if so,I'll remove them.thanks

We happened to have a fruit expert giving a talk on the plot and he said the mites that cause big bud are in the bud...when the infection is in a few buds you can pick the big buds off and take them away and burn them. He said you can control it this way.

Quote from: Kea on February 27, 2010, 20:35:59
We happened to have a fruit expert giving a talk on the plot and he said the mites that cause big bud are in the bud...when the infection is in a few buds you can pick the big buds off and take them away and burn them. He said you can control it this way.

Yes if there are just a few buds affected but original post says severe infestation.

Unfortunately I can't just rip someone elses plants out!

Quote from: doughy on February 27, 2010, 19:18:50
  And after a long time, watching, listening taking  advice and suggestions from fellow members, my first post  :o

Welcome to the forum! ;)

For what they cost to replace or even cheaper to do cuttings i just dug one up and burnt it, not so easy if its not yours but i would give it a trim back to save your plants.

There are about 10 plants. It would be necessary to remove all of them completely so it would be very obvious. As soon as i see the plotholder I will tell them about the problem, unfortunately they are rarely there as they live somewhere else.

Quote from: Kea on March 14, 2010, 13:05:04
unfortunately they are rarely there as they live somewhere else.

our allotments are only for folk who live within the borough, if you move out of the borough, bye bye plot!!

Yes i quite agree and there has been quite a lot of grumbling on our site about these people who for as long as I've been next to them 4/5 years have been selling their property in another part of the UK and moving here. Unfortunately they also have a house locally so have a residence hence can have an allotment! The Town council say their hands are tied. When it was 8ft high (I kid you not!)  in weeds they had an opportunity to get rid of them but that was before we formed an association and the town council gave them a warning but the plotholder just had it strimmed. Now they cunningly grow just enough to keep it and have loaned a section to another plotholder for a chicken run. I am still fighting the weed seeds from their original weed crop.

surely in the tenancy agreement there is a clause which states that they have to keep the plot in a weedfree, safe and cultivated state and the soil has to be kept in good condition etc etc.

If they are neglecting the plot and risk infecting others then this could be seen as a serious breach of the tenancy and could lead to the council/association taking further action ie getting rid!

Also I thought that sub-letting (even for a chicken run) would not be allowed under tenancy agreements.

I would  be going to those in charge with your agreement and finding out where they are breaching and demand action.  Otherwise the whole site will soon be suffering from problems

Doing the minimum possible after getting a letter is well known, and it's enough to try anyone's patience. After a couple of years, when a stack of letter have been issued, it's possible to say that the person has no intention of cultivating properly and get rid of them. If there's a clause about keepeing the plot in a weed-fee state, you should at least be able to insist they keep the things strimmed so they don't become a nuisance.

Our plots are too big for most people to cultivate the whole thing, and we're quite happy to see people sharing if it gets the land used.