Allotments 4 All

I cant walk passed a skip without glancing in, I look at every cast off piece of wood, every thrown out carpet and every other bit of old tat as possible lottie gear. When the neighbours have jobs done Im the first one there mooching in all the muck.  ;D

Petepod cringes and walk on.

He's the lottie person too  ::)  I hardly ever go there anymore.  I found a large piece of trellis the other day and told him about it. Took him 4 days to go and get it.  ::)  Hes a disgrace to dedicated lottie holders!  * shakes head in despair*  ;D

Yes, yes, yes, yes. I am indeed. I had to make a new year resolution to try and cut back on it.

THe best thing I got recently though not from a skip was a 120L green wheelie bin and I keep it in middle of garden, open, to collect rainwater. I also put basins of used washing up water in it when I can.

Made my wife laugh there once, when they had a skip on a tv show (GF or something) and I sat up straight in my chair for a good look!!!

;D Me too ;D I have rescued two oil drums, a plastic dustbin, wood suitable for raised beds, steel poles for broad beans and ridged wire netting. ;D

If I ever remember to take my secateurs to the Lottie I will go back to my secret hiding place and cut back those thorny brambles and rescue a ridged wire compost bin. 8)

Yes we are too.  In fact on the way home tonight from our Singing Course rescued this fabulous long piece of skirting board from a skip in the next street to us.  I am proud to say every piece of wood on our lottie is reclaimed from somewhere. We are the same DG when we see a skip our eyes light up and we are straight there to see what is in it.   ;D busy_lizzie 

Oh don't!  A house down the road is having a major extension built, and the chaps doing the do have a large roll of that orange pastic netting stuff.  I have some of this already on the plot and it is great for wrapping around beds, for example, my broadbeans.....and I keep looking at it...and I keep wondering what they are going to do with it when they finish...will they wind it up and put it in their van to use on the next job...or will it end up in the skip.?!?!?!?!  I am keeping an eye out to see if I can spot any of the chaps on a tea break so I can mention it to them....reminds me, must keep my best lippy in the car, and a hairbrush maybe..... :-\

EJ Emma Jane,

they will roll it up and pack it away!!! When the job's nearly done, swipe it!

I have one or two of those reinforcing steel bars that they use to prop up the orange netting around holes in the footpath, used one the other day to prop up my arch holding my very top heavy clematis Montana

Swipe it away!  I couldn't possibly... ::)

I also have some of those heavy metal rods, and a couple that are like arches. Come in sooooooooooo very handy!  Dad 'acquired' them many moons ago when we had our first allotment.  Very glad I hung onto them.  ;D

I have got fed up of waiting for stuff to appear in skips or else where. I have taken to the direct method.

Approaching site managers on building sites and also builders merchants.
Got one place will deliver for free if I take all his pallets (yes I'm having them all)about 75 the rest of the plots around me will benefit as well

And the builders site, went yesterday for some scap wood and ended up with 4 and 5 metre lengths of 3x1 3x2 4x1 about 50 lengths and he told me to go back Friday he will have some more stuff. Its a shame because if I hadn't gone they said it would all of been burnt before they finished, they always order to much. ::)

Another site told me to wait for two weeks and come back they will get some to gether for me. ;D
lucky for me another plot holder has a pickup so he has told me he will pick the stuff up for me when I get them

just swallow your pride go and beg and plead. Its working for me.

Ron ;D ;D

absolutely.

My best finds so far were two terracota pots, each about 10in. One had some nasty paint design on it that was peeling off. A good scrubbing got rid of that. The other has a crack it in... lined with a cut up old compost bag and it does the job.

I'm always having a look. Trouble is, we don't have a car, so can only take small things or things near home. (probably a good job, or the garden would be full of "junk" as Mr Aqui calls it!)

Hi all,

I think if you`ve read my other posts you already know I am always scavenging something. I live three doors down from the largest city-centre building site in Europe. Its torture - they aren`t giving anything away, its all landfill.

I`ve become very skilled at loading up my bike, I carry rope and bungee cords in my panniers so I`m ready for any opportunity. People know I`m on the lookout for stuff so I get things that way too. I even have compostables dropped into my heap from workmates. I`ve now reached a point where other plot holders will come to ask if I`ve got the odd peice of plastic or wood they need, so I`m redistributing which is great.

My best find was half a ladder in a skip on the day I had to finish my potting shed roof. I dunno if its the top half or the bottom half. Its a bit wormy but I was able to get the job done more safely than I would`ve without it.
Also my shed guttering was all headed for landfill.

Although in the past I`ve been able to build Pcs for people from reclaimed stuff I have become much more pro-active about enviromental issues since I got the allotment, and landfill is a dirty word.

Col

i am known as the 'Bubble Wrap Queen' on our hill at work-i reckoned it up one day-we save £400 a year by scavenging bw...people dump perfectly good bw on my doorstep-then i see the wrapping supplies man delivering another load to them in a roll and i rub my hands gleefully-soon be coming my way!
the worst thing i saw recently was taking some paintings to the r.a.(sorry-name dropping-doesnt mean they were accepted!)there are 11.000 entries every year-most people take 3 paintings as an entry-only 1,000get accepted-outside there were THREE huge skips full of packaging-mostly bubble wrap-i asked a minion what happened to it all-he looked at me as if i'd gone mad...'it gets chucked away' he said.
i groaned all the way home on the train..... :( :( :(

Am I from a distant planet? What do you do with Bubble wrap?

Derek, Protect your greenhouse from frost by taping it to the inside or wrap around pots outside for the same reason? 

OH had a laugh yesterday as I have had a lush bench delivered from B&Q online for the garden and it came in the most fantastic cardboard shape, looked almost like a raised bed when you laid it flat.  Also had masses of corrugated cardboard inside which sent my head in a spin as to how I could use it at the allotment.  Determined I will find a use for it somehow. ;D busy_lizzie

I have a stream full of bricks at the bottom of my plot. So far I have a path built with them going halfway down the plot; I'm determined to finish it eventually, though it'll take several years as I have to wait for more to wash out. Apart from that, my best find was a large stone sink I dug out of the stream bank while working on my flood defences. It was promptly stolen, though I know where it is and still hope to recover it eventually. I'm not a great one for taking stuff from skips, I'm too shy!

MUCH TO MY FAMILYS DISGUST, I CANNOT WALK PAST A SKIP WITHOUT A GOOD LOOK IN AND WILL HOOK ANYTHING I FANCY OUT.  I HAVE HAD SOME BRILLIANT FINDS.  OUR LOCAL COUNCIL USED TO PUT A SKIP IN VARIOUS PLACES AROUND OUR VILLAGE FOR COMMUNIAL USE.  EVERY THREE MONTHS IT WAS OUTSIDE MY HOUSE, HEAVEN!    MY SON WAS SO EMBARRASED HE JOINED THE NAVY!!

LAST YEAR I FOUND A DOUBLE GLAZED WINDOW WHICH I TOOK TO MY ALLOTMENT AND KEPT THERE FOR SEVERAL MONTHS.  I DECIDED I DIDNT NEED IT SO TOOK IT BACK TO THE RECYCLING AREA.  TWO DAYS LATER IT TURNED UP AT MY NEXT DOOR ALLOTMENT!! HE HAD SALVAGED IT FROM THE RECYCLING AREA.  HE DIDNT USE IT EITHER AND HAS NOW TAKEN IT BACK.  I WONDER WHERE IT WILL BE NEXT.

I got all the bamboo canes I needed for my runner beans from a single skip this year ;D ;D Tee hee, silly buggers throwing that lot out!

Anna, My OH salvaged some great double glazed windows from a Skip last year and now they are part of our allotment greenhouse.  In my experience people are only too pleased to allow you to take things from their Skip as it is making room for other things they can put in. I always tell people I want it for my allotment as they generally warm to the wholesome idea of an allotment.  

If we get quite a lot from a skip, like say a huge amount of wood, then we would take the Skip owner some produce to say thank you.  We did that recently when someone up our Street let us have the planks from an old shed they had taken down. They were delighted when I knocked on the door and gave them some leeks.  :) busy_lizzie

I am always too shy to ask if I can have stuff however my mum and dad are building a big extension at the mo so getting stuff from them.  Also one of my neighbours is having new kitchen and noticed this evening that the old one is neatly stacked in front garden so will ask if I can have any of it. 

I was thinking of using the old sink as a small wildlife pond - any thoughts - will it be big enough?

It's small and relatively deep;the key to a good wildlife pond is often a decent area ofvery shallow water. An old sink makes a superb container for growing flowers or herbs though.

I have seen several old pubs torn down, lucky had everything from bar-top to the wood panelling.  As a cabinet-maker, though not currently:(, I hate seeing wood burned, I see grain and need it.  Wife hates it but loves the results.  Her coffee table made from old bar top 2" thick mahogany. The original import label, dated and stamped  Bristol docks  1897 was on the underside, and still is. and the chess table I made for my nephew is all 'rescued' including the victorian cast iron stand.
As we have just taken over the care of our plots, which I need to terrace a bit because of the slope, Inca style.  I have just arrange the recovery of 13x13ft scaffold boards that have been pass unfit due to splits and condition.  that covers a lot of edging and retaining walls. sisters old shed, was going to be burnt - rescued.
old shed on plot, about half salvaged - base of compost bins, felt roof will be use for the cover.  top is old work top got this morning from house being gutted, old kitchen units, which is solid wood! will make get storage in shed, and my workshop.
My Philosophy is once burnt, you cant make anything out of ashes.

heres the chess table
http://www.madbikerdesign.co.uk/chess/chessindex.htm
that stand was a rust covered skip rescue.
scavenger...who me?.....ASOLUTELY!!