~ WORLDWIDE Vegetable Allotments ~ REVIVAL of last years thread ~

[Hattie the Hen]

I have started this thread because it sort of started taking over another thread I started about your bad weather. I don't want to be accused of hijacking my own thread ! This is the original thread:

http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=246676#p246676

I will repeat a few of the posts so it makes things a bit clearer for anyone coming across this subject later !

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[Hattie the Hen]

boggybranch was asking me about allotments in the UK.
She said:

I have watched a lot of gardening vidoes on youTube and can't remember ever seeing one from the UK that didn't involve gardenening in raised beds and, if I am remembering right, garden areas being call 'allotments'.....which makes me wonder...... why vegetable gardens over there are not planted without using raised beds (maybe the soil is too rocky) and why are they called allotments

Hi boggybranch,

Most of the UK gardeners garden straight into the soil but an increasing number of us are using raised beds to grow our vegetables in because we can get the soil warmed up earlier in the Spring, thus giving us a longer growing season. We often cover the raised beds for extra protection.

As for 'allotments', they are pieces of rented land & they usually belong to the local authority [ an "allotment" of a specific area of land to be used to grow vegetables for personal/family use only]. They are away from the home garden & they often have quite strict rules as to use. They are very popular at the moment as people have started to realise they want to grow their own food. A few years ago they were the province of elderly grumpy old men who wanted to get away from their wives ( who only wanted flowers in their back gardens)......!! lol

These should give you more info on allotments in the UK:

http://www.allotments-uk.com/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/6180746 ments.html

http://www.allotment-diary.co.uk/

http://www.glallotments.btik.com/p_About_Us.ikml

This should entertain you for a while! big_smile The lasy link shows you arial views of an allotment site
I hope you enjoy it all.

I love this exchange of information on TEG. I learn a lot every time I come online here!

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[Hattie the Hen]

More come-back from boggybranch
#5
Great links, Hattie

This is REALLY interesting information. The photos of the progression from TOTALLY overgrown to an "unreal" garden "blew me away".

In my area, many years ago, some privately owned lands were "plotted out" and rented to would-be gardeners.....much like this allotment way, only no gov't involvement......but, as so many things are, here in America (fads), it quickly fell by the wayside as lazy people found out that there was more to gardening than just "planting a few seeds".......BUT the pictures of what's going on in the UK is absolutely spectacular and amazing.

Well, gotta go back to the links and check them out more thoroughly.....Thanks a bunch.

#6
Hattie....The more I read and see, on these links, the more I want to know.

Is any of the UK gardening magazines available for overseas subscription?

Do any of them (I know, a dumb question) have websites?

Am REALLY enjoying the "monthly diary", pictures and videos on the last 'link'.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

I was so tired last night that I didn't realise that I was hijacking my own thread so I replied:

I'm glad you enjoyed the links. There are some interesting vegetable allotment bloggers here & I'll try to find some links to them for you if you are interested?

Here is another huge allotment site I use.*******

http://www.allotment.org.uk/

I will post more links tomorrow -- I must sleep.......................!!
Goodnight

****** this site is wonderful & comprehensive. It is the largest in the UK & if you poke about in it you will get an insight as to our love of allotments.

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Right so now I'm back on track boggybranch That took a while to do!

Here is another link to allotment blogs:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/allotment

If you click on each of the names of the bloggers new sites open up This is run by one of our national newspapers -- The Guardian. So if you play around on the site you can find out our daily news.

Here is a link to "The Kitchen Garden" which is a good UK gardening Magazine:

http://www.kitchengarden.co.uk/

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[boggybranch]

Good morning, Hattie,

I REALLY appreciate your endeavor. I got up this morning at 4:30 and started reading some of the "allotment diary" of John, the author (last evening read some of the other gardeners diaries). Noticed quite a bit written about the need each year to turn the soil, fight weeds and such on the plots.
Does no one, there, practice year-round mulching? It seems that it would save so much work and time.
The pictures of the turned soil look so dark and rich....no wonder that the plants look like they are on steroids. LOL

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Oh boggybranch!

There seems to be a distinctively masculine bias here in the UK against mulching & in favour of digging (with resultant back damage...!!) non stop whenever possible. I have long given up trying to reason with them. It's a man-thing....................!! I mulch whenever I can but they think it looks messy if lots of soil doesn't show. I don't care!

Here in this blog you will find evidence that we do blog -- but then she is a woman...........!! :lol

http://veggies-only.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[boggybranch]

Hahahahaha....I noticed that "bias" in the article where the father used a tiller and his son used a spade..... and the son would out-do his dad.
Well, I'm a guy who don't want to have back problems and I use year-round mulching. I believe the less "hard" work you have to do in the garden gives you more time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.....but to each his own.

 

[beavis]

I cant believe that guy who made those tubes in order to grow those championship grade carrots!

 

[TillinWithMyPeeps]

I cant believe that guy who made those tubes in order to grow those championship grade carrots!

Which link was this?