Rayman wrote:Visited the allotment secretary today, it didn't go well, nice chap mind, but he said they are not doing half sized plots, and said he would be getting in touch with the council to take that info off their website.
He checked my details and told me that the 3 allotment sites that a chose in my original application all have 10+ years waiting lists, no point me checking for empty allotments on those sites either because he visits them all every other day, he did give me some good info, he told me to apply again and put down for a different site, he said that site only has a waiting list of 1 year, thats info that the council will not tell you, i understand why it has a short waiting time, its because that allotment site is behind a housing estate that is mainly made up of scrap men and gypsies, i reckon veg would not grow to its full potential before it was dug up/stolen.
Try going down there in the spring when people are likely to be about and talk to some of the older people with plots which are looking a bit unkempt. Lots of times they no longer have the physical ability to work the entire plot - but still want to keep it. You can offer to chip in some of the rental fee in return for a handshake agreement to use part of their plot. This would work well for them as they get the council off their backs regarding the unworked, going to weed, sections of their plot (and thus the risk of an ultimatum from the allotment rep) and it would also get you a half plot. Also, if you become friends with them, you will have a mentor who will undoubtedly provide you with tons of wise advice.
Alternately ask around all your friends, workmates and aquaintences and see if they know someone who has a large back garden they would be willing to let you put a veggie patch in part of. This is called Garden Sharing and is becoming increasingly popular (apparently) Here is a link
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/se ... vegetables
In both of the above scenarios you run the risk of being turfed off your plot at the end of every season. But since it is all behind the scenes you can still be getting some valuable produce and (more importantly perhaps) experience while sitting on the waiting list.
