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Tuesday 5 October 2010

The Beginnings of an Allotment

Part of the long term plan is to become as self sufficient as we possibly can.  As we are selling the house and therefore the garden I put my name down for an allotment some time ago.  I have just heard that I have got a plot.  Typical, at a time when I can't get out there and get stuck in!!!  As you can see my plot certainly needs plenty of work.  However, lovely youngest son has said that he will get rid of the weeds, rotivate it and level it off for me and hubby is going to build me a couple of raised beds so that I can plant my garlic, onions, spring cabbages and broad beans before it gets too late in the year.


Still, while I am stuck here waiting to go into hospital I can at least plan the allotment, except that with the variety of fruit and veg I would like to grow I think I may have to get another plot!!!!  The plot already has an apple tree, which apparently produces eaters and this will be joined by rhubarb and gooseberries in this area.  We will also add compost bins and a log store here.  The rest is a virgin area just waiting for me!
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9 comments:

  1. Bill K5 October 2010 at 23:33

    Would you mind explaining where an allotment comes from
    ( public land ?) to me in the USA ?

    Thank You

    Bill Kelleher

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  2. Powell River Books6 October 2010 at 04:39

    I have the same question as Bill. How large is the allotment. Is it close to your barge? It sounds like a great concept. Here we have community gardens, but the space for each individual person is pretty small. - Margy

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  3. Fran6 October 2010 at 08:12

    Hi Bill, nice to meet you. Hi Margy, good to hear from you too. Allotments are leftovers from WW2, when the government was getting everyone to grow their own. They are in most towns and villages and are usually on council land. The rent is very cheap, around £15 per year in my case. The plots vary in size but mine is approxiamtely 80ft by 15ft and there are 30 plots on our allotment site. Once you have a plot it is basically yours until you decide to give it up. There are different rules, depending on where you live, regarding keeping livestock (eg chickens and bees) There are also old laws which still require councils to provide allotments. However, with the upsurge in pepople wanting to grow their own fruit and veg, allotments in some areas are a bit like gold dust and some people can wait years to get one. Mine is about a 5 minute bike ride away from the barge and I have to pass it on my way home from work, so it is ideal. I have also seen allotments in France and Holland. Check out this post from Heart and Soil Blog for some great pictures and info about an allotment http://heartandsoil.blogspot.com/2010/07/permaculture-allotment-from-weeds-to.html

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  4. imperfectly natural mama7 October 2010 at 16:48

    Yey! How exciting! Having an alotment is great, a lot of work but totally worth it.

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  5. Fran7 October 2010 at 18:45

    Janys and Helen, I really cannot wait to get going. At the moment all I can do is go and gaze at it longingly! I have to get someone to drive me there (literally 1 minute drive) and can only stand for a few minutes. Still, the best things come to those that wait! (Or have the patience to wait for the NHS to get their finger out!)

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  6. The Boy Ollerton8 October 2010 at 21:57

    Hi Fran, thanks for following my blog! Having a nosey, congrats with your new plot, your blog certainly looks like it has a little twist to it. Looking forward to reading more as things progress. All the best, Craig.

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  7. Sue Garrett10 October 2010 at 10:31

    Thanks for addng yourself as a follower of my blog Fran. It's really quite a ggod time to start an allotment as you can clear the weeds faster than they regrow!

    We also have a website about our allotment and this page describes how we cleared one of our plots that looked a bit like yours does now. JUst in case you are interested

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  8. Vallypee15 October 2010 at 20:41

    Fran, I was so sure I'd left a comment here, but it seems not. Well, at the risk of repeating myself, your allotment looks marvellous! What a lovely piece of ground you have, and I can see through the weeds to when it will all have neat ordered rows of vegetables and herbs. Hope you are doing alright and not in too much pain now. Have you had news about your op, or have you maybe had it done now? Whatever the case, I'm sending cyber hugs. xox Val

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  9. Fran16 October 2010 at 12:45

    Hi Janys and Val, no I haven't had my op yet. They are hanging their minds about it being my gall bladder, so I have had an ECG, another scan and am about to have a chest x-ray. So just watch this space!! I am very bored now, friends have been lovely, popping round etc but I cannot wait to get back to some sort of normality. xxx

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