Category Archives: Countryside

What a Waste!

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Not much happening at the allotment at this time of year, but we pop down every now and then to keep on top of the weeds and just check that everything is ok.

The long way home is along a public footpath along some farm fields and we took that route back for the first time since the autumn. The first field was full of beautiful healthy looking sweetcorn earlier in the year:

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Sadly though, it looks as though quite a bit of it wasn’t harvested, just hacked down to clear the field.

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We turned the corner to an even sadder sight, a whole field of marrows that have been left to rot away! Such a waste of food. There is probably a valid farming reason for it, perhaps the sale fell through or the cost of having them picked and transported was greater than the value but it still seems a shame.

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Really wish we’d helped ourselves to a couple when we passed through in the summer!

Meanwhile, down at the allotments…

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The farm tenancy contract for our half an allotment plot has been signed and we have taken possession of the field of dreams*

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*weeds

The aim is to get one bed planted up at the weekend, I’ve got some cabbages, brussels and onions ready to go in and can’t delay too long as my man with the spade (and rotavator) has been busy:

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He’s also sourced some pallets and is planning to build a shed…watch this space!

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Plan for growth…

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The ‘growing stuff’ bug really has caught hold, even though results are a bit mixed in the raised beds in the garden this year. So when we found out that there were some vacant plots in the
village allotments, our ears pricked up!

I hadn’t even realised that there were allotments in the village, they are tucked away behind the primary school, down a little lane. Off we went to reccy and whilst most of the plots were very organised and clearly well tended, there were indeed a couple which were neglected and looked deserted.

Took a bit of digging (not literally…!) to find out who looks after the admin for the site but we eventually found that it is owned by the church diocese and administered by a firm of
surveyors. We got in touch and they duly sent out their junior person who met us on site, armed with his plot map.

Not easy to work out which plot was which as only a few of them were numbered but we
identified the one we thought was unoccupied (certainly looked that way, those weeds didn’t grow overnight!) and he showed us another plot which was showing on his list as being vacant.
However, this one, though overgrown, had a pigeon shed and chicken coop half way down the plot which were both very much occupied.

So back to the office he went to find out more. We went home, discussing how we would divide the plot up, where we would start, what we’d grow… Shouldn’t have got so excited though as he phoned back the next day to say that he’d spoken to the deserted plot ‘owner’ – apparently he knows the plot is neglected, he’s working long hours but ‘might’ retire soon in which case he will get back on his plot. And the other plot wasn’t unoccupied, there was a mistake on the plot plan.

So in the course of a couple of days we’d gone from not thinking about an allotment, to getting hugely excited (and a little bit scared!) about getting one, to being highly disappointed that we can’t have one. He mentioned something about another allotment site in the village but we can’t find it so Monday’s job is to make sure he has us on the waiting list for a plot and to find out exactly where he means with the other site. We scanned the village on Google Maps/Earth and can’t find another site. Obssessed, us? Never!

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