Just thought I would share my excitement!!
After 5 years on the waiting list I’ve finally got my own allotment!!! Can’t wait to get started!!
In the past I’ve shared one for a bit, and done the whole ‘plant pot gardening’ thing. But having a dark north facing & shaded back yard, I’ve been desperate to get my hands on my own plot!!
It’s not huge- which is only a good thing really as I work full time & have my artwork ontop of that, and at the moment it’s just overgrown grass & a bit brambly.
Going to have a go at only using free collected materials (waste timber, bricks etc) to get it looking how it looks in my head.
Very excited though!!! 
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How exciting. My partner had to wait four years for his allotment and when we first saw it, I could have cried - the weeds were up to my waist!! We cleared it as best we could only to find out that half of it is under water in the winter - oh well, at least we have a little patch that we can grow things in and all the improvements he has made were using collected materials, so it can definitely be done Freecycle is great for that…and skip diving, of course. I wish you all the best with your new allotment and above all, have fun.
Me and friend had one for a few years. Did a lot of new age type planting. We had a good laugh! Got some really good harvests some seasons, some not so good. But, we had to give up. My garden which is fairly big anyway has still not recovered from my neglect while we had the Lottie, I couldn’t keep both going, work commitments, the usual, but not regretted it, just wished I had done my gardening first. But good luck Susannah, have fun, that’s the most important thing, we did!
Haha thanks guys!!
Yeah- @lizdyson I’m glad I’ve seen it in the winter at its worst!! It definitely needs some work doing- but on the plus side it’s just a flat rectangle so that should help!!
@amberlilly that sounds like fun- I plan on companion growing- not really new age in my eyes, but looking around the allotments near by no one else is doing it- so no doubt some old man will tell me I’m doing it all wrong when I start planting my carrots in the same bed as my onions!! Haha
Hard work it shall be- but having fun is definitely high on my list of reasons why I wanted it…it will keep me busy in school holidays and hopefully be a nice place for my husband and I to relax as well- once the hard work is done of course!!
Lol @curiousseagull You will get some old man giving you “advice”! Most annoying was when my OH came down to refelt the shed, he said take that &#!? away fro me, it was so funny!!
But joking apart, we had some great advice, but, some stuff we did was sniggered at, like planting by the phase of the moon, that was interesting! Shame we had some really bad summers where it was difficult to tell if it worked or no?
Haha yeah I can imagine. That is funny. Some people hate people trying out new ways, or simply ways that are different to there’s.
During the time we shared an allotment for a few months it was on an allotment site run by a ‘committee’. If you’ve ever seen the film Hot Fuzz, it was like that.
They would patrol around, and didn’t like anyone who was trying to welcome wildlife in which was sad. They were all about growing giant vegetables and winning ‘allotment of the year’. So we couldn’t do anything without them complaining. Over a weekend when my husband and I got married, and the person we shared with was in hospital looking after his sick wife, it was a super warm weekend and everything grew suddenly- and because we weren’t there all day long over that weekend making it look super neat we had to go to an embarrassing ‘hearing’ then we got kicked off the site. It was shocking!
On the plus side- my new allotment doesn’t have a committee and is simply run by the council, who are happy if I follow their few basic rules. So this time around will feel like a walk in the park I’m sure!!! Haha
Oh no! Funny looking back I bet. Fingers crossed for you and keep us updated, I like to hear how other lotties get on, even tho I’m not one anymore. 
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Oh that is exciting! I would be too 
It’s lovely to be able to plant your own veggies / herbs / fruits. I didn’t realise there was such a long waiting list. But good things come to those who wait, right?
It’s crazy isn’t it? Someone I talk to in North London said the waiting list around hers is about 20 years. Which sadly I can believe as I know a lot of councils don’t monitor it properly so a lot of allotments are wrongly sublet and things like that.
Thankfully my council actually worked on that a few years ago and made a point of contacting people who were on the list once a year to see if they still wanted one in case they’d moved out of the area of their situation had changed and they no longer wanted one.
So yeah- thankfully one came my way!! Haha looking forward to getting my hands dirty now!!
I have tried to keep herbs in pots indoors but it has not been successful. I do well with plants, but herbs seem a bit trickier. So I’m a little jealous 
Do tell us how it goes.
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Good luck with the allotment. I think we need to see some before and after pics. 
That is a fair point @FluffStuffCrafts
Just had a cycle along as the council sent me the key for the site the other day- and of course I had to go and test it out!
So here is my delightful before picture…apologies for me standing in the middle of it…
Job one over the next fortnight or so is to literally pull up all the dead grass and the few brambles and have a little bonfire. So we shall see how that goes first!! Haha
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I think you’re going to be busy for the next few weeks. On the plus side, it looks like a good sized plot.
You’ve made me feel much better about the mess I’ve got to tackle in my garden - nowhere near as overgrown as that!
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It looks quite spacious!
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Hahaha yeah- it’s going to take a while. And due to it being dark when I get home from work each day it means I’ve only got the weekends…better get my wellies on!
Hi,
I am a bit lost have not seen the new look so not sure . Foubd it while waithing for a new listing to go though and for my neighbour to move his visiter cars so that we can move ours and then I can load mine for a farmers market that I am doing in the morning and it is raining.
Well just wanted to say how lovely to get an allotment I have had mine for 7years and I love it much prefer to work there than in my own garden, I have not done much work there lately due to the weather at least with bad weather I can get on with sewing. Looking forward to the sewing bee still have not watched the update that was on this week. But I have been watching the allotment challenge great progammes.
I have an allotment and carpet is your best friend - stick it on weedy ground to kill the blighters off or use it to cover freshly dug stuff to stop the weeds from sprouting. Long thin bits are useful on paths. If you can’t find any old carpet try a local building supplies merchant as they often have large bits of plastic for free. They might also have pallets you can have which are useful for making compost bins. If you do find yourself having to buy building materials see if you can find a local farm supplies company, they tend to be cheaper than the building merchants.
Good luck and when you get your first glut of something let us know and we will supply you with suggestions of what to do with it (I’m now a master chutney maker).
Sasha
Haha cheers guys!
I’m making everything on there from stuff I’ve collected/have been given.
I’m right on the seafront so have always had quite a collection of driftwood anyway- but other people have given me plenty that I can use.
I’ve also got an on going supply of pallets if I want them which is good. Haha can never have enough timber in my opinion!!
Going to try and minimise a glut of things by planting things a few weeks apart- particularly things like salad stuffs, spring onions and things.
I’m happy to supply friends have family with a veg box if I need to though. Haha
Can’t wait to get my hands dirty! Weather has been pretty grim the last couple of weekends I’ve had though- so I’m hoping next weekend is better!! Haha
Wish me luck folks! Haha
Advice from an experienced allotment gardener:
Be prepared to laugh at your failures
Share with your neighbours (two legged, four legged, winged ones and slug ones)
Get mud somehow in your underwear
Feel pain in muscles you did not even knew you had
And forever listen to your neighbours who know best how to grow what
Enjoy it, enjoy it, enjoy it!!!
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Thanks for the advice!
I certainly plan on welcoming in whatever creatures want to come in! I don’t have a garden at home, just a small, damp, dark North facing back yard. The most I get on the wall is a seagull. So for me my allotment will also be my garden. And inviting in nature is really important to me- almost more important than the veg to be honest.
Neighbour wise, I’m in a strange little part of the whole allotment area where there is only me, and 4 other allotments. All of which look like someone hasn’t been busy for quite some time and are growing more dandelions than anything else- so not sure how much I will learn from them!
Trial and error I think will be my mainstay for a while!! But that’s alright.
Really looking forward to it all, and the hardwork has definitely well and truly begun!!
Hope you have a successful growing year!!