Allotments
 

Thinking of renting an allotment next year, but before I do I'd like to hear from people who have/had allotments and what they think positives/negatives are?

Thanks, and Merry Xmas to everyone

Kieran

Allotments
 

Hi John, Your first major problem will be getting one! I live in Fingal and the list has been frozen for a number of years because there is so many people on it! Maybe the other CoCo's will be different. Did you watch Hugh Fearnley Wittenstall (Chef on tv) in his Autumn show? He was starting up this campaign to free up free land. Groups all over the uk were growing fruit and vegs in waste land all over the towns and cities. He was also setting up a website that matched people who had space in a garden with those looking for somewhere to grow. If you know anyone with a garden that they don't use you could cultivate it for them in return for some veggies or payment if you wish!

I know that they have been doing this in Cuba for decades and it looks fantastic, great idea about using garden spaces as well. It's through a farmer down here in East Cork [cost 300 E per year] , the Co Co's are a useless bunch here as well as there, I contacted them last year and spoke with what i thought was the relevant person, and she did not know what an allotment is, never mind have any forward plans......

allotments
 

hi!
we just put our names down for an allotment yesterday! Will watch this thread with interest.

There are an awful lot of useful websites around - google "allotment" and you will see several sites people have made about their own allotment experiences. Plenty of pictures and even videos. And calendars of what to do when.

I think it is a lovely community activity that deserves a bit of a revival.
Although, from reading around on the web, it seems that there are plenty of people very interested in allotments - there is no lack of enthusiasm there - it is rather the county councils that need a bit of a push to realise the potential

Reebok

Point taken....It would be good to have some form of Local Authority recognition that there are people out there who want to try and reclaim some land for positive purposes....I have looked at the website etc but i feel that it would be good to have a 'live' discussion with people who have gone before us to 'planet allotment' to see how they felt about it and to point novices in the right direction [don't want to end up with just spuds, if you know what I mean!]

allotement
 

yeah thought about that too, but i can t find any information on the kildare county council for this area, i would be willing travel to have one, but obviously within reasonable distance...

so far managed to grow in my back garden :
lettuce, parsley, mangetout and green beans ( or runner beans depending what you call them), they were very good, but again with my little novice experience left it too late to put the sticks and it was very tricky to detangle them ( the peas anyway..., so never really got peas as such...)
the luttuce worked great but planted too much too soon and had way too much, couldn t eat it all, and then had none... he he he..
tried tomoatoes but didn t get any luck with those, planted them too late i think.
i also had some green peppers ( dwarf variety) but they didn t get very big ( lol i know the name says dwarf, yeah thought they would be a tiny bit bigger so i left them in the soil too long ). they should work next year..
also have some cabbage at the moment but they are attacked by slugs so not sure how long they ll last (trying to be organic).
i d love an allotement to try potatoes and carrots and some other veggies, ( you need more than a back garden for spuds)...

will try again the back garden next summer again before i tackle a big allotement, as it is a bit more manageable for me i think..

everyone needs to remember though that the allotment will take more time than you think... so you need to have a bit on your hands, water everyday if sunny, put poles for the climbing stuff and for pruning...

all the best

cascais

Cascais, try crushed eggshells or seashells around your cabbages as slugs don't like crossing them hopefully this will save them for you. Also coffee dregs if you use real coffee or teabags (broken open) good for the soil too.

thanks
 

thanks smokeyeyes, will have to try the eegshells over the weekend ( tried the coffee before, but really onoly works for a few hours, so you need to be a very good coffee drinker ...),
hopefully there is still cabbage left ouy there to save !

all the best

cascais

I AM - I COULD DRINK COFFEE FOR IRELAND. LOL!! Would say I keep Brazil/columbia in business at this stage. I drink it by the pot, not the cup!! Ah the eggshells, or seashells if you live near beach will defo work. If they don't you must have SUPER slugs where you live Heehee

allotments
 

there is a guy in killkelly i think thats mayo giving land for allotments in the Buy and Sell in the freebies section

And here's a link for anyone interested in looking

http://www.buyandsell.ie/home

cascais
 

You can grow potatoes in a bucket or bin in your garden. Also somewhere on Jumbletown someone is offering motorbike tyres and say they can be grown in them, I would like to try that as I guess the tyres could be painted first to look attractive. If you use seashells to keep slugs at bay was them well first as they will have salt on them.
Keep us up to date with how you do!

But Toddler it's all the better if they have salt on them, cos slugs hate salt too.

I waged war with slugs for two years, to no avail. They seemed to think that my veg patch was an 'all you can eat buffet' and left very little for us. This year I discovered 'nematodes' in Mr. Middleton in Dublin. Apparently nematodes are a naturally apearing parasite that live on slugs (there just isn't enough to deal with all the slugs). It's a powder that you dilute and water the ground with. This year I got weeks of slug free gardening. I'm in Galway but Middletons do mail order if required.

For fellow novices I get a magazine called 'grow your own' which I find good as it's not too technical and has great tips.

Hi Kieran,

I was brought up 'growing' with my old gran in Kent, UK & used to spend holidays on a smallholding on Isle of Wight.

After the kids grew up & I had time... and the inclination & time, I got an allotment a few years ago..... we're now in a position where we've bought a house & are about to transform one of the gardens into my home 'allotment' area.

Tip 1: The BEST book you can ever, ever buy is 'Grow Your Own Vegetables' by Joy Larkcom - I'm on my 2nd book - the first one was that dog eared & dirty! It really is my gardening bible - tells you all about crop rotation even in a small space & what companion plants to grow alongside your veggies to control the unwanted creepies. If it doesn't tell you everything, it gives you an idea of exact issues to google for.

Tip 2: RAISED BEDS!! Is the very best way to go wherever & whatever you grow. If crop rotation is difficult, then the soil in the raised beds can be changed each year. Carrots do better in higher raised beds.... the different beds can be given variable amounts of additives to alter the pH of the soil & of course can be cleared again at the end of the growing season.

Tip 3: Get a copy book or 2 or 3.... Plan, make lists, make lists of lists..... Keep a page for each item you grow - note the strain of seed you plant, note the date you plant, the date you harvest, what results, what you did with the soil..... etc etc - This will prove invaluable as the years unfold, Trust me!

Tip 4: Do NOT grow potatoes in the ground! Grow them in barrels, or in tyre towers - you can discard the soil at the end of the season which will guard against blight.

Tip 5: Enjoy it! It's hard graft, well worth it - the mental satisfaction from seeing a freshly dug bed, or the start of the seedlings, the basket of fruit & veg... Priceless!

Julie.

Thanks Julie, you make it sound like a worthwhile endeavour, not just for me but for my two boys as well....

Kieran

I thought it was advised not to grow spuds in tyres, as the chemicals in the rubber (and on the rubber, if they're used tyres) will leech into the plants. I heard it was similar to the sleeper problem.

tyres
 

Is That True About The Tyres?

I can't remember my original source, but after a quick google, I've found lots of websites suggesting growing potatoes in tyres, and one suggesting there might be a problem with it.

positive link
not as positive

In fact, this site debunks the idea that it's bad:

tyres
 

Hi, thanks for the info on the tyres.
Lovestuff

As some of you probably know, I grow my spuds and other veggies in tyres and have a post up loooking for good homes for some of the used tyres we have - my hubby has a motorbike shop so no shortage in supply!!

Before I grew and fed these spuds to my family I did my homework and checked out all the websites I possibly could. There are various arguments for and against and I suppose you just have to weigh those up for youselvel. But I also checked with family relations with a medical and clinical background. They assured me that the amount of chemical asorbption, if any, is minimal and that you probably are exposed to more and higher levels of dangerous chemicals in fruit/veg grown for the mass market because of the the amount of fertilizers and insectisides used.

I also found this interesting:
Old Tires Are Safer
I was reading about using old tires and they discussed chemical leaching. One thing they said was that the tires *were* old so that they had had lots of time under adverse condition to oxidize and vent harmful gases and chemicals. That is why new tires smell bad and old ones typically do not. I found this info and a lot more on tire houses at http://www.touchtheearthranch.com This was in the FAQ section. I'm quoting:

"The surface of used tires has been subjected to years of exposure to oxygen by high speed rotation in the atmosphere. This exposure causes a phenomenon called oxidation. Oxidation 'interlocks' the surface molecules with oxygen and 'out-gassing' (fly-away molecules of synthetic rubber) is considerably limited, if not stopped completely. It's the new tires that stink/outgas, they just need to "rust" for a while, before they are suitable for use as a building material."

By Jennie in MT

from this site: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf284146.tip.html

which also carries a con argument.

The only thing I would say is that if the tyres you are using have a green/pink or orange substance on the inside of them then do NOT use them to grow edibles. This is a sealant that some tyre fitters use especially in tubeless tyres. It can be jellylike or crystalline in appearance depending on how the tyres have been stored.

Other than that I find them a great way to grow especially in a small space (my efforts have proved so successful though that my husband has agreed that we should expand the veggie patch to double it's size. Woo hoo!!)and are also useful for helping to keep the dreaded slug at bay.

The Eggshells worked a treat for me too..


Lisa

allotments
 

Just a question.
After all ones hard work, is it not possible that someone in a neighbouring allotments or a total stranger could steal your veg? :(

Hi Colitjo - it's possible, yes, but in most cases, it's unlikely.....

In the UK, some allotments in 'certain' areas get trashed, but crimes of this sort really are few & far between.

There's a sort of 'code' amongst allotmenteers & long may it last!!

Oh, and Lisa - I will PMing you in the next couple of weeks - I need around 30 or tyres, so I need to talk to you!
I probably won't get them all in the car, but my potatoes are needing to be planted... as soon as I can get the beds built, the trees cleared, the chicken house & pens built, the track to our hayshed gravelled... oh, busy times!!

Julie

That's cool Julie. Look forward to hearing from you. Depending on where you are I might be able to sort something out re delivery. Himself having a nice big white van and all!!!

Lisa

Don't paint the tyres
 

I would suggest to Toddler that painting the tyres could be counterproductive. I grow in stacks of tyres - 3 or 4 high. Much easier on my back - no bending. Easier to manage the type of growing medium and also, and importantly, the black walls catch the low Winter & Spring sun and warm the compost sooner, allowing me to start my growing off earlier. It is also much easier to provide cover for more tender plants - an old net curtain will keep off the frost, birds, cabbage white butterfly, and so on.

And, by filling the side walls with shredded paper, I get this composted as I go along.

Excellent idea!!
lisa

There is a scheme of private allotments starting near Roundwood in Co Wicklow. I just put my name down for them and there are a few spaces left. If anyone is interested I can pass on contact details.

I have heard of a farmer in the fingal area who is trying to do a deal with fingal county council to provide allotments, (diversifying in the recession) so that list could be moving quicker than you think!! It could be worth keeping an eye on

there's a guy putting feelers out for allotments between Wexford and Enniscorthy - doing a bit of graphic design for him, hence the info. not sure on price etc, but they would be 20m x 6m. Told him to come on here to get some tips, ideas etc, but if anyone would like his info, please feel free to pm me.
Nothing solid as yet, he is just looking to see if it would work down here

Any more word on the guy setting up the allotments in Wexford/Enniscorthy Milky_moo. My cousin is looking for a patch to grow her own after getting the sustainability bug.

I've been keeping my eye on http://www.allotments.ie/ which usually has all the new allotments listed, but I see none for Wexford.
Probably all grown over with strawberries :)

Hi - to be honest, I've not heard from him since. I run a small newspaper in Wexford, and this guy came in to place an advert, when I get into the office this afternoon, I'll get his info and pm you!

allotments
 

Hi Lislaw,
Growing veg. in tyres sounds interesting, do you have any photos of your
veg. patch with the tyres.

Regards,
Noni

Allotments in Kilkenny
 

Hi all....thinking of setting up allotment in Kilkenny. Just wondering if there's any interest out there? Not sure of price or size or anything like that yet - want to find out if there's much interest.
thanks!

Slugs & Spuds
 

Hi all,
I have been hearing about the growing in tyres idea for years but have not tried it. Last year I grew some spuds in a new galvanised rubbish bin and it worked well. This year I will do it again and am thinking of using the same principal by growing spuds in a compost bin. I am wondering if, after the growing season, I left the spuds burried and put the lids back on both containers to keep the rain out, would the spuds store well or would they rot??

Any ideas?

Also I have just had fantastic success with the "Beer slug traps" I put 5 old jars in my herb garden and the next day there was about 30 dead slugs floating in them. I had not even seen any slugs prior to that.

Hi Beermick - if you leave the spuds in the earth after the growing season, they will rot eventually and get eaten by the nasty slugs as well, no doubt - the best way to store them is in the dark, once they have been cleaned off a bit - an old wooden drawer, or anything like that, covered over in the dry & cold will do them no harm whatsoever - if they are anything like ours, they won't be there long anyway!

If you are going to do your spuds in compost bins this year, will they get enough light? I was just thinking that as the sides of the bin go in at the top & are usually black, the light levels might be a problem.

I have mine growing in tyres because as each new tyre goes on, it's open to the rain & light - when I harvest, I do one tyre at a time & then the bottom one is cleared & refilled with fresh soil, ready to start again.

Also, while I'm here - don't forget folks to try not to touch the potatoes & tomatoes without a hand wash or glove change first - tomatoes will get 'mosaick-ed' otherwise!

Julie.

Allotments
 

Hi,
There is a transition group formed In Midleton Co Cork. Don't have the details but they can be found in the library I think. They are also looking at unused council land being used I think.
Knecht

Kilkenny Allotment
 

Hi green fields,
i believe the council is looking for land to consider for allotments, contact local green party councillor Malcom Noonan, he''l know the score.

i might have a customer to pass on to you if it gets up and going, depending on where you are in the county, good luck

Just wondering does anyone know anything about how to apply for an allotment? I am interested in getting one. Have been watching Corrigans programme and find it very inspiring. He mentioned a good few times about the leglislation that's in place that says it is our right to have access to one free of charge. Does Galway have a long waiting list?

allotment information
 

Hiya, there's an allotment scheme starting in Cork city, apparently the allotments will be ready for next year (fingers crossed). Ring up the county council to put your name down if you're interested. In the meantime check out www.corkfoodweb.ning.com , its a new social networking site with an allotment group and other groups such as 'growing your own veg' 'forgaging and wild food' etc. where you can meet like minded people possibly in your area, and discuss issues surrounding your area of personal interest with regard to organic food and herb growing. Enjoy! Tracy

Hi all,

Theres a private allotment scheme in Roundwood Co.Wicklow, we've taken one on there and having great fun with it. Theres still a few left and the owner has spaces marked out for more if he gets the interest. You can see pictures on my blog www.plot103.blogspot.com if you want to see what they are like.

We too went to the county councils first but to be honest it was a dead end and I was told there were hundreds on the waiting list and there were no plans to increase allotments in dublin for the next few years so even though they are obliged to give you one if the interest is there they are obviously not bothered. I think if a waiting list of hundreds is not interest enough then I don't know what is!! Don't rely on county council allotments, go ahead and get a private one, you'll pay more in rent but when you break it down its not actually that much more expensive considering a private allotment will come rotovated, with manure and mulch included, and a few extras, county council allotments come with nothing and by the time you add up the cost of rotovating hiring equipment, and getting manure etc onto your plot its pretty much the same. Also we found when the council plots are eventually given up they've been neglected for years and you'll be weeks just trying to clear the site before you get any veg in. You can always put your name down for the council sites and in the years while your waiting for one to come up, rent a private one to at least get some growing done.

Happy gardening
sharon