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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2024
- I'm so excited to get my own allotment! I didn't think I'd ever get one but here we are.
I know I'm not alone in wanting to grow more of my own food. Prices have been drastically increasing. But my main motivation has always been to have the produce that isn't available form shops and is seasonal. Enormous beef tomatoes, fresh, young runner beans and their flowers. Eating parts of the plants that normally aren't avaialble in shops too.
I also like to get out of the house and meet people and so far it's been great for that too.
I hope you can find somewhere to grow your own food and come on this journey with me.
Link to Greenpeace Video About Allotment Waiting Lists: • The Truth About Britai...
Zaman Bhai's Channel: / @haidersdiygardening
Whilst your efforts are admirable, my advise to you is just focus on clearing one area at a time, make one growing bed and get somewhere sowed. The keep repeating the process until all your plot has been converted to productive beds. Ive seen too many new plot holders put a solid month into clearing the entire plot, then only to return to the entire plot regrowing grass and weeds. That can be hugely crushing to see all your work cancelled out as the days get longer and warmer. Start at the highest area and set out one bed and start cultivation. Im intersted to see you succeed, so will subscribe.
That’s really solid advice and I have things I want to get in the ground soon. I can’t possibly get it all sorted anyway so I’ll gradually chip away at it in a manageable way and get some rewards for the effort along the way. Like you said some of the higher ground is already dry enough to get ready for growing in
@@tecmow4399 I was going to respond exactly this above as well. Also it will give you time to investigate the water sources and consider if a pond is a good idea, as high on the plot as possible, rather than draining all the water away. Clearing a small amount and seeing results will be a positive thing.
I waited for seven years for my allotment and when I went down for the first time in huge excitement and opened the gate, I cried. They weren’t tears of joy……..it was landfill site and the neighbours had clearly been nicking the soil. It’s smaller than yours so we dug the whole thing over, drew up plans, placed the beds and terraced it because it it’s on a slope. Planning was important because we could then put one bed in and plant something and watch stuff grow whilst we worked on the rest of the plot. It was incredibly hard work and so worth it - it’s a thing of beauty now, keep going!
Thank you so much for the encouragement. That sounds tough! Especially after waiting so long!
and I thought mine was bad having to pick out glass for 6 months at least the majority of it wasn't fly tipped
I am about to get my allotment next week, I have no idea what it will be like yet 🙈 but glad your hard work transforming an allotment has paid off and gives me hope.
Skip sacks, I collected lots of used free skip sacks, dug up all the weeds and dumped them in the skip sacks. Underneath all the weeds I found a rotten kitchen complete with drawers, a load of plastic, a ton of rotten wood and an old gnome. I kept the gnome. The good news is that the skip sacks came in surprisingly handy, I eventually ended up with some great soil and grew masses of potatoes in them. I have the biggest grow bags of any plot holder now and I don't have to bend down too much 😂 Good luck with your plot!
Yeah they’re very handy. I think I know where I can get a few too. A customer of mine who had a load of sand delivered in them. That’s pretty impressive you grew potatoes from a sack full of weeds 🤣
I'm in the USA and LOVE watching new allotment holders.lol.As soon as I see they are new holders, I subscribe because I like seeing the process of turning something horrible to beautiful.
I agree! New sub also.
Glad to have you here
Thank you so much! So glad to have you here
Me too 🙂
Hi from Scotland i am shocked you got offered a plot that is just disgraceful, why are the previous plot holders aloud to let the plots get in this state and shame on the plot holders that have used this plot as a dumping ground ,our plot holders would have been on a warning to keep the plot tidy and planted up ,and when you give up your plot it has to be rubbish free as soon as somone leaves our plots are offered to the next person on the list if you have people 9n the committee shame on them for letting people away with this mess good luck you have a lot of hard work ahead anne from Scotland 😊
Thanks Anne. I wish it was enforced like that here 😅 I’ve got an area I can grow in now so I’ll be upbeat for a bit longer 😊
A good old bonfire is always a start! My plot was similar when i got it. lots of old carpet and plastic bottles, broken watering cans, pallet wood and brambles. I burnt a lot of it as well as taking it to the tip. Then I dug one row at a time, and straight away planted something in the row, working my way back. It was really satisfying, and as well as planning and clearing, the crops started to grow too! I lost a lot of weight and my health improved as well as my happiness :) Happy gardening!! x
I’d have a fire but I think they’re quite strict about them here. That’s such a great way of doing it. I’ve started in a similar fashion this week. Should be ready to plant in soon 🤞
I love the idea of planting something right away for encouragement. Our land is really too bad for a garden right now but I have room for a row! Thank you
Depressing to contrast the length of national allotment waiting list (as you rightly point out) with the number of clearly neglected plots scattered all over Britain at this time of spiralling food prices etc. Good luck!
Yeah I thought that too. There must be so many opportunities but people would need help to sort them out. My mind is working on a potential solution for this site if this project works out
No excuse for people to be waiting 15 yrs for an allotment plot! There’s loads of unused, or neglected plots on these sites. Is there no time limit , say 2 yrs if it hasn’t been used. Seems very unfair people have these plots, and do nothing with them!
The rubbish is disgraceful! Surely these sites are looked after by the council, or a committee to stop this sort of thing!
Good luck with clearing this rubbish tip, and will be checking back to see progress.
Thanks for sharing.
I think it supposed to be about 3 months. If you don’t use it you can be kicked off. It’s a crying shame I agree. I’d love to see more action on helping people on waiting lists get plots that they can feasibly manage
The pallet structure will be the outline for the compost heap and sited in the middle of the plot so it’s the shortest distance to everywhere on the plot
Yeah I think that’s the most likely explanation. It doesn’t look like it was ever used for composting though. Could’ve just been an intention of whoever put it there
Cleared two new plots in the past two years. both the same and is the same for every new plot holder i speak to. THE RUBBISH. Associations need to really focus on this, people just treat them like bins. SO much plastic, used for a couple of years that then breaks into a million pieces
Yeah it’s remarkable how much rubbish there is. It seems like people have to make a concerted effort to get it all there! What measures do you think associations could take?
@@tecmow4399 no idea. I think there’s so many gardening products that are single use plastic and little thought is given to the mess it leaves behinds. not just pots but also all the various forms of netting and underlay etc.
@@tecmow4399 hi, we have some very well run allotments in the north east of England. It takes the people who run the place to inform users and be around as much as possible. Checking often that people are being as natural as possible.
They should never be left empty long enough to get in that state. That shows very poor allotment management. Considering the size of waiting lists this is ridiculous. Not good enough councils!
@@tecmow4399would allotment users possibly be happy to pay a little extra so that a huge bin could be put on site for plot holders to dispose of plastics, broken pots, broken glass, bits of waste metal.tarps, woven ground fabrics etc for it to be disposed of .
i got an allotment recently, this summer was my first full season. Its a bit like being a really shit archeologist for a few months. You keep thinking you've finished and then you find another layer of disintegrating plastic. I love it though, it's worth it in the end.
Properly laughed out loud at the “shit archaeologist” 😂. Poor quality discoveries or an archealogical examiner of terd?
This is so accurate 😂😂
I'm 2 years into saving what was a waste graveland.
Whilst planting yesterday, I was filling my pockets with bits of this and that.
When you think you've got it all, nope!
Great effort and perseverance, well done.
Thank you 😊
Congratulations on getting a plot, looks like you have your work cut out. I’m really looking forward to seeing your progress, good luck 😊👍🌱
Thanks so much, Amir! Yeah there’s a lot to do for sure but I’m still excited
Your enthusiasm is so contagious. I'm what you can usually call an "urban depressive" with the opposite of a green thumb ( the thumb of darkness, to be more ominous). And you actually make that a place that not only would I want to visit, I would kind of like to have one.
Having little experience in gardening probably contributes to your lack of green thumb 😉 Everyone has the ability to learn it. Plant husbandry is pretty universal among cultures. When you visit I reckon you’ll apply for one 🤞 Thank you my friend 🫶
Looking forward to watching your plot evolves.
Me too! Thank you
Pallet collar beds are your best bet with that flooding .I made the same mistake with the plastic .One tip is to use a cordless vac to get out the tiny plastic pieces and bin them .
Yeah I was thinking of using raised beds to overcome some of the water logging. Vacuum is great shout! Thank you 🙏
Good Luck turning your plot into a productive vegetable garden. I've subscribed so that I don't miss a moment of your journey. The allotments look unloved so maybe your enthusiasm will motivate others to have the same level of motivation that you clearly have. 🤞🤞👍👍
If I can rub any enthusiasm off onto anyone that would be amazing! On this plot or via the internet.
Welcome along, I’ll need some encouragement to maintain the enthusiasm too 🙏
Your lot looks cleaner than the one a grandfather took over..in Wales....plus your young , stronger...and his is on a steeper slope.
Good luck to him! That sounds tough!
Welcome to my world! Here in portugal we bought a house with land, and it is a nightmare of a landfill! Since we have a dog and children in the family, we can not live there until the land is cleaned. We found old bullets, rusty shards of metal, the infamous weed control plastic fabric, old shoes, nails, glass bottles, shards of glass, etc, etc, etc. It's demoralizing, but this is a process that MUST be done, so we stopped complaining. Once It's all over, you will laugh about this. Have hope!
Oh my word!
I’m definitely hopeful 😊
Good luck with yours. It will taste so much sweeter for all of your efforts
Congratulations on receiving such a prize. Something like that is impossible to find in Vancouver, with or without historic garbage. I hope the six neighbours who vouched for you assist, if only by bringing by a doughnut & coffee. 😃
You look like you've not only got the physical wherewithal but the foundational knowledge to make this a little paradise. This is so satisfying to watch and I haven't even broken a sweat.
Wishing you the very best of luck!
Thank you so much! That kind of perspective is keeping my spirits up. Not many places in the world where you can access to something like this within a city.
Looking forward to making this into a little paradise too! Which incidentally in Arabic and Persian is the same word as Garden 😊
just joined you and i can see the fire in your eyes for getting this done and making it yours .best of luck to you. good job you have a van with all that rubbish to move.seems unfair to give someone a plot in such a state, but you are the man to turn it around.
A mate of mine had to move plots as there was so much water accumulating on his, he had a lot of clay underneath the topsoil! Theres a lot of hard work ahead for you but dont let it get you down! Think of the positives! Good on you for taking it on, best of luck
This will be fun!
You can do it! 💚
Thank you 💚💚💚
We are in US in North Carolina. We just bought to a couple acres that are trashy and have a lot of mystery going on. I look forward to moving through this process with you. Please keep us informed. Congratulations on your allotment 😊🤗
Thank you so much and good luck with your land too ❤️
If you notice that your plot is always waterlogged (even after getting rid of the weeds and plastic) then I think a little canal/waterway that brings the water in a settling pond would be the best. At least you get tons of free water to use - or you could make the settling pond out of gravels so the water can get absorbed back into the soil.
This is my idea, of course - am sure there are easier ways to deal with it! Good luck
Yeah I definitely plan to get a pond in here somewhere. It was the thing I thought about when I first looked at the plot. I’ll be sure to put one in 😊
@@tecmow4399 Good luck! Am looking forward to the video (or videos) where you get working on it! It would be super cool to also experiment to see which type of bottom is best for the pond (e.g. gravels with sand, tarp + charcoal, clay and so on).
You could also take advantage of the slope of the plot to have some moving water in a small channel + branch it out to work as irrigation.
Well, now that I think about it, there are so many things that you can do with it - you can turn this negative waterlog into a big positive :)
For a plot to be that overgrown, the council must have left it for a long time between the previous holder leaving and you taking it over. I've seen this time and again and it just doesn't make sense. You would think the council or local parish council, would want a quick turnaround to get the money. Good luck with your venture and I look forward to coming along on this journey with you.
Yes you would think! I don’t know how much of it comes down to the volunteers on the committee/secretary. But it seems strange the council don’t get involved when they know they have so many plots without tenants? I don’t know how much of a priority the local authorities feel it is. Perhaps that’s why “The Waiting List” artwork was made
I don't think the money is going to be much of a concern, at least where I am, it's just not a lot of money. The volunteers who manage these sites being useless is probably a major factor, but also, with a plot like this one, I suspect quite a lot of people pass when they're offered it because it's too daunting.
The plot next to mine looks a bit like this, not quite as bad, but even so it's basically been vacant for over three years. There have actually been several tenants over that time who took it on, started clearing it, then disappeared after a few weeks. Including possibly the current one - they did quite a lot of work when they started in the autumn, but nothing has happened there since at least November, so I'm not sure they're coming back...
LOVE GET TEAM MAKE CENTER WHERE DUMP TEAM CLEAN UP MANY HANDS MAKE WORK LIGHT. COUNCILS ARE BETRAYING FOOD FOR UK IS SINFUL
love this
I’m so glad you do 😊
Will be well worth it
Looking forward to seeing how you get on with this, I'm a fellow allotment holder and took on my plot in Bexhill in Sussex around 2 years ago, and was also faced with a mountain of work before shaping it into what it is today - a productive, interesting and lovely place to escape to. Living in a flat, with only a balcony for outside space, my allotment is my back garden away from home! Looking forward to following your journey with yours, you have made major progress!
Thank you for coming along! I hope I can match that success in creating a sanctuary away from home too 🤞😊
Im looking forward to watching you transform this plot
Welcome along, I’ll need plenty of encouragement! 😊
Hang in there!! The end result of a bountiful garden in near. Been there and still doing the work!!
Well done.
My wife and I cleared two allotments one after the other in a similar condition seven years ago. It’s highly satisfying work. We are now rearranging the layout of them as due to climate change, we get less snow and more rain in northern Scotland and consequently flooding. You have to be adaptable don’t you to be an allotment holder.
Has it affected the crops and growing season with the weather changing so much? Yes I find it really satisfying too
@@tecmow4399 It’s maybe too early to say if it’s affected the growing season yet. The last frost date here is around 15 May but cold winds here are a big factor as all the surrounding mountains are covered in snow well into May. Due to flooding at lower levels I can no longer simply put plants in the ground. They have to be up at least 30cms or one foot to avoid water damage.
I took over a plot that was in a very similar condition. On top of all the small bits of broken plastic I had a lot of bind weed. My advice would be to only focus on 1/3 of the plot at a time. Cover the rest of the plot in UV treated black polythene so nothing grows while you work on the first 1/3rd and that way you're not fighting a losing battle. When the first 1/3rd has been cleaned, cardboarded, composted and mulched, move on to the 2/3rd and so on. Just make sure you plant something in the first 1/3rd before you move on, don't leave it bare. Its hard work but if you keep at it you will succeed. Bare in mind it could take years to get this plot to a viable state and even then you'll still find the odd bit of plastic. Keep a plastic bucket on hand and collect it as you go.
Wow, a traditional sized plot 👍. You don’t get those to begin with on the allotment site I’m on, just a small portion of one. However, there are always a number of people that take on even a small area and then fade away over the course of their first year. There is also currently the problem of ‘lock-down’ sign ups, who have reached the top of the list, but now don’t have the same time or interest, so incredibly, the town council are having difficulty finding genuine people to take on the several vacant plots on the site 🤪. At least they haven’t been allowed to get in the state of yours 😂. I think it’s well worth the effort now, to get the plot in a reasonable condition and sort out the drainage issues, but I do agree with others who have suggested starting to actual grow in a limited space and expand out as time allows. Good luck with it and best wishes, Gerry
Yes I’ll definitely start using some of the usable space asap and continue chipping away at the major issues.
That’s wild that they can’t even get people to take them on! But to be fair I guess if you wait 4 years for something your life situation can change drastically.
Thank you for reinforcing the idea of getting some early successes before the initial motivation runs out. It’s well worth thanking about it like that.
Great video - looking forward to next one
Thank you so much! Got some footage this week so hopefully won’t be long
Get a Sheen flamegun, and a rotavator. Worth their weight in gold for a plot that size. I had a wood and brick greenhouse with an old steam heating system on mine that had been completely destroyed in a storm, glass everywhere and the structure took some removing. Secret is little and often with an allotment. Paths are best laid to grass - it supresses weed and can be kept tidy with an old mower/strimmer.
Little and often is definitely the way. It’s definitely more enjoyable anyway.
Glass is such a pain to clear up from these sites. That sounds like a nightmare!
I went to keep digging my ditch today 😅🎉 can't keep away, it will be worth it in the end! Can't wait to see your progression 😊
Thank you ❤️ I’ll remember this verse when I’m digging it this week
I’m month two into owning a half plot (12m x 11m). It’s infested with bindweed and couch grass and it’s clay too so it’s incredibly hard to walk around in the rain.
On top of that, the previous owner didn’t actually plan anything out and used the whole plot as a mystery seed throwing session for 18 months, and threw metal arches all over the plot and put his turf over them, so I can’t even strim without the risk of; 1. Breaking my ankle because of uneven ground and 2. Whipping up a piece of metal that will kill the strimmer.
So I’m hand digging one half and covering the other half and get the soil ready for next year.
Sounds like a good plan with covering what you can’t work on this year. It’s weird the things you notice people have done isn’t it? I can never imagine a reasonable answer to any of it either
Looking forward to seeing progress
Me too! Thank you 😊
Great vid
Good luck mate - the previous holders should be ashamed of themselves. Someone needs to invent a sieve that can detect and isolate and collect microplastics - before we all get poisoned. Newly subscribed. Love a project - a challenge - and you sure do have one.❤
I’d love to get hold of that machine! Thanks for the encouragement - I’ll need it 😅 I think it’s a combo of previous plot holder and other tipping onto the plot. Glad to have you here
That’s one big job that you have on your hands but anything you manage on that plot will enhance it ten fold, how the previous owners felt it was correct to use that much plastic is beyond my thinking when a little bit of regular hard work would have kept it all in good shape. Good luck and I look forward to the next episode 💪🏻
Exactly! It’s part of what will make it taste sweeter when I make some progress. Thanks for the encouragement, I’ll need it
Great job, my plot was so overgrown when I took it over 30 years ago, the weeds hid so much rubbish. I took a diffeent approach and started digging with a fork and clearing as i went burying the top growth, seemed to work well. I did pick up all the large visible rubbish before starting digging though
That’s probably what I’ll end up doing too. Sounds like a good method tbh! How long did it take you?
@@tecmow4399 A long time in all honesty, my plot was also full of bindweed and couch grass. It was a right pain, I bought a propane torch and burnt off a lot of topgrowth which helped but whenever a forkfull was turned over i had to remove loads of bindweed roots. I had a good source of horse manure mixed in with loads of pine wood shavings which seemed to really lighten the soil making removing the weeds a lot easier.
Good luck
It broke my heart for you to see what you were given. Only truly impressive person could take on this task. I'm impressed!
Thank you! It’s still a piece of land with good soil so the raw materials are there 😊
Regardless this is going to be an instructional adventure I'll be eagerly awaiting updates.
I really hope it’s a learning experience for me and everyone else. Thank you ❤️
Companion planting worked really well for my tomatoes, Nasturtiums worked very well and a great resource for composting as they're very prolific 👍
I love nasturtiums too. Use the flowers and leaves in salads and they make a good salsa verde too
@@tecmow4399 sorry if I don't reply straight away, I'm an old bugger 👍
I am just clearing the last 30m2 of my 125m2 plot in portsmouth uk, I’ve had it since summer 2020. As others have advised, allocate a section to start with. Other recommendations based on my experience of what not to do/do : my plot had multiple large tree stumps, 2 fruit trees had large tires (illegal on site) around them. Concrete foundation and brick wall of a greenhouse (illegal to use concrete) The entire site was a rubbish dump for 30 years . The allotment officer later told me they shouldn’t have given my plot as not suitable for use. Was given it by a temp. But it’s a great plot now. 1. He had council workers come in with a mini digger , and industrial chain saw to remove the tires (steel interiors to be cut), they cleared a truck load of rubbish. This was after the base initial clearing strumming they do normally. So I would ask for as much help clearing from the council as you can. 2. Make safe all the holes by marking and covering with wood. Dont fill them in yet, maybe later you’ll be able to see their purpose possibly drainage or in situ composting/ crop storage clamps. Take photos and draw up a site layout, and mark where holes etc are. This will also help you plan where to put structures and beds. Mark north- south and dimensions.. 3.. Also mark on your design plan where all the existing good perennials are, rhubarb, asparagus fruits trees etc. be careful. Dont move good plants yet, and decide where to put new plants until you’re further on with clearing. . 4. When clearing be careful so you don’t kill good dormant plants ! Try to clear just dead brush and dig up obvious weeds such as bind weed around them. 5. As you clear push a fork down at least a foot . Check if there’s anything under the soil - after the mini digger cleared top area, and I rotivated ( I probably wouldn’t recommend that in retrospect, although it did help uncover rubbish more quickly it upset the soil and critters too much)I then later found over 25 paving slabs bricks, hose pipes, bike wheels etc a spade depth down or more. I was just clearing anything toxic / plastic and didn’t expect that. Rose bushes and grape vine were rooted over a 3 deep layer of paving slabs for example. Used to be the surface level I guess and 30 years later just buried. But no good for drainage when huge blocks of areas and slabbed over. You’ll also see where the old paths were then too lol. Helped me guess where the rest of the slabs buried were :-) last week I pulled out 1 large paving slab, a breeze block, a cast iron fire grate and underneath that was the bike wheel, all in less than 1m2. 6. Start compost, dead wood/ branches/leaf piles from what you clear. Get some tonne bags and add the rubbish to that over time, and do less rubbish trips to recycling. 7. So don’t try and finish such clearing before starting using, clear a 5x5m space at a time ready to propagate this season, and expect to take a few years to completely clear and heal, make healthy, the whole plot. All the best k
Thank you so much. I hadn’t even thought to get the council in. No idea whether Birmingham city council would do the same. Do you remember who you had to contact?
Yes I’ve found a rhubarb crown but not much else so far.
I’ll keep pushing on now that I have somewhere ready to get stuff in the ground 😊
Great video
Thanks!
worth the sub mate following from nz
Thank you so much 🙏
Turn your ditch into a french drain, it will be much more effective than a standard ditch, quite easy to do it yourself with a bit of research, it will clear all of that waterlogged ground easily.
I was thinking similar. I installed one in a waterlogged garden years ago and I put them behind a few retaining walls. I’d need to put my hand in my pocket for a few tons of pea gravel and materials though. Not sure how flush with cash I’m feeling for that 😬
This is my sideyard! ievery spring i spend a few hours digging up more and more plastic metal rubber bottles, oof it never ends. i only rent the place but hate too see part of it was used as a dump at one point, hopefully one day itll be cleaned up
I got my allotment last October & had a battle with brambles & bindweed & rubbish & surface water too. Fortunate to get a load of cow manure to dig in.
Intending to put up a polytunnel for over winter and spring start.
Just getting to have a glut of some things.
You have a messy plot to deal with but in taking manageable steps that dont over face you and you will get there Im looking forward to seeing your progress
Yeah I’ll keep chipping away and gradually get parts of it into a state I can use. Looking forward to the progress too! Thank you
Getting an allotment overgrown and rubbish on it is quite common. The hardest bit is clearing the plot and then removing the roots of weeds that will regrow.
When you have cleared the top growth, cover the ground with cardboard to kill a lot of the weeds off whilst you cultivate other areas.
The amount of water on the plot is a big concern. You are right little and often is the right approach.
Wooden pallets are useful for compost bins and the wood to hold your netting down.
You may have weed fabric membrane carpet burried making the water issue worst
That’s a great plan. I’ll investigate whether buried plastic is part of the cause. I know it is in some places at least
Good luck I’m sure it will bloom and grow
I hope so too and thank you 🤞🙏
Looks like you found the Peckham Spring.
I hope it doesn’t glow yellow
Pallets can make excellent compost containers, which might explain why they are in the middle!
Good point!
Ugh, seems like such a huge job, but since you won the golden choc bar I guess you will create something wonderful in the long run. New follower from Nova Scotia, Canada, like your work ethic and down to earth humour.
Thank you so much! I’ll make sure to slowly cash in my golden ticket. Welcome, it’s great to have you here
The pallets are a compost area pal. I would move to bottom end of your plot. Keep up the hard work little and often is the key buddy.
Yeah I thought that too but couldn’t see any evidence of composting in them 🤷🏼♂️. Could’ve just been an intended compost bin I s’pose 😂
What a great job you're doing! My hands are itching to pitch in! A lot of work, but imagine the end results. Perhaps a willow hedge could help in absorbing some of the water, if it's not too much of a job to maintain and prune.. Hostas and iris prefer moist soil, even if this is absolutely water logged.. Plastic is such a poison to the earth..
Yeah I’ll definitely get some trees in here which should help with that. Hydrangeas, dahlias and thirsty cut flowers.
If only I could grow rice 😅
You’re welcome to pitch in if you’re ever nearby
@@tecmow4399 Jokes aside though, what about water chestnuts 🌰? Also, corkscrew rush or yellow iris would be ornamental and pretty too! If I didn't live in Norway I'd bring my elbow grease over 💪🏼 I'll keep it in mind when I get around to visit the UK again and hold you to it 🌱 🤭 Birmingham looks like a good starting point for my next trip to Wales 👌🏼🤩
Stay positive fella, pace yourself, will work out just fine.
That’s the trick! Thanks so much for the encouragement ❤️
I got my allotment 3 years ago and had great success to start with turning it around. I was going to start a channel but couldn't put the energy into. However ill health struck badly and has stopped the progress. I need a way to get my pathways done without putting strain on my back. Unfortunately my plot is in the middle of a block so cant get things like woodchip deliveries close enough and cant afford little bags from the garden centre
I’m sorry to hear about your ill health getting in the way. That sounds heartbreaking. I hope you can get some help with the plot and your health improves
How exciting for you. It certainly looks a huge project. But piece by piece you will make it your own. Good luck and I hope you get satisfaction and some great food and flowers for your labours. I was utterly bewildered after watching a few allotment TH-cam videos to see not just plastic left behind but also the amount that continues to be purchased and brought onto plots. Cheap plastic potting goods or poly tunnel covers that hardly last a season and are then thrown into pile or off to local landfill. The leaching of toxins and production of microplastics is real and I hope allotment management invest in educating plot holders.
Good luck with your new plot! 🍀 I've also just taken on a plot (half the size of yours) and I waited a year and a half for it 🥲It's in pretty much the same state as yours and I've found it really upsetting when I think I've cleared one little area, only to dig down and find another layer of rubbish 🙈 (or come back after a few days away and find another plot holder has dumped more of their rubbish?!). I'm looking forward to watching more of your videos so that they get me motivated to keep going with my own plot! Good luck again 🙂🍀
Oh dear lord seeing more dumped on it is disheartening! The rubbish is ENDLESS isn’t it?
I soo can't wait to see how this turns out. Inspired! Regards from down under.
Thank you 🙏 me too!
Make “steps” and put in walls to achieve flat planting areas. You will have the front edges of those “walls”as easy picking as one can stand on the lower level and not have to bend over as much. Strawberries would be lovely on the top edge of the “wall”. Put in field drain pipe on each planting level and feed them into a rain water collection barrels that are place on the next level down…
The site isn’t on a gradient as steep as that to allow for a rain barrel to catch water from land above it.
I may use raised beds in areas to elevate them above the water table but I think terracing the whole plot might be a bit too much work. We’ll see.
Thank you for sharing your ideas ❤️
i dont think i would even bother once i seen the water logging
It’s a worthwhile consideration for sure. We’ll see how far I get with ditches, ponds and raised areas. For now I have no other option so I’m pressing forward
There is clearly a 'type' of allotmenteer who uses their allotment as a dump. I live in a retirement complex wnich has very large grounds, one section of which is designated as residents' allotments. Until last year, only one section was used by only one resident, and having access to it was one of the main reasons I chose this complex to live in.
Another lady (who also moved to the complex last year) and I have taken over a section each and the original bloke had an almost-hysterical fit when we made remarks about the rusty filing cabinet (!?), the kitchen sink and draining board, the two dining chairs, the broken pallet ... etc etc ... which encroach onto the other two (ie our) allotments. 'All allotments are untidy!' he claimed - but I'm significantly older than he is, and pulled rank accordingly.
'When I had my allotment in XXY (a local allotment gardens which regularly wins prizes), I'd've been thrown off if it'd been in the state this one's in.' Perfectly true, and nothing he could say to that!
He's done a bit of tidying - but I'm still sick of looking at the blasted filing cabinet every time I go over there. I think I'll grow a 6ft screen of runner beans to hide it; they might conveniently fall over in a high wind and bury it completely!
🤣 Nowt so queer as folk. I don’t consider myself a stickler for tidiness but all that rubbish just sounds like an eyesore. I don’t really understand what it’s used for 🤷🏼♂️
Glad that it’s started to get sorted. I guess it probably helps that there are others using it now to push it along.
There’s definitely that “type” that’s been here!
@@tecmow4399He claims he's going to put strawberry plants in the filing cabinet!
Yes, I know ...
An eyesore is exactly what other residents had complained about, but he'd fobbed them off with excuses until I pulled him up on his claims (in a residents committee meeting, no less!). The filing cabinet, sink etc is all that remains after a great many trips to the local tip with the rest of his junk. He still likes to think he's some sort of allotment king or bossman, though he doesn't get very far with _me_ when he acts like that.
That's a huge plot. I manage a site and our largest isn't half that size. As for forcing your Council to legally provide an allotment, I believe it has to be cost effective for them to do. so if it will cost too much they can get out of providing one. That is also a very badly managed site. I would never give a plot out in that condition. It would never get that bad on my site. With the excessive water logging, I would strim and clear all the mess first as you are doing. Then look at delineating the boundaries. Then see if you can put in some drainage channels to clear the water. It's going to have to dry out a lot before you'll be able to do much with it. I hope they have let you have it free for the first quarter at least.
I’ve been making some drainage channels and it probably would have dried out more if it hadn’t rained so much in the last month but it is clearing.
If you did have plots in that condition, how would your site go about sorting it out? Would other committee members help? Or would the council assist? Keen to get ideas because there are other plots on the site that could be put to use if more help was available. I’d love to learn how they’re managed in other places
@@tecmow4399 ours is a Parish Council managed site. I personally look after it. Our agreements say that when a plot is given up it must be in good condition. If someone left it looking like yours we'd be contacting them and reminding them of what they agreed to. If they refused I'd tidy it and we'd bill them for the clean up cost. If a plot holder died and we couldn't get them to clear it I'd do it myself ASAP and get it rented back out as quickly as possible. We'd never rent out plots that size if we had a huge waiting list either. Split them and get them in use.
Job and half there bud, good luck.
Thank you 🙏
Flytipping is rife in the UK. It's unbelievable
I know! They’ve been closing a lot of recycling centres which doesn’t help either
If anyone can do it you and the boys can!*
*biceps
They’ll get a work out for sure 😅
Xin chào bạn yêu,tôi cũng bắt đầu xây dựng một khu vườn ,nhưng không có kinh nghiệm . Tôi rất vui được đồng hành cùng bạn ❤❤❤🤝
Glad to be accompanied by others 😊
you could make ditch all the way round for collecting the water and indicating the border
It may happen to be fair
You might consider "lasagna" gardening ...goggle it...raised bed methods. :). Good luck!
Raised beds will certainly be useful seeing as how waterlogged it gets! Thank you ❤️
🐝Thanks for the great video 🌻subscribed
Thank you so much 🙏
Maybe you could have a small pond in the natural area where the water gathers?
Yes I was thinking of putting one in when I initially viewed it. I love a wildlife pond!
Start at the top, one section at a time
That’s the plan 😊
By 'eck, that's a bad one matey.
BUT there's nothing insurmountable, especially if you can get the waterlogging fixed.
Aye it’s a bit rough ent it?!
It’s already so much better and it’s barely stopped raining.
They lay plastic and grow on top of it,then another layer and so on ...we clear plots on my site were a plot holder has been on for many years and that's common .....those pallets were his compost bin I imagine
Yeah most likely an intended composter. There was no evidence of compost ever having been in there though. Planting over plastic sounds barmy to me!
@@tecmow4399 it is barmy I think it's an old fashioned allotmenter type of thing hopefully not being done now .when we clear plots you always take a deep breath when you open the shed ....often twenty years of stuff ....mainly unusable rubbish. Is stacked up in them
Waited 3 years for my allotment from council, got letter on a thursday, following monday git first letter threatening legal action for existing rubbish on site, sorted that. Week later another threatening legal over height of hedge, sorted that. Letters kept coming whilst i struggled to clear rubbish from previous tennents, in end got fed up of legal letters etc and no assistance so after a year it got too much hassle.
It's admirable how much work you did, but I have to say - councils should be ashamed. Assuming this was a council site, how on earth did they ever allow the previous tenant to let it get that bad?!?! I swear that if councils were a bit more forceful in enforcing overgrown allotments, the waiting lists wouldn't be so long.
@@MartinNelson I completely agree that the waiting lists would be considerably shorter! It is a council site. I don’t know what the average state of allotment sites is and whether this one is indicative of a much wider problem. I guess local authorities have bigger fish to fry until people make a fuss.
I think a fair bit has to do with the committees on the sites, especially regarding enforcement and earlier action. But once they’re in this state it needs machinery to put it right. Most people don’t have the time or resources to put tidy this type of mess
@@tecmow4399 I can only speak to my own area in the North West of England, but I know that there are several plots in my nearest allotment site that are poorly cared for. In one local site, I also know that there is someone who appears to be growing flowers commercially. Now, to be fair I don't know what the full story is. I'm seeing what appears to be several overgrown plots and seeing someone whose plot is filled with flowers drive up in their business vehicle and making assumptions. However, I still find it difficult to see how anyone could allow plots to get so overgrown as to be effectively unusable without gargantuan effort on the part of the person potentially inheriting said plot. Of course, that viewpoint carries my own bais of being something like 170th on the waiting list for one site, and like 52nd on the waiting list for the other site...so pinch of salt and all that.
You have a very large plot
Yeah it’s quite a big un from what most people have said on here!
Do you have to pay for the allotments? Are they technically public land? This is fascinating.
I recently took over an overgrown plot of land in our parking lot. Someone must have dumped gravel there because it is insanely rocky, even by New England standards.
Yes you have to pay but they’re usually run by local councils so they’re affordable.
That sounds like a tough gig! Good luck with it!
Good luck
At least it looks like your fellow "allotmenters" are friendly, which is very useful. Hopefully the people who "run" the place are good too, my sister has "fun", with them being very negative, even though the plot she had was in a bad state when she took it on, although nowhere near as bad as yours.
The big question - are you going to go "No dig" ?
I probably can’t do no dig because the ground is really uneven, full of buried plastic sheets and needs some air introduced in places where it’s waterlogged and compacted.
Yes having friendly people around is the biggest selling point!
Good lad getting stuck in until it's dark The amount of litter about is awful. Far worse now than i can remember.. you obviously love the outdoors, like me, so you're an ideal plotholder. Add tons of compost, leafmould etc and it'll be great.
My plot was a dump too, cleared the lot of plastic, glass, carpet. There were layers of weed fabric, one on another. It's ver satifying to have gotten rid of it.
So much glass, plastic and weed fabric here too! Yeah it’ll come good in the end 😊 thank you
Maybe they were creating a wild-life plot with multiple ponds? I can see allotments having an initial purpose when first proposed in the past as in growing stuff; whereas how they're used nowadays should reflect the needs of the person maintaining them such as a place to relax and enjoy what they've created. Deliberately creating a mill-stone around one's neck by growing too much stuff to eat, seems daft to me.
I do plan to put a wildlife pond in it too. It’ll act as a reservoir but also like you said it gives me a place to come and relax. I think quite a few plot holders do have ponds. Well worth considering all of the many creative uses people could have for these spaces, thank you 🙏
You need to rent a mini excavator and completely clear the plot. It doesn't cost a lot and you don't need a special licence. You will be able to easily situate and dig your drainage ditch and you will still be doing the work yourself. It may be that the water is coming from another property and you can either make use of the water for irrigation or just run the ditch straight down the edge of the property. While you are manually doing little patchwork jobs, you are wasting all this time when you could be preparing the soil for planting. While you have the excavator, you could use it to lay down your initial layer of compost and manure. There is a time for hands on manual labour and a time to use machinery to achieve a good starting point. Once you are not so overwhelmed by all the rubbish and plastic, it will be easy to see how to progress. You could recycle the planks from the pallets in a hundred different uses in the garden, from walkways, to raised beds, to a cover over your ditch, to repairing the shed. Good luck. Getting your first crop in and growing will give you all the energy and enthusiasm you need for future projects in your garden.
I’d love to as I use them regularly for landscaping jobs but the secretary has said I’m not allowed to use diggers on the plot 🤷🏼♂️
I’d love to as I use them regularly for landscaping jobs but the secretary has said I’m not allowed to use diggers on the plot 🤷🏼♂️
Sorry to hear this. Too bad they didn't have the same level of policing when someone wrecked your plot. Maybe he would approve a horse and plow.🤣
The pallets is a structure for a compost bin 😂 maybe strange place in the middle but they had their own reasons for it I'm sure. So much cheaper to make your own compost mate x
I make quite a bit of compost but there was no evidence of any in those pallets 😅 I guess that was their intention
@@tecmow4399 yes I'm sure it was but seemed a bit strange place for it. Yes I've caught up with some of your older posts and one was your compost one. Always very interesting.
I made raised beds
Good idea in wet ground. Might do similar if the problem persists
I can only pray that a check for wildlife was done before using those horrid strimners, hate those things after seeing images of hedgehogs that have suffered horrific injuries from people using them who didn't bother to check the areas to be worked on first & overgrown areas make ideal habitat for those animals, although hopefully not in that patch if it was also full of litter.
Yeah I had a good look around first and because it’s winter it’s much easier to see through the growth. I wouldn’t disturb any hedgehogs knowingly. Well worth pointing out, thank you 🙏
Should have just rented a utility tractor and raked all the stuff out into one pile and then worked on that pile a little at time leaving the rest of the land flat and cleared. /shrug, but that's just me...I'm lazy like that.
More time laps would be great. Talk and work
I wonder if a scythe would work here? plastics aside, of course.
I’ve never used one tbh but there are a lot of brambles and woody weeds. Would it do well with them? I thought they were mainly for herbaceous stuff?
How is the hot composter going?
Very well thank you ❤️😌
all those small pieces of plastic are a pain in my eyes, you might need to dig out and remove the top soil layer. i commend your work, subscribed and gave you your number 666 like on this video, i hope thats not an omen to come :D
Thats exactly what I've started doing! Glad to have you here 🙂
i send you sunny spells sir 🍀
Thank you so much. Keep some spare for yourself too 😊
OIL on the water?
Test the soil .....
I don’t know if it’s oil but just the film on the surface that forms on standing water
I had worse when I was back in the UK, trees covered in brambles... 😂
I’d take that any day. I can clear brambles and trees quicker than waterlogged, plastic addled ground
@@tecmow4399 yeap, not that you mention it that sounds quite nasty
Looks like its been dormant for decades
I’m not sure when it was last let tbh. I know a few people have tried and given up on it
@@tecmow4399 looking forward to seeing how you get on with it