Define Cultivation & Recovering Plots

It is often asked what is cultivation of a plot, and what does it look like?  

This can be a difficult question to answer, and can be a real bone of contention between the plot holder and the inspecting person.  Fundamentally during plot inspections, plots are being viewed to see that they are actively being worked, neat and tidy and as weed free as possible. 

If you are a site rep on an allotment you know the hard core tenants that are there on a regular basis, and the tenants have been away all over Winter and have still not surfaced by the Easter holidays. They are the ones that will be getting a no cultivation notice because of excessive weed growth of the plot or beds have not been covered up for the Winter.      

Below is the story of plot 3A on Mill Green In my opinion this plot was never cultivated by the plot holder from 2013 when I took on the role of Site Rep. 

The bulk of the photos date back to 2021 and demonstrate in my view what Cultivation isn't and what it does not look like!

The tenant on this plot had been, and I use the term really loosely, working the plot since 2007. This particular tenant had two half plots on the allotment site, this one and another he took on two years later in 2009. It's difficult to use that plot as an example because he turned it into a fortress that was near impossible to look into let alone see if there was any cultivation going on inside or even if he was on the allotment.  

This google earth photo dates back to the 19th July 2013 and which was in my first full year on the allotment site. As can be seen trees were well established on both plots 3A and 11A 

Plot 3A is to the left of the path beside the shed on plot 4A in the photo above (2021). 

The vegetation, brambles and trees were trimmed back by the plot 4A tenant as the plot 3A tenant would not trim them back when growing over the shared footpath.  

The rear of plot 3A looking from the path between plot 3A and plot 4A

Plot 3A from the path between plot 3A and plot 4A 

Plot 3A from the path between plot 3A and plot 4A 

Plot 3A from the path between plot 3A and plot 4A. The plot holder had managed to obtain roof joist from the demolition of the building next to the allotment and had laid them out as if there were beds inside that were being worked, no vegetables were ever grown or harvested from this plot only blackberries were harvested from this plot. 

Plot 3A from the path between plot 3A and plot 4A 

Plot 3A from the path between plot 3 and plot 4 the green store is another plot 3

Plot 3A from the path from plot 2

Plot 3A from the path between plot 3A and plot 2 the wheelbarrows are on the path between the two plots and belong to the plot 3A tenant, who liked to spread and would not maintain the vegetation and trees from growing over the path with plot 4A.  

Plot 3A from the path between plots 2 and 3A with the front of the shed of plot 4A in the background behind the group of trees. 

The allotment site didn't have a site rep until I took over my plot in 2012 and I became the site rep in 2013 at the request of the then council allotment admin officer as I was asking questions about resourcing woodchips and manure and the possibility of getting a replacement notice board. None of the existing tenants wanted to be a site rep and had no objections to me taking on the role.

As site reps we would take photos of the plots and supply them to the allotment officer so they could determine if a no cultivation notice should be sent to the plot holder and given 28 days to improve the state of the allotment or if not accomplished or significant improvement achieved and a further time period being granted, they would get a termination notice. 

The council allotment manager decided to accept this tenants unique method of and again I use the term loosely "working his plot" and I believe it was because he knew the plot was covered in trees, and that the council would not do anything about the trees, and they were just happy that someone would rent what was fundamentally a forest.

The London Borough have stated that they had no money and would not cut down a healthy tree, and no one would be willing to take the plot on and transform it. 

It was then that I refused to undertake plot inspections because if they were willing to accept this plot as being cultivated how could they ever serve a notice on other plot holders?

After the tenant lost the plot in 2022 for non payment of rent. A couple of plot holders took it on themselves to cut down the 22 trees none of which were fruit trees and to start clearing the debris that was on the site. They gathered as much of the metal on the site and got a local scrap merchant to come and take it. 

A few years before it was forbidden for allotment holders to cut trees down on their plots especially if a ladder needed to be climbed, however the council softened their rule on this and were willing to turn a blind eye. 

This was the state of play in 2023 after some allotment plot holders had cut down the trees and and started to remove debris from the plot. The timbers that had formed the fake beds in the inside the plot were repurposed to define the border of the path between plot 3A and 4A and make it easier to trim and maintain.  

With the trees removed and debris exposed we were hoping that the council and idverde would take the opportunity we have created to come and remove the logs and debris from the plot, and grind or dig out the tree stumps so the plot could be let to one of the 43 people on our waiting list. 

  View of plot 3A from Plot 2

By June 2023 with the canopy of trees that actually prevented much growing on the inside of the plot, mother nature decided to re take the ground and the weeds flourished. 

I had been having arguments with the council for the last few years that our rents when into the revenue budget, and that a very small proportion was directed back to allotments and as stakeholders we expected a significant amount to be allocated for allotment use. I requested a freedom of information act on where the money was going and what it was being used for.  

Nettles, brambles and the curse that is bindweed taking a foot hold and once again covering the debris that was still on the plot. Sutton council would not pay idverde to come and remove the debris whist it was exposed and now it was getting covered up again. 

The annual Site Reps meeting with the London Borough of Sutton and idverde took place on the 21st June 2024. I had been chasing for the financial information for months promised at the last meeting and what information that was issued was a list of the things we do for allotment with very little actual financial information going back the the amount of revenue brought in and the costs associated with the running and maintenance of the allotments.

At the reps meeting I was informed that stump grinding would take place, on the 18th July 2024 however by now all the work the plot holders had done to clear the weeds was undone. I believe the only reason these works were listed for this year was that the parks department knew I was not going to give up and exposing that revenue created by the allotment stakeholders was not coming back to allotments, but being used for other pet parks projects. 

A couple of guys turned up to clear plot 3A and start grinding the stumps. I warned then about the debris under, One guy flicked a lump of metal with his bush cutter up which skimmed off his facial visor and pierced his ear Trump style and grazed his ear and head and that was with facial protection. He ended being taken to the hospital for stiches and Tetanus jab.

 

Stump Grinder

Close up of the grinding wheel 

He came back later in the day and continued working, but I'm informed by the plot holder on 4A  that the grinder lifted and fired more buried steel items at the two operatives. 

The plot needed properly clearing of all debris before they consider grinding stumps. Myself and other plot holders have warned them what's below the bind weed and brambles either end of that plot, which they still have not fully uncovered. 

The operatives were informed it was going to be a days work, in reality it proved to be a 5 day task with a 2-3 man man team. 

The contractor disappeared after that first day and for some time were not communicating with the council. I was chasing idverde and the LBS Contracts Manager on a regular basis to try and find out what was happening and once again mother nature took back what clearance they had managed to achieve in that single day.

Idverde weed treated the plot in an attempt to assist and again as the council sat on their hands with their thumbs up there a_ _ _ , mother nature recovered, and again covered the earth, debris and tree stumps with bindweed etc.   

Finally after pressing the Contract Officer for Parks got the contractor to returned on Tuesday 15th October some four months later with a mini digger, dumper and skip (the first of many) and grinder and set off clearing the weeds and debris from both plots 3A, 11 and 11A.

Because the council waited until October to negotiate a return to complete the task. Due to the huge amount of rain we have had the car park and main path has been destroyed by the mechanical plant that has needed to travelling nearly the full length to get to plot 11 & 11A and dump the debris in the skip in the car park. 

Final Skip in the car park on Friday 18th October. Idverde are coming to remove the last of the debris in the car park next to the skip and that still on the ends of plot 3A 

View of the metal gates            Path from the metal gates       Access to other plots 

The plan is to form a woodchip path indicated on the photos above so that all plot holders have a clean access to their plots over winter and in spring for idverde to grass seed the path and at the end of Summer hopefully we can walk on the recovered areas and remove the woodchip temporary path and re seed those areas 

Plot 3A as at Friday 18th October 2024

Plot 11 before the contractor returned to complete the clearance, removing all the bottles of pee, tree stumps and other buried debris and panes of glass etc.  

Plot 11 as of the 18th October 2024 Still debris to be picked out of the ground but a much better starting point for two new plot holders from our waiting list. 

A Couple Of Hours Weeding

Another couple of hours on the plot this Thursday morning as I had a Physiotherapy appointment this afternoon. With the guys working on stripping all the debris off Plots 11 & 11A and ripping up the path they were happy to dump any tugs I filled with weeds into their dumper when they passed my plot, as they saw I had a soft surgical boot on and the path is really churned up.

For their kindness they received a couple of mini bags of chocolate chip cookies each.

I took the photo above after I had already removed a tug full of weeds, I really must think bout getting before photos as well as after ones.

The photo above this was when I was about to leave. I also managed to get rid of some metal racking that I'm never going to use and weeds from further up on plot 1A near the Hotbin and leaf cage area.

View up to plot 1A from Plot 1 bindweed removed from the path and narrow bed weeded. Next to pull all the hoops off the bed and take and store behind the potting shed and clear the paths of weeds so I have access to the incinerator for the November 5th Burn up. To be honest a lot of the weeds I had covered to keep dry for burning have made it to the skip. 

There Is Access To A Skip!

On the allotment from just after 9 until 1:45 today (Tuesday) which was way too long but I did stop have a fizzy drink and some chocolate chip cookies to keep my sugars up. The contractor was clearing plot 11 & 11A today with a mini digger and dumper, they are completely ripping up the main path and the car park, they were happy for myself and Wally to deposit our weeds in the skip, thus the extended time spent on the allotment today, because you have to make hay when the sun shines, or there is access to a skip!

Photo above is looking at the area along the boundary that I've planned to re jig for next year. The square bed is coming out between the Dalek and the water butt that at the moment is blocking the path to the secondary path between plot 1A and 2A

Timber frame with hoops moved back onto the bed behind temporarily.

Water butt moved out of the way this will go back next to the comfrey bed. 

Three new (off Freecycle) Daleks added, two to the left of the path and one to the right of the path next to the Hotbin. The plum tree will be cut down to just above the height of the Hotbin. The cuttings will go into the bottom of new raised beds.

Skewed view that shows the new Dalek layout a little clearer, the ground need digging and the bindweed removing before I dig the Daleks in place. I will then cover the ground with cardboard and new woodchips.

Blue Hoops that were leaning up against the greenhouse on the path and blocking the path for wheel barrow use now relocated behind the potting shed on the new woodchip path parallel to the potting shed and boundary wall, see next photo.

Hoops new home when not on a bed between the back of the potting shed and the boundary wall.

Saving Tomato Seeds As It's Raining

 

Looking at the weather forecast for the Allotment and out of the window this morning it's not looking promising for a visit to the plot today. 

• Tuesday mist in the morning but no rain just overcast all day
• Wednesday high chance of rain for most of the day. 
• Thursday mist in the morning and cloudy and rain in the afternoon
• Friday rain most of the day.   

As no allotment action today I spent some time this morning spreading out some Crimson Cocktail seeds out on a plastic lid saved from a tin of Christmas KP nuts to dry off before packing them into seed bags for the seed box.

Yes I know they are F1 and I know they may not run true, but I did this with Crimson Crush from the plant I got before the seeds became available and followed the plants that grew more in keeping with the original plant and they have always produced good tomatoes and have not suffered from blight.

A Suttons Crimson Cocktail pack with 10 seeds was £4.49 last year and I only grew 5 seeds on, so in 2025 I will germinate 5 of the original F1 seeds and 5 of the F2 saved seeds and see how close the copies are to the original and look for any difference in the foliage and the fruit. 

If the F2 seed produce as the original I will save seeds from the F2 fruit in 2025 for F3 Seeds to be used in 2026 as I have done with the Crimson Crush.  

Finishing Off The Paths Around The Potting Shed.

Another couple of hours on the allotment today getting barrowloads of woodchip to complete leveling off the path to the rear and the slope on the gable end of the potting shed, then getting the mulch worthy woodchip that I had been scraping off the top of the pile and putting a layer on the raised bed. My Robin was all around me again today.

View looking from the Door Gable end looking down the plot.

View from the rear Gable end looking up the plot

Raised Bed and mulch worthy woodchip.

Mulch worthy woodchip.

Raised bed with a barrow load of mulch on.

Eating into the woodchip pile.

Woodchip Paths Around The Potting Shed

A couple of hours on the allotment this morning getting rid of the dip at the entrance and laying woodchip around the gable end and back of the potting shed now the two tree stumps have been removed. A little bit of cut and fill using a couple of old scaffold boards to tidy up and define the edge of the plot on the rear gable end.

Rear of the potting shed now the apple tree stump has been removed and the Hawthorn stump has been cut down to ground level. Where the scaffold board was laying can be seen.

Excavated soil put in front of the scaffold board and woodchip behind infilling the gap to the paving, thus levelling the entrance a little more and getting rid of the dip that was there.

More woodchip needs to be added and the two 600 x 600mm paving slabs will go between the next raised beds I install as a secondary path. This will be an ideal location to store my blue water pipes when not being used on beds to support debris netting.

Make the allotment look much neater and once the slabs and tarp has been removed I will infill the rear corner with woodchips.

Too early to cut back the raspberries, but itching to do so. The water butt will be moved back in to protect the potting shed windows from flying stones when they trim the main path, which is why the temporary glazing in the the front bottom panel.

John and I have made quite a dent in the woodchip pile in the last week.

So brave and not afraid of me at all, and with me all morning even followed me to the car park to see where I was getting the woodchips from.