The 2015 Allotment / Veg Patch Thread Part 3 already!

[agoodbook]

Just seen the other is full , so here goes - we are heading for summer now! Welcome to everyone old and new :)

here is a link to the previous thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/gardening/2350947-The-2015-Allotment-Veg-Patch-Thread-Part-2?msgid=54546739

[TheDietStartsTomorrow]

I don't know.... I have the passion and energy. Time? I'm not so sure. I have a demanding job and 6 DC. And not much of a budget.

My DH is away from home until next week and I guess I need him to see it and give me the confidence.

In the end, I can only give it a bash. What have I to lose?

[TheSpottedZebra]

That's what I thought, Diet -wwhat have I got to lose? The rent for the year isn't expensive, and I've kept everything else pretty cheap too- I bought manure, and seeds, but I didn't do raised beds or replace my shed. So I cart my tools forwards and backwards (but it is really near). And if it turns out that I can't keep it up, we'll, I haven't lost much other than time, and I can see that as good exercise and fresh air.

You said it's isolated, do you mean just your plot or the whole site? Do you feel safe there and happy?

6 DC Any of them old enough to give you a bit of a hand? If you got a strimmer, you could have most of that top growth away in no time. And get a load of cardboard down and plant through it?

[violetwellies]

Oh Diet that looks a bit daunting, I'll lend you some sheep (self propelling strimmers) if you're desperate

[mousmous]

well, it's obviously good growing ground :o
take it one bit at a time.

[agoodbook]

Good Evening - been so busy not had chance to get to the plot since Monday- will hopefully manage a couple of hours tomorrow and get my strawberries netted- blackbirds love them.
shove - your plot looks lovely!
My squashes and courgettes are starting to romp- they are still in the greenhouse, so will start to harden off tomorrow . They are a bit like Jack and the beanstalk- they seem to put on a couple of leaves a day once they get going. Runner beans and French beans doing okay outside so they should be ready to plant on Sunday Also, 1st lot of leeks are ready to go in as well - so a busy week ahead.
Duelling - you can sow/plant cabbages and cauliflowers to harvest almost all year. I have only just planted out my caulis and cabbages for autumn- i will be sowing more in July for next winter and spring .
I still have spring cabbage to harvest, and by the time thats used, my broad beans and spinach will hopefully be ready. Its just planning ahead, thats all.
Diet - didn't you have another site to look at as well? Could that be worth a thought before you decide one way or another.

[TheDietStartsTomorrow]

My eldest 3 are studying away from home so not much help. DS aged 13 came with me to see it but I think he was put off by just how quiet and isolated it is.The surrounding plots are mostly overgrown and desserted. By isolated, I mean that the whole allotment is huge and once you're inside the gate, noone can see or hear what's happening inside. The trees, hedges and overgrowth blocks everything out. If I was there alone and someone came in I wouldn't feel very safe.

Actually, this may sound like a thread within a thread but when I left the allotment and entered the street next to it, there were a bunch of young lads hanging about. I walked past them without giving them much thought but the youngest of them pulled a knife out. It was thick dagger with a bandage wrapped around the handle. The lad was only about 13-14. He then followed me for a bit at a distance. I saw it but didn't feel threatened as he was young and I knew I could take him on if it came to thar and he was at a distance but I felt apprehensive for my DS who was riding alongside me on his bike. Anyway the lad followed me for a 1/4 of the street so despite my instinct telling me to just sprint, I turned around and looked him squarely in the face. He just sniggered a bit and walked off.

But anyway, that's nothing to do with the allotment as it happened near it and not on it. I do know though, that if I tell my DH he would worry like hell and talk me out of taking the plot so I'm going to keep it to myself.

I've sent pics to DH and will look at another site tomorrow and take some more pics before I decide. Sheep wide be ideal violet! :) My DH grew up in a country where animals roamed freely around the streets and he has always had 3-4 goats grazing on the verandah of his childhood home so he's keen to get some chickens on the allotment. He also wants to put in some fruit trees and has got his heart set on a plum tree. My DC are insisting we dig a pond and get tadpoles in whereas I just want to extend the growing area of the veg in my garden.

[LetThereBeCupcakes]

Oh my God Diet! Are you OK? My friend and I had a knife pulled on us when we were in Boston. We didn't notice at the time but afterwards when our friends came running up to see if we were OK it was really scary!

The plot itself wouldn't put me off - I reckon you could get that under control (depending on how quickly the allotment manager wants you to get it cultivated), but all the other things - the isolation, the area and so on would really put me off I'm afraid.

Holly those caulis look amazing! And typical of me, my first thought was how my rabbit would adore those leaves!

So much I need / want to get on with in the garden but we're away again this weekend! DS is at grandmas at the moment so I might get some time between getting home from work and my Mum dropping him back, but other than that I'm DOOMED until next week now .

[Cedar03]

I think that the isolation would be my concern. I am often at my plot on my own even though lots of the plots round me are cultivated. But we are next to the park with houses behind so there are always people around.
I think that an allotment is a long term project and you need to have the energy for the long haul.
Plus if there are boys waving knives around in the nearby streets I wouldn't feel particularly comfortable. Although I'm normally lugging a spade or fork with me which might put a kid off.

[minkGrundy]

diet did you stick a fork in the soil to see what it is like?
It does not actually look like it it too long since that was in use you can see remnants of beds.
But it is if no matter if the isolation is the real problem. The lots I am on had quite a few vacancies to start with but that was because they were new. (You get high turnover for the first few years on a site) If those allotments have been around a while then it is worrying that they are mostly empty.

[honeysucklejasmine]

Hi. Busy day yesterday, settled my beans and peas in their final destinations, and did a lot of repotting from propagators and seedling trays.

I am planning on putting some carrots in to the empty spaces by my runner beans, I read they can work well together.

Soon I guess I will get to the stage of just waiting for it all to grow!

[minkGrundy]

We finally had some rain yesterday!
Will hopefully see some results.

[shovetheholly]

Diet - a couple of thoughts.

First of all, I wouldn't worry about the work. You can get black weedsheeting on ebay for cheap and cover the entire site, weighing it down with bricks. You can then deal with small sections as and when you feel ready without feeling like the rest of it is becoming a jungle that is getting more and more difficult to deal with. This is what I did. I also think that some fighting with weeds is par for the course when you start. You CAN do this and what is more I think you will enjoy it! Why not give it a go? (Also - I think I spy some raspberries in the corner there?)

However, I would worry about the isolation. I think this is a matter of how it 'feels' - all of those instinctive things about a place that make you feel at home or in danger. Your site sounds a bit different. And having someone pull a knife like that is threatening, and I think sometimes the fact that it's a child makes it even more worrying, because they don't have the same understanding or empathy as adults do (honestly, his Mum wants to give him a good talking to and ground him for about 6 months). So I'm not surprised you are bearing this in mind.

I would be fascinated to hear how other women feel about this. I'm very interested in how we, as women, experience public space differently from men, partly as a result of how space is configured, and partly because of the way we learn about 'threat'. My allotment is fairly isolated. It is up a country road, next to a very large golf course on one side and the grounds of a stately home (since converted into flats) on the other. It's a long way from houses, and it's on a dogwalking trail, which means that the gender balance in the surrounding few hundred metres is about 80% male, 20% female. I am sometimes there on my own. If you'd asked me before this moment of reflection, I would have said that I definitely felt safe. However, when I think about it, I do have an eye to who is around me much more when I am there alone, and I keep my phone handy too. I rarely even take it when DH is there with me.

To come back to Diet - one solution to both issues might be to get a friend to help you with the allotment. Several of the plots at my site are run by two couples, not one and the women seem to come together as a kind of social thing. That would give you companionship, a bit of space to yourself and a bit of security.

[TheSpottedZebra]

Oh Diet, that's awful that someone pulled a knife on you. And a kid too? What will he grow into? I also think that maybe listen to your instincts on this one. At least g and see the other plots that you mentioned.

I do actually feel quite safe at my allotment, but it is amidst houses and well-used park. I allotment totally on mymown, no help, although my ds did come with me the other day for an hour, that was a one off! I'm happy enough to be plugged into my ipod there, so i can't even hear anyone approach me. I really like the alone time I get there. I can't imagine wanting to spend time somewhere that I didn't feel quite safe.

I do however always have my phone with me, I have good reception and it's always charged. There is a big fence with strong gates that are always locked -ie you lock yourself in and out. The only time I have felt a bit unhappy there was when another allotmenteerer got a bit too friendly (that's died down now thank god). That pissed me off, it was a bit like an invasion of my space.

[LetThereBeCupcakes]

Funnily enough holly I studied this very issue at university (town planning - did a whole model on the way men and women experience public areas, and what can be done to make towns safer for everybody).

I am very lucky that I have a large enough garden to be able to grow my vegetables at home. I also live in an area with a large military base so there are lots of army officers living near me, whom I know and trust - I really couldn't be safer if I tried! However, I do go off dog walking and even in this "safe" area, I've felt very uncomfortable when caught unawares in an unfamiliar park at dusk.

[PlumpingThePartTimeMother]

Diet that sounds really unpleasant and nothing like the enjoyable allotment experience you were hoping for. I'd go and see other plots if possible, just to have other options, and maybe let the allotment manager know why you're not keen on the plot (because you won't be the only woman who is intimidated by behaviour like that).

On another note, I dimly recall Alternative saying something about using a salt spray to keep slugs off plants. I'd be grateful for further details on that as the internet just says to use salt to kill them dead

[shovetheholly]

cupcakes - No way! The book I'm writing is for a planning/geography audience! Husband is an academic in those fields . I used to edit a planning journal, which is how I came to the spatial field from an English/history background. The relationship of gender and space is fascinating to me.

Zebra - boo to over-friendly allotmenters. It's horrible that you had to deal with that in your 'safe' space. I dream of a day when a woman on her own in public is seen as a person, and not as 'fair game'.

[LetThereBeCupcakes]

Haha Holly maybe I know him! My degree is in Geography (I now work in Project Management ). I'd love to read your book when it's finished!

Sorry. OT. Umm. Plants. Nematodes. Bokashi Bins.

[TheSpottedZebra]

Shove - 'fair game' - that's exactly how I felt. Ie it wasn't about me at all (NOT that I wanted it to be, to be clear!) But yes, as a female with no obvious signs of a male about, well, crack on! It pissed me off that females are still seen as fair game, and it pissed me off that I felt so invaded.

Planting out some tomatoes today - ToughZebra rises again!

[minkGrundy]

I feel quite safe on my allotment, despite it being in a 'rough' area and frequently being there on my own.
(And someone was murdered right next to it last year). Yet it still feels ok because I have good lines of sight. I can people coming over the fence and it is iverlooked by flats. And I have a hoe and I ain't afraid to use it.

I do feel uncomfortable when my unwanted allotment 'friend' is there as I don't like him watching me but I am not physically threarened by him as if it came to it he would come off worse.

Still should not have to deal with any of it though.

[shovetheholly]

"I have a hoe and I ain't afraid to use it."

This should be a thread title!! Brilliant!

I am a bit and very that so many of you have experienced harassment at the allotment. It really isn't on. I wonder what could be done about it? Maybe just awareness-raising would help. I note my council is obligated to put a lot of incredibly obvious information about health and safety in the booklet (e.g. do not try to saw off your own leg, try not to drown in the pond etc etc), but doesn't say anything about the right of women to enjoy the site without unwanted attention! Would it help to have a carefully worded paragraph that makes it clear that friendliness is awesome, but that anything further crosses a line, I wonder?

[DuelingFanjo]

My plot is in a fairly isolated part of the site and some evenings I am the only one there so I do feel a bit vulnerable. I have people all around me though and so when it's busy it's quite a nice vibe.

Found 5 snails on my plants in my back yard today!

[RoosterCogburn]

shove DH is assembling my arches as I type!
I went to Wilkinsons and they only had two so we may have to order some more.

Diet what a shame about the knife incident - am I right in thinking you have another allotment to look at? If that is the case let's hope it is much more user friendly.

Last night I did a torchlight sweep on me greenhouse because something had been chomping through my tender plants - I evicted 5 snails.

[TheDietStartsTomorrow]

I went to see a plot on another allotment site today. It's much more conveniently located as it's on the way to school so I know I would be able to fit in an hour/ half hour on the way back from the school run. It's a smaller collection on plots and more than 75% of them are occupied so it feels much more accessible and safer. The problem is the available plots are impossible. Trees, bushes, and weeds taller than me. But I'm willing to take it on and work on it slowly and steadily. I would not be able to tackle it without getting some labourers in to give it a clear out.

However....the most wonderful thing happened whilst I was there and that is I met an elderly gentleman who has a plot on the site who is ready to give his plot up next week as he's had a stroke. We got talking and he saw my enthusiasm and offered to give his plot over to me. He hasn't been able to look after it too well recently so it's got a lot of work but it is head and shoulders above anything that I would have dreamed of getting my hands on.

I was so excited as he showed me around. He has a makeshift shed-cum-greenhouse that has all his tools in it including a cultivator, gardening tools, lawn mower as well as a cooker, a wood burning stove and a heater. It is just so quaint and cute and 'allotmentish'. I was like a child in a sweet shop. He told me how he has had it for 14 years and wanted to hand it over to someone who was going to make good use of it and that my coming at that time was a god-send. I, in return, told him how my back garden was brimming seedlings growing in pots and grow bags and how the plot I went to yesterday as making me hesitant and that he was the god-send . We planned to meet up again on the weekend so I can help him clear some of his things out.

Unfortunately, my high hopes didn't last long as when I rang the council, they told me someone was already waiting for that plot and they couldn't give it to me unless she no longer wanted it . Really disappointed but the plot-owner gentleman gave them a ring and told them that he wanted me to have it but I will have to wait and see whether the person waiting for it is still keen to take it.

I really hope I get it. It seems really nice to have met the owner and listen to his life story and how he got on with the plot. It gives it a bit of a history and I feel honoured that he would also be keen to hand it over to me. He's in his '70/'80's has had it for 14 years whilst gardening for 46 years. A really lovely man with a cheeky sense of humour.

I took some photos of the site. Will have to just wait it out and see. The plot has a plum tree, an apple tree, a pear tree and a few run down fruit bushes. I also spotted huge rhubarb and a few other bits and bats so a good start.

[minkGrundy]

Either way diet maybe your elderly fruend will pop by and give advice now and again. Must be hard to give up an allotment after that time.

For the overgrown ones. Hire a petrol strimmer. Strim it to the ground and weed sheet or cardboard over it then tackle it one section at a time.
You can even plant through the cardboard the first year.

It is never as bad as it looks. Especially if it has been cultivated at some piint in the past.

Look at this way- big weeds means fertile soil.

[agoodbook]

oh Diet - I have everything crossed for you!
I am so incredibly lucky that we have such a well run, large site with loads of people around - (not that many today because it was blowing a gale!) but there is always someone around during the day/early evening - I have never even vaguely felt threatened.
I have managed to get down there today, to plant leeks and french beans and I broadcast sowed some carrots, fingers crossed.
The weather forecast is for heavy rain all tomorrow, so I wanted to get some more digging done today on my new bit - I am trying to do it steadily in between keeping on top of everything else , so getting the next patch ready to plant up. Its not hard going, but the weeds are thriving - just see photo :)