Anyone with an allotment?

That’s a thing?

Not a thing I've made, but apparently a thing. Most fruit & veg can become wine.

Going to try some gin, don’t have all the wine brewers kit :(

After over a year on the list we finally have a viewing next Friday for a 5rod plot on a council site with ‘full amenities’
Quite excited.
Tips on things to look out for on the viewing? I’m an ex-tree surgeon so not afraid of the hard work to clear the plot if needs be but anything in particular worth keeping an eye on?

anything in particular worth keeping an eye on?

Access to water e.g. a tap.

Couch grass and bindweed. Neither are deal breakers but they take a lot of dealing with.

Couch grass and bindweed

and horsetail/marestail ...

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Oh yeah, I've read that's the worst though I've never encountered it IRL.

I presume the only cure for those bastards is persistently digging them up?

They are absolute fuckers to get rid of, you have to dig out the roots and you'll never get rid of them, just reduce their number.

Finally making some progress. Windows in most of the cladding is on. Just need to start the roof. Truth be told I’ve absolutely no idea what I’m going to do. My aim is water tight, not going to blow and possibly strong enough for a green roof

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Rhs advice useful. We avoid chemicals so I just pull the stuff out everytime I see it.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=257

Ace.

I'd probably go tilted roof (slope down back to front) made of reclaimed OBS, membrane/felt, 2x4 chunky struts and a shit ton of screws.
You could use corrugated roofing and chuck lots of moss/succulents on it.

Spuds yeah.

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Spuds yeah ...
"Ratte"
No dig
So clean
So good.

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Ace. I had 8kg in the end. Lots of other bits too.

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Nice haul both. Those 'Ratte' look interesting, what are they good for, salad? Anyone saved their own seed potatoes? I'm trying it out this year, save a few quid next year.

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Just strolled down to where our potential allotment is(our viewing is tomorrow) and could see that several plots are very overgrown and some are completely crowded out by fully mature apple trees around 15-20ft tall.
I’m assuming the plot will likely be overgrown but does the council assist when there’s the best part of two grands work to fell the trees and grind the stumps? Seems like doing that work yourself is outside the realms for most people and the cost would be prohibitive. As an ex-wood butcher I’m sure I can do a deal with some old mates to get a chipper and some tools for the day but wondering to what extent the council usually help out in such cases?

From what we could see thru the fences along the adjacent path the majority of plots are well tended apart from a few which look recently abandoned and just tangled with 8ft tall brambles covering the whole plot and a few with big trees. I've done tree work on allotments before and it’s nerve wracking as hell trying to do the work without trashing adjacent plots and was hoping never to do it again!!

Fingers crossed it’s not a tree covered plot we’re being shown but just wondering what if any assistance we can expect if there’s heavy works involved...

Councils have no money for essential services, I very much doubt they’d provide any assistance in clearing an allotment.

Yeah that was what I thought..
Fingers crossed it’s not fucked then...

On our plots you can pay someone from the council to brush cut it. Someone told me it was £35 for half a plot, which seems a bit dear given you could probably buy a petrol strimmer off gumtree for that kind of money and flog it when you're done. But felling a tree seems a bit beyond the remit of most councils.

fully mature apple trees

Orchard Plot ftw!

So just been to view. Pretty impressed. The site has a clubhouse with toilets and tool lockers directly next to our plot.
There is a water tank/tap forming the corner boundary.
We’re at the boundary of the site backing onto some houses. Where the plot has been neglected there has been some rubbish dumped over the fence which is a bit annoying but nothing we can do about that.
The council rep was honest about there not being much of a community on that site and standards have slipped re structures etc but she’s in the process of sharpening the place up a bit.
Someone attempted to cultivate our plot 2 years ago but only got halfway through clearing and brambles have regained their hold.
On the plus side it’s sunny, sheltered from the wind by the clubhouse, has 2 small trees at the back boundary which don’t affect the rest of the plot and it’s got an amazing view over the reservoir.
Lot of work but not as bad as I’d mentally prepared for!
Will need a brush cutter for the day and call in a favour for a green waste pickup but it’s not bad.

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Sounds good. Looks like the soil is okay, given the abundance of growth...