Just welcoming a cocker spaniel pup into our lives. He'a only 4 months old so won't be visiting the plot quite yet but apart from the obvious hazards for dogs on allotments, like brambles, sharp stones etc, what have dog-owning allotmenteers found an issue? And also how old was your dog when you 1st introduced them to the plot?
Cheers all
Hi everyone, I thiught I'd share some photos of the dead hedge (work in process) that I've been constructing on the plot.
Our allotment society sends round an email every month with news, events and usually a short article about a growing method or idea one might be interested to learn about. One of these was dead hedges, basically piled thick cuttings too big/thick to compost piled between stakes placed 1.5 to 2ft wide apart, staggered.
This sang to me, having taken on a plot with lots of cut down small trees and saplings and large trees in serious need of pruning and cutting back.
I've created a natural barrier which will, over time, sink, rot and allow further pilings, using up waste material too big to compost and a pain to take to the tip, a wildlife haven and a good guard against badgers and intruders if I can get it high enough.
I left a 6 inch hoeing strip between the hedge and the path but didnt have time to hoe it last weekend before taking the photos, sorry!
1st 4 pics are as it is now, the others from as it's been gradually built over the last couple of months.
Hope you think this is a good idea and maybe give it a go!
Happy allotmenting folks. (",)
Hi all,
Enjoying a great stay at a UK holiday park on the South Coast, our 2nd year here.
As with many of them, they have static homes for sale, new second hand and in various sizes and specs and to be honest, I'm tempted to find out more.
I know these lose a lot value on resale so would be a long term commitment amd we would not be living in it, probably use it 6 weeks a year, allow select friends to use it and possibly rent it out the rest of the time.
The maths works but I wanted to hear from anyone who has bought one of these and can reveal 'what the salesperson doesn't tell you'/pitfalls/ hidden costs etc.
Is/was it a money pit? Could you decorate/refit as you wish? Any horror stories? Things I should be aware of?
Any advice gratefully accepted, many thanks.
Hi all, i posted about a wreck house I'd fallen for a few months ago and basically it wasnt a goer due to the fact it was probably unmortgageable, would have cost more to repair than we had spare, and we coudnt live in it during the refurb due to the amount of work it needed. You guys talked me out of it.
It's dropped 15% on rightmove today and having had another look online and outside... I still love it!
It's a 3 storey victorian townhouse, formerly an unofficial HMO but with many original features, massive rooms and on a good street. It's been neglected for a long time, agent said there's rot everywhere, its not habitable and the floor joists are all rotten.
Its a total rip out job.
Is it possible I could get some sort of loan for the purchase price and refurb or is that only possible with security of some kind? Whilst maintaining a normal mortgage on my current house? Do you need to prove you can organise such a refurb? Id love to take some time off work and do this place up, and know its going going to be messy, loud, expensive and involve all the trades, but I really think place could be an absolutely awesome home for the family.
Total dreamer here, probably not possible, but could there be a way?
Cheers!
Uk south coast
Hello all,
I've got this rather large wild cherry (big tree on the left) on my new allotment and it's been left for years, probably 20ft plus now. It needs cutting back but I know cherries can struggle to heal from major work done on them all at once so I was looking for some advice on how to reduce it's size by about a third to a half over 2-3 years without exposing it to disease.
My knowledge of dealing with trees this size is limited but I'd be keen to DIY it rather than call in the professionals.
Anyone here had a similar tree?
As for the giant bay tree on the right, that's another story, I have a plan for that!
Many thanks,
[UK South Coast]
I know, I know... it's a bit overgrown!
[UK, south coast.]
Very unusual to be offered a 2nd plot when our waiting list is so long but I wonder if a few have turned it down due to being in a bit of a state. Being next to my current plot, I had to say yes really. Now the proud custodian of a 9 rod plot!
It's a full house; perennial weeds, willow and birch saplings, brambles, tall grass which has gone to seed and a LOT of junk. The poly is on the next plot over, not mine sadly.
Plan is here, to clear a path from my current plot right up the middle then across the back then start pulling everthing out from the back and working towards my current plot, and see what suprises lie in store. Apart from a 'ring' of willows and a couple of fruit trees it seems quite flat but is on a gentle slope.
I'll need to proceed with care, we have adders on-site here and this looks like the perfect habitat for them!
Wish me luck, I'll think I'll need it.
Hi all,
I've been lucky enough to be offered the other half of my plot after the tenants went awol - its in a state, head height grass which has gone to seed, brambles, willow saplings all over the place, rubbish, it's a mission and a half...
I was thinking of doing a youtube blog channel to document the reclaiming of the land back to growing, having already done some fun vids with the kids and having a bit of a go at editing etc and wondered if any allotmenteers here had done the same, and how they found it, did they have any problems etc. Did the site management mind? Did you get many view/subscribers?
No posting links to the thread please, just looking to see if it's worth doing, or ends up being a pain.
Cheers!
Hi all, I have a lot of 1d reds and 2d blues (british victorian) id like to accurately date and learn more about. Is there a resource out there that can do this, based on design features, with information about plates, watermarks etc? I have a lot of Victorian ans Edwardian stamps but would love to get these guys sorted first
Many thanks
Edit: PS, I'm interesting in learning about the variations, not the value - these came from two quite badly curated collections and are all in poor condition so I already know they're not valuable. Many thanks.
I was wondering why my sweetcorn seedlings were looking like the leaves were being snipped with scissors, before identifying the culprit last night - my cat!
We have a decked back yard so no grass, I guess he has a furball on the way...
Now moved out of harms way...
Anyone else rumbled an unusual attacker?
Anyone finding their late sowings of Cukes, courgettes and pumpkins are struggling to get off the ground? Mine have been sown for around 12 days now and not a single shoot, having had a delve into one of the pumpkin pots, found no shoot from the seed. I've found in the past they've shot out in 4-5 days and earlier sowings of sweetcorn and sunflowers are doing very well.
It has been a bit colder the last week here on the South Coast but still...
Anyone else in the same boat?
Side topic, I also sowed Carella and Caigua seeds my next door neighbour gave me and they also are staying asleep, though having never grown them, I don't really know if they're slow starters or not.