The waiting game, part deux.
Here we go again. That great eager anticipation of the long awaited call from the allotment society.
After much pondering, wandering around the site and general indecision, I finally made my mind up and applied for a full sized allotment plot on our site. My current site is great, bigger than most allotments and provided an awful lot of my diet last year. But I've already started to see the limitations in its size. Scaling up, I really need road access with a trailer so I can cart in big quantities of manure, which just isn't feasible with my current plot's position. I'm also planning quite a few experiments to further reduce my food miles, amongst them soya beans for milk, peanuts, cranberries and possibly even oats for use in the trail bars I make every week to keep my dodgy metabolism going and a big solar heated polytunnel to try and extend the growing season over winter, killing the "hungry gap" you inevitably suffer with outdoor growing.
So, a quick chat to the allotment society's secretary later, I found myself composing a letter requesting an upgrade. I've asked to keep my current plot until the year end, so that I can a) make use of the preparation work done over winter, ie. bean trenches, green and regular manuring, etc and b) so that I can move the shed, polytunnel and fencing. The latter point in particular is a bit of a disheartening prospect, given the work I've put in to date, but I keep telling myself I might end up keeping the new plot for decades, so it's worth the effort.
The allotment society committee meets one evening next week to allocate new plots, so it's fingers crossed that all goes to plan and that there isn't too long a wait to be told the outcome. I'm hoping that this time around, the fact I'm on a plot already should make the process that much quicker. If I'm really lucky, I might even make it in time to plant some onions on the new plot, rather than having to get them into the old one.
I'm also hoping everything works out as planned, as I'm already starting to scavenge for cheap or free stuff for a bigger plot.....
February 3, 2011
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2 Comments
Tags: bigger plot В· Posted in: General, Polytunnel, Solar Energy
2 Responses
Good luck mate, really interested in the oat growing concept.
All the best.
Contact your local council as they have a statutory obligation to provide a sufficient number of plots. Most councils have an allotments officer and they should be able to tell you about the available sites in your area. There may be a waiting list, so it’s often worth ringing them from time to time to let them know you’re still keen. If you’re open to options such as plot-sharing or renovating a disused allotment, you may be able to avoid waiting too long.
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