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Field Allotments at Amerton
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Hartley.
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& Old
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By
Alan J Hartley
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Abandoned Plots.
To some people having an
Allotment is almost seen as a Status Symbol because it is the “Thing To
Do,” with all of the environmental issues at the front of everybody’s
minds these days. What could be better than growing your own vegetables
with all of us being told to cut down on the “Food Miles,” and of course
home grown food couldn’t be healthier with all of the fuss about
Pesticides and other chemicals that can be found on our food.
Unfortunately, for many, the reality is not as easy as that with a lot
of hard work needed to be put into a Plot regularly to produce good and
worthwhile crops. Every year we have a few plot holders who voluntarily
give up their Plots because they come to accept that they can’t manage
them. When this happens vacant Plots are soon snapped up, as, like many
other Allotments, we have a waiting list, although ours is usually quite
small and with the natural turnover, prospective Plot Holders don’t
usually have to wait for long to get a Plot. There are horror stories of
some sites having waiting lists that you have to be on for 10 years
before you get to the top of the list and get your Plot. However, what
is also true of most sites, including ours, is that most plots that are
surrendered, are a little untidy to say the least. Even worse are the
Plots that have been totally abandoned and the Committee have to
persuade Plot Holders to give them up. Unlike many other Allotment sites
around the Country, our Site is privately owned and run by a small
Committee of Volunteers who have to Police the site ourselves without
any outside assistance.
It is not often that we have to reclaim a plot, but this year we did
after the Plot holder had not properly worked his Plot for some time due
to his difficult personal circumstances. Action was deemed necessary
because there were complaints from other Plot Holders about the State of
it.
I suppose part of the problem is that although the Annual Rent for a
plot seems to be a lot to a Pensioner on limited means, to a working
man, on a decent wage, the rent that he has to pay is “Peanuts.” It is
not even the price of one night out, a trip to watch a Football Match,
or a trip to a Concert. So, little consideration is given to their plot
once they have lost interest in it.
Anyway, the Plot Holder agreed to vacate his Plot and said that he would
clear it when he could, as per the Rental Agreement. However, at a
recent Committee Meeting, we decided that because others were waiting
for a plot, and we felt that there was some urgency, we would clear the
Rubbish off the Plot for him, before trying to let it. I volunteered,
along with one or two others, and the next day we got stuck into it. It
looked truly awful covered in lots of wooden planking for edges,
Pallets, Slabs, Ground Cover Membrane that had been penetrated by weeds
all over, and a number of large, metal framed, plastic, Chemical
Containers with their tops cut off as are sometimes seen on TV being
used for making, high, industrial architecture type, raised Beds. The
Containers stood somewhere over 3 feet high and were the size of a
Pallet. Each one must have contained something like half a ton of soil,
(full of weeds) that needed to be emptied and moved. (If they had been
emptied after a wet spell, they would have been a lot heavier still!)
To cut a long story short, one of the Committee member’s Husbands turned
up armed with some 6 feet long metal bars that we used to lever up, and
with wooden wedges, turnover the Tubs. The Spoil that came out, came out
in one solid lump like some giant piece of moulded concrete. The soil
had dried rock hard and came out retaining the shape of the Tubs and of
the channelling at the bottom of them. It was then quite a job to break
up the giant lumps of soil so that they could be spread out. That in
itself took some doing, trying to get the Spade in to split them. A lot
of people try to use a Shovel for digging instead of just “Shovelling,”
but that is what the straight blade of a Spade is designed for, cutting,
and with the right tool for the job it didn’t take too long. With a
little help from one, or two other Plot Holders, I had moved all of the
Boarding, along with Pegs, the Slabs, and most of the Membrane
beforehand so that gave us a clear area to tip over the Tubs and to
spread the soil. Rain was forecast a day, or two later, so that, we
thought, was quite opportune because it might soften the compacted soil
a bit. 
There had been a lot of Planking, but that hadn’t taken much
effort to move and with some help it was redistributed around the site
to get used again. I had a number of the Slabs to add to my Pathways on
my Plots which I thought was a fair payment for doing some of the work
as well as a number of Bamboo Canes that had been unearthed and that
were also re-distributed. In the true spirit of Allotment Gardening we
tried to recycle and re-use as much of the cleared material as possible
and with that in mind the wooden Pallets went to another Plot Holder who
wanted to re-build her Compost Heap. Indeed I even managed to save one
large piece of Membrane that was still in good shape and gave it to yet
another plot Holder. Even the big, metal framed, plastic Tubs were taken
away by the local Farmer to be recycled. I think Farms use them for
cattle feeders, storage and that sort of thing. I have seen them stacked
up in one, or two, Farm Yards, elsewhere. The Plot Holder who had
vacated the plot, did say that he was going to collect his tools though.
At the end of the day, the Plot that had looked absolutely appalling,
had been totally cleared and looked like a new Plot, weed free and ready
for any Plot Holder, with just a few hours work. It was almost a clear
patch of bare Soil, (apart from a lovely Thornless Blackberry and large
Rhubarb,) because the Membrane had done its work and kept it pretty
clear underneath of weeds and those on the top of the membrane had been
pulled up with it. However, it was still compacted soil from being
covered for about 3, or 4 years and would take some digging! But at
least it looked good and more inviting!
 
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