does anyone else think this is not a stupid idea?

[woodstock3]

my (fairly weird and reclusive) neighbour has a jungle of waist high nettles/bindweed/brambles in place of a garden, literally you cant see the fences either side. it's a constant losing battle to stop it invading our garden.
me and our neighbours on the other side have started growing veg but dont have enough room for much and we thinking about getting an allotment but they're miles away when it dawned on us....could we feasibly make him an offer? that in return for clearing the ground for him, he could lend it to us to grow veg in? we could then split the produce between us, him and neighbours. almost like an allotment next door. we obviously wouldn't have rights over the land and he could have it back whenever he liked.
i got the idea from reading something about garden shares in totnes but dh is of the view that this is a lunatic idea and might work in hippy devon but forget it in london.
is he right? and if we did get our neighbour to agree, would hard would it be to clear a space like that (i guess about 4oft long) of all that stuff?

[lazarou]

It's a good idea

[ib]

Maybe he's keeping it that way for the wildlife? Do you know he wants it cleared?

I guess you would have to use chemicals to clear it, would be bloody hard otherwise.

[Pannacotta]

Agree its a good idea, he might jump at the chance. Def worth a try.
WOuld be hard work to clear it, but you could share it between you and the other neighbours.

[lilyloo]

I think it's a good idea and i guess a win win situation for neighbour if you share your beg with him.
Do you have external access though ?

[lilyloo]

beg veg!

[ivykaty44]

woodstock - I would set up a small rent agreement and notice time.

This way you can gesture the food if you wish - but dont have to, and with a notice time this means you will not plant everything one year and then be told no more and watch your food be eaten!!

[sophiewd]

You have nothing to lose.

[woodstock3]

any self-respecting wildlife would immediately be strangled by bindweed ib...it has now grown up and over his washing line.....but if he does like it that way he could just say no couldn't he?
dh thinks i am being bossy and interfering, which of course i am. oh well. am going to screw up my courage and ask him i think. he can only say no. the access would have to be through my garden i guess - i dont mind my other neighbours coming through it.

[nkf]

It's a good idea. I knew someone who looked after an old lady's garden in return for space to grow veg.

[solo]

I think it's a great idea. Mine's the same, you can use mine if he says no!

[Shitemum]

i think you should put a note through his door offering to help him with his garden as you know it's a lot of work. He might like it the way it is, or not give a damn and probably doesnt want enthusiastic people he doesnt know very well stomping about his garden. I would go slowly, win his confidence, you know, like trying to get a bird to feed off your hand, then when he's agreed and you've made a start and won his confidence you can suddenly come up with the allotment idea.

[MadBadandDangeroustoKnow]

I'm probably over-cautious, but I'd also want to draw up some sort of contract/agreement, just to pre-empt any arguments about access, who gets what etc. But it's still a great idea and potentially a win/win situation.

[solo]

That sounds a bit underhand S-mum. He might feel obliged to allow it if they all clear his garden for him, then jump in with ' by the way, can we grow our veg in your garden now we've cleared it up for you'

[Shitemum]

solo - underhand? moi!
I'm assuming he won't want to know and will need to be coaxed...

[solo]

lol! It should be touched upon with upfront honesty. I'm sure it will be appreciated far more than feeling obliged to allow veggie diggers onto his newly turned soil

[PeaGreene]

Hmm. I think it's a great idea in principle, but if he's a bit weird and reclusive is he going to want someone in his backgarden on a regular basis? He may feel like its a bit of an invasion.

[Hangingbellyofbabylon]

sounds nice idea but getting it clear would be one hell of a task - bindweed is almost impossible to get rid off - roots down to 6ft. Can't use a rotovator as it just cuts up the roots into tiny pieces that all start growing again. Round-up will look like it's worked but then sure enough everything will grow again. I know all this from bitter experience as we took on an allotment in January that had been left untouched for years and had been 'kindly' covered with round-up before we took it on (not great for organic gardening!) - it has taken months and months of digging and weeding and we are getting on top of it but still every time we blink the bindweed and couch grass are back! But saying that - now everything is growing it is bloddy lovely - if you're of strong body and spirit go for it!

[blackrock]

If he agrees, perhaps you could rent the land (allotment style) from him and get a contract written up, so all is well.

You could gycophosphate the whole area for a quick start. It only works on contact and then degrades very quickly.

Then rotavate and cover with old carpet until ready to use the land.

Go for it, he might just belonely and getinvolved, receive produce, or he might be terrified by attempts to contact him and withdraw further.

Good luck, no harm in trying.

[solo]

blackrock, that's had bad write ups I think...might be worth checking it out before using it on land you intend to grow food on. I checked it because I need to get shot of a dreadful mess/mass of nettles and weeds too...

[missingtheaction]

carpet is a bit dodgy if you are super-enviornmental because of the stuff they put on it when they are making it and/or artificial fibres.

BUt covering up the land with something is an excellent way of clearing if you have time to spare. Opened up compost bags if you are poor, weed control fabric if you are rich. There's not a lot of benefit in roundup first - just slash the stuff to the ground, scrape off the 'hay' and cover it, the lack of light will kill off the new growth. Works best if you are leaving it for months and months.

[essjayo]

I think it sounds like a brilliant idea - jsut hope he agrees. If you do go ahead you might look at Root Out which would be better than a glyphosate based weed killer - it's extremely powerful and can be used to kill brambles and even tree stumps. It takes about three months to break down in the soil (and then becomes a nitrogenous soil conditioner), after which you can re-plant and re-sow the areas treated. It shouldn't make any difference to your growing fruit and veg afterwards. Good luck