[Eblana]

350 euro each sounds a lot to me. How much land does that get you? Thats pricy in my view. I pay £20 for a full plot.

It is a private site we don't have many council sites here in Ireland and the waiting list for the ones we have got are huge.  I get 270 sq metres for 350 euro but there is a site down the road from ours which is 250 Euro for 100 square meters so that makes mine seem like good value.

[wasthiswise]

Mine is 10 (or is that 20) 'rods' whatever a rod is. But I'd say its about 175 sq m. Its a parish run site. At £20/pa I'm actually paying double the normal rate because I dont live in the parish.

[Ema]

I'm a big fan of cardboard, this year I grew my potatos on an indigenous area full of couch. Put a layer of bike boxes down, then some compost out of the darlek, spuds then straw then weed membrane with holes over to stop the straw blowing away. No more couch left! a few barley seedlings the ground is a little easier to dig.

I would see how much cardboard you can get start at one end with it and mowe what you can't cover

[brokenglass]

I am still of the firm opinion that if you do not intend to use a plot then don't take it.    Far too many people take a plot on and don't use it they are then vilified for doing so, on here as well as other sites, just because in this case the person is looking after his single plot doesn't automatically equate to both plots being well looked after.    If a site for children to play is a good idea, we should all encourage children onto sites to see what fruit and veg look like outside the Supermarket packaging, then the site committee should take over the plot and make it open for all children, barbecues, social interaction then it would be put to communal use and be an addition to the Site.

[pigguns]

I used the cardboard/manure spud approach over couch and it leaves a lovely soil crumble.

Here in South London plots are in great demand due to the lack of gardens, reflected in the price of £100 for 5 rods!!  However this is pricing many people out on top of rents.  Personally less than £10/month is a cheap hobby.  Retired/Benefit get concessions.

[sunshineband]

I am still of the firm opinion that if you do not intend to use a plot then don't take it.    Far too many people take a plot on and don't use it they are then vilified for doing so, on here as well as other sites, just because in this case the person is looking after his single plot doesn't automatically equate to both plots being well looked after.    If a site for children to play is a good idea, we should all encourage children onto sites to see what fruit and veg look like outside the Supermarket packaging, then the site committee should take over the plot and make it open for all children, barbecues, social interaction then it would be put to communal use and be an addition to the Site.

Moonshine has made it quite clear that he intends to use the plot, brokenglass and he is bound by the same conditions as every one else. 

I understand the point you are making but it does not apply on this occasion

[Yorkie]

If it wasn't for people being prepared to take on unwanted plots in the past then many allotments sites would not now exist at all.

You also assume that there is an active allotment committee prepared to take on every single unwanted plot for which there are no takers.

[snowdrops]

I do understand Brokenglass' argument, and I don't think hogging a plot just so someone else can't have it is fair, but that's not what I am intending to do. I also think it's interesting that some are seeing the allotment bubble waning, as that's what I see too as the whole Make Do And Mend trend fades.

At our allotment a whole lot of unused land was strimmed down two years ago, at the poor end of the allotment where there was the least light and worst drainage. They turned this into five new plots, one of which (the second worst) I got. All five were rented out, though three of the allotmenteers didn't last more than a few months. It's one of those (unfortunately the worst situated plot) that I now have. It's had two years to fill with couch grass and brambles, starting at waist high and at the far side ending with brambles almost a meter higher than me.

I was given the plot allmost immediately upon request so the council  saw a win win situation as I'm bound by the same terms as everybody else; either I get it working, or I've cleared it, given up and returned it. In fact, that was pretty much the exact convo I had with our site liaison when he asked if I could manage two plots alongside two very young children. And while I am happy that I won't have a neighbour on that side and I will take my time making it productive, I will eventually turn it into a working plot, albeit with less intensive. production than my current one.

And , just for the record, I'm a He, not a She ;-)
ps apologies for the repost, I pressed the wrong button half way through

Surely the OP has stated more than once HIS intention is for it to be a productive plot more than once.

[Aunt Sally]

In order to prevent brokenglass from having to again state his opinion (which it seems none of us agree with) I am locking this topic.

Best of luck with the unwanted and never used plot Moonshine132435