Anyone with an allotment?

^they look stonkingly tasty!

These are those gloves I mentioned upthread, PMI cable gloves. I still got stuck by an acacia thorn this morning. There’s 5x layers of dead animal on the palms but still not infallible!

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anyone looking to do a bit of top dressing in the olympic park area , there is a huge pile of well rotted chicken farm waste piled high at the very south end of hackney marshes, across the dual carriage way, ruckholt rd, from the hockey centre, its almost like flour in consistency. i guess they'll be spreading it on the footie pitches in the coming weeks

i've grabbed 3 rubble sacks full this morning and chucked a bit all over my garden, i hope it doesn't give me some horrible respiratory disease, have i done a sensible thing here or could i be bring pests and disease into my garden
it may well have been pasturised or maybe it decomposed at high temps to kill everything off ?

So, back in November I put my name down for a plot on the Seymour Rd allotments in Leyton thinking it'd be years before I'd ever hear anything. Received an email yesterday that one's free and going to view on Saturday. Does anyone have any advice on what to look out for when viewing a plot, warning signs etc. Or is it just a case of dealing with what ever you find? I'm not a complete ignoramus when it comes to growing things but I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing when it comes to having an allotment!

Pretty much dealing with whatever you find. I don't think it's worth passing up an allotment if one is offered - plus since it's quite late in the season, you'll probably be looking to get a few plants in now, but mainly get it ready for next year. Things to consider:

• is it overgrown with grass or weeds, and will you need to lay down a weed suppression membrane or tarp to get it in good shape for next year? If there's bindweed or convovulus it'll be a pain in the arse to sort out.

• does it have raised beds etc, and will you need to do any landscaping/woodwork?

• what kind of soil is it? Sandy, clay? Is it open or are there lots of trees around? Is it on a hill? All of these will inform what will grow well but a lot of it is trial and error.

Look at the plots around the site - what's growing well, do people have lots of perennial plants or is it all annuals? You might want to get some fruit bushes, rhubarb etc (for example) in soon so they can get established for next year.

Check out the facilities - does the site have communal tools, shed etc, or do you need to buy all that? Ask if there are any rules re pesticides, fires, bringing guests etc. Chat to other plot holder about what grows well and what's not working for them. And bear in mind, everyone who has an allotment loves to give unsolicited advice to newbies, so be prepared for drive-by critique of what you're doing - some of it will even be useful!

Cheers for that, plenty of things to go on.

From the photo they sent it looked pretty overgrown so I'm expecting the worst, it's probably the reason I've been offered it so soon. Never even occurred to me to ask if guests were allowed!

Dug my first spuds out today, think we may have put a few to many plants in, going to be storing enough for the zombie apocalypse!

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There is a headless ghost on our allotment ...

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Wild or a cultivated variety?

Not sure - Victorian possibly

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Smocks ftw

I got a call from the allotment people to inform me the woman who used to have our new allotment has contacted them to find out why a raised bed has appeared on her allotment (I put it in last week). I had wondered why the small patch of volunteer potatoes at the top looked so well cared for.

Awkward. What's the outcome?

Food & Flowers.

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Nice haul!

I’ve been told she knows that she doesn’t own it any more and probably won’t appear. I’m happy for her to dig her spuds up when they’re ready if she wants them.

It’s not Waltham Forest by any chance, same has happen where I’m at

It’s not. I’m out in the Home Counties, but I guess it probably happens a bit.

She’s asked if she can ‘get her tools back’ which is mildly confusing as there’s no shed, no safe box and by the looks of things no tools anywhere on the plot. Equally she’s very welcome to get them from wherever they’re stashed.

Sounds fair enough. Glad it hasn't become more complicated.

Busy couple of days, picked up a shed locally on Freecycle Thursday evening and spent yesterday putting it back up.

Painfully, as it was in such good condition - I had to cut the two largest panels in half as my zipvan was too small, so I had to do a bit of remedial work yesterday.

We've desperately needed one as we were storing everything in the green house, which was becoming increasingly difficult to get in due to the size of our tomatoes!

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Picked a bunch of stuff this evening, after a weed and watering. Spuds have done really well, still got an abundance of french beans, going to be eating them for months.

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Someone gave me this monster too, not sure what I'll do with it yet

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Rabbit-proofing work in progress.

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Slice into chunky circles, cover in beaten egg, then in bread crumb, an fry.
Yum yum.
Or if it's quite seedy inside, slice in half, scoop out seeds and a little flesh, fill with whatever, cover with cheese and bake.
Yum yum.

Nice shed.

We grate alot of courgette/marrow makes a good alternative coleslaw or plain salad addition.

Pick up our new (to us) rotovator on Sunday. I've been assured it works well, however the proof is in the rhubarb crumble.

I have most of our crop in raised beds this year, however I'm think of going straight into the ground for potatoes, onions and a few other things. The soil in Lincolnshire is very clay, but I'm assured is full of goodness.