[karlooben]

on the news today they were talking about ppl growing thier own crops etc an that allotment spaces were geting rare , so the national trust is opening up land on private estates an similar so that land can be turned into allotment patches for ppl . they also said there is something like 100,000 ppl on waiting lists to have  a plot on sites around the country  thats quite shocking .

[Elcie]

It really does seem to be getting more and more popular.  Growing your own is more and more evident in the shops - or am I just noticing it more?  Tesco have seeds for sale in their vegetable section and the first thing you see when you go into our local B&Q are potato seeds and grow your own information.

[Lady Lottie]

That is quite shocking.  At least the NT are doing something to help though and I bet some of their land is in some fab locations! (looking at it from a more shallow point of view...ahem....

I suggested to my council contact that I registered the redundant plots on the allotment on Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's landshare scheme on his website.  No reply yet....  mind you, its not like I HAVE to get their permission to do it....I was just being polite...

[digalotty]

my allotment has loads of space left mind you since i got mine last july there has been atleast 7 or 8 new plotters

[karlooben]

some of the sites the N/T  are letting ppl use are  inside the gardens of manor houses etc that they look after so yeh they in very beatiful surroundings.

all the sites in my area all have waiting lists  , one place has 75 ppl on the waiting list.i have heard of places in london that have over a 1,000 ppl on one waiting list alone  but i cant remember what area that was .

we do have one site very close to me that the council have aloned to become well overgrown with brambles etc so much of it is is very bad condition but also getting there by car isnt easy at all so much ppl avoid the site .

[jolly jen]

It really does seem to be getting more and more popular.  Growing your own is more and more evident in the shops - or am I just noticing it more?  Tesco have seeds for sale in their vegetable section and the first thing you see when you go into our local B&Q are potato seeds and grow your own information.

tesco have seeds for sale every year in the fruit n veg section,..i work there.
they came out a couple of weeks ago in stores.
selling fruit tress at the mo ,just brought a healthy cherry tree for £7.plus got my discount off,too fab.

[karlooben]

veg seeds are selling loads more now then flower seeds appartently ., but that doesnt really surprise me .

[goose]

i only waited 4 months for mine and thats in barmy berkshire!!! there are more available but you would have to brave to take them on, they are very overgrown with brambles, but if you really want one im sure you could get one.  perhaps people want them 'ready to go' so to speak!! i have been daunted by the work i need to do on mine but am grateful for the opportunity to have a plot overlooking the castle :happy:

[Lady Lottie]

I think you hit the nail on the head Goose.  I didn't want to be on a waiting list forever and hassled the council about clearing a disused sight for 12 months before getting fed up and asking "If I clear it myself - can I have a plot?"  They said yes and I got my plot.  My contact at the council said that in his experience people underestimate the effort required to manage an allotment plot and that most of them DO want a "ready to plant patch" - all fresh, weed-free and beautifully tilled just lying there saying "plant me"!   They can't be chewed with clearing and weeding and waiting.......

[titch]

we have had to wait over a year for ours, and the land is rented privatley of a local guy who is renting the newly formed assoc the land - we got 30 plots, some are to be shared and there are people on the list too - and we are in a village surrounded by fields - go figure  

[diggerjoe]

This was topic of conversation in the office yesterday and one of guys in the studio showed us on google earth where loads of plots used to be in coventry now all over grown - one area was where three or four still had theirs but surrounded by a huge wilderness - shame so much space is going to waste when on my site we have 25 on the waiting list

[andreadon]

I think some of it can be put down to the tiny size of land that comes with new houses these days - the postage-stamp-sized garden!
And then, all of those developers who persuade people to sell off their garden to build houses on it!
It's not a new thing - but mass production started to affect the size of the gardens from the 70s (this is not from experience, but looking at the ages of houses that have been built behind/next to older houses) 

It's sad, really, but hopefully, it's not too late to reclaim the land!

(I need a militant smiley now)

[upert]

the thing is lots of people will get allotments and then get bored with them or put off by the amount of work they take - certainly when you start and there's weeding to do. after their six weeks of enthusiasm dies out they abandon it and the weeds take over until, six months down the line, they're evicted and another one comes along.

it's pot luck that the plot gets the plotholder it deserves.

they'll be another surge of people wanting plots after tonight's natural world on bbc2 i bet except this lot will be planting forest gardens - i feel sorry for those that come after them, having to fell trees.

i'm tired and cranky after a full day on my plot (surrounded by deserted weedy ones).

[SnooziSuzi]

on the news today they were talking about ppl growing thier own crops etc ... they also said there is something like 100,000 ppl on waiting lists to have  a plot on sites around the country  thats quite shocking .

I saw this too and thought it was a good idea but when I saw the estimate of 100k people on lists I wondered where they dreamed this up from...  nobody asked me how many were on my list  :blink:

[Lady Lottie]

the thing is lots of people will get allotments and then get bored with them or put off by the amount of work they take - certainly when you start and there's weeding to do. after their six weeks of enthusiasm dies out they abandon it and the weeds take over until, six months down the line, they're evicted and another one comes along.

it's pot luck that the plot gets the plotholder it deserves.

they'll be another surge of people wanting plots after tonight's natural world on bbc2 i bet except this lot will be planting forest gardens - i feel sorry for those that come after them, having to fell trees.

i'm tired and cranky after a full day on my plot (surrounded by deserted weedy ones).

I don't understand why the council don't do more to control the vacant plots - even if it was just a case of slapping some black polythene all over it until the contract was renewed.  Is there are really obv reason that I'm missing as to why they don't..? :blink:  Apart from money maybe...?