Sunday 5 July 2009

addendum: two careful previous owners



PG asks if A's plot had been left in a terrible state by its previous owners. Well, no, actually.

P and her partner had it for years, and only left because they felt it wasn't productive enough. They left the raised beds, and one of the sheds, but dismantled and rebuilt this one - note the flagged floor and the stove! - on their new plot, which now looks like they have been there for a decade instead of a year and a half. Sadly, I don't have a picture of the plot, just the coveted stove.


(Having the stove means that they happily garden in deepest winter, cosy, warm and with a ready supply of tea and toast. I want one! Maybe in my back yard...)

4 comments:

Gretel said...

Ah, well then, despite the under-politics and unpleasantness, I really don't think she deserved it...I feel like I'm listening to the Archers here, my allegiances keep switching. I don't like the sound of some of the things going on in that meeting, but if she was left with a good plot, then I can understand animosity that she let it go to pot. I mean, that other photo showed a shocking state of neglect.

Linda said...

Tricky. When there are so many people on waiting lists, I can see that there has to be some 'weeding' of those who do not use their plots and look after them. After all, that is the whole point of having a patch of earth in the first place.

Love the stove too. Very cosy.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone asked why it's in this state? And if there's anything anyone can do to help, or have I missed something?

Why I'm here does anyone know if it's okay to use dissolved salt as an organic weed killer? My garden down in the SW looks like this neglected allotment.

rachel said...

Life in the raw, that's an allotment...

We do have a waiting list, and both the Council's Allotments Officer and the area rep have advised (meaningfully) that every rule in the book is being broken on that plot, so the wishy-washy liberal do-gooders (yes, Lizzie, you can join us!) did well to delay the Throwing Off till 31st August.

There were no reasons given for its state, and offers of help didn't result in A showing up. It's quite common for people to want to garden (TV makeover programmes have a lot to answer for!) then find they can't be bothered, which is what's happened here; trouble is, dog in the manger-style, they often 'can't be bothered' to give it up for someone else.

A's measly amount of potatoes and beans, if any appear, will have cost her half a year's rent. Maybe we are saving her from herself!

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