[Babycat]

Rules Schmules    

The council allotment officer has been off sick with 'stress' for over a year (unbelievable!) so the policing is done by a horticultural student from the local uni who is in a word 'bovvered'.

No weeds, no fires, no carpet of any sort and max 6x4 sheds but we also have rules on the water supply and trying to fit gizzies to the taps - only cans allowed.

someone fitted those solar powered stick in ground garden lights on their plot - why oh why?!  

x Gina

[ClaireMc]

I love the ramshackle, anarchic character of our allotments (not local authority owned).  There are loads of sheds and greenhouses made of old doors and windows, half-cultivated plots, weedy expanses which are wildlife havens and there's no chance of the older gardeners who aren't managing as well as they used to getting chucked out.  Peer group pressure and a dedicated band of helpful retired blokes seem to work at keeping the worst excesses of untidyness in check and we're all very grateful.

I don't think I'd like the pressure of having to be weed-free and have my shed co-ordinated with my courgettes.

[sweet nasturtium]

I've declined a position on our committee because I don't believe allotments should be too organised.  (I can't organise myself let alone a large number of very experienced vegetable growers).  Most of the members on ours have been there over 20 years and are enjoying their retired days.  If any of them are ill and can't do the weeding, someone else helps out.  My one neighbour has a dodgy foot, on the other side she's been ill.   I wouldn't want to be involved in turfing anyone off their plot if they've just had a bad year.

[gregmcalister]

Basically our rules are: no fires, no stealing from other plots, no dumping and that's about it.  Our site has only just got back up and running this year after years of neglect and a lot of people have taken on plots and gave up when they realised how much work was involved.  I wish there were more rules at times to make plotholders actually do something with their plot otherwise be made to give it up.

[Bigbadfrankie]

NO WILD RABBITS

[SnooziSuzi]

Our site has a set of about 20 rules but a lot of these are flouted anyway, mostly buy the gardeners who have had theirs for the last century!

One of our rules is that you are not allowed to 'sub let'.  Now to me that means you take on the plot and pay the rent, but that you then allow someone else to tend the plot for you and you charge them rent.  

I'm on the comittee and recently proposed that in order to reduce the waiting list and to ease the burden of managing a full plot that when a few of the plots become vacant that they are split into two half plots and rented out individually.  I was taken aback by the older guys who virtually chucked their pints at me and argued that this would be sub letting and therefore not allowed!!

I responded that it is not subletting, as each half plot would have a rent book just like the full plots do.  Anyways, they voted against it and so I had to let it lie.

It's interesting that they will break the rules when they feel like but as soon as a new thing is proposed it's those very rules that they fall back on to chuck in your face!!

Anyhoo,  it looks like the local councils have taken the decision out of our hands anyway as we have 5+ people on the waiting list and therefore are to be obliged to split them down to half plots, so the comittee won by the back door!!

[crowndale]

I help someone to cultivate a plot but they pay rent and all the produce is theirs and the responsibility ultimately.  Well I did plant some peas and gave them half my seed spuds and some french beans but it is very definitely their plot.  Kind of wish it was mine so I could do some thing beyond keeping weeks in check!  Anyway I have no objection to this kind of help being given to old timers and working people so long as the plot is still theirs primarily, sharing produce fine, reward for all the hard work but not renting out.  Its a bit like sharing a plot I guess.

Anyway, the lottie plots where I am waiting for a plot was taken over by the parish in the late 90's I believe, certainly not that long ago.  It was over run and badly maintained, loads of plots empty.  So they did just what you want to do and split every plot in half and renumbered them as individual plots.  So current plot holders holding one plot essentially ended up with two, not sure how that worked out for them in terms of rent though.  These days there is a rule that plot holders can hold a maximum of two plots (ie one standard plot) due to the wait list except where they have held more than that prior to the new rul being brought in, so some people still hold 4 or more half plots.  However, when I went down to check up on my waiting list status I was told I was no 4 (having been no. 3) so I queried it.  Apparantly now they are saying that one of the people ahead of me is waiting for a second plot but because of the wait list (30 or more long) no one can have a second plot til the wait list is cleared, which seems a bit tight as the half plots are really not big enough to maintain even a couple in veges or fruit for a year, so it very much become hobby gardening and not that serious.  But I think the two plot max rule is fair while there is a wait list, just feel sorry for this person ahead of me as I'd be cross if the rules were changed arbitrarily like that and I was waiting for a second plot.