Please leave a comment our Visitors Book!

Anyone else had success with companion planting? Must admit tagetes hasn't really worked for us and we have grown loads of them and planted them all over the plot.

I recently moved to France. In this area the locals use the tagetes marigold to grow in between the veg to stop unwanted flies. I have tried it for the first tie and have not had any carrot fly at all and very few white flies in the brassica plants.

Hello Marta,
I am glad that you enjoy the site - if you have a garden or vegetable plot it would be good if you could send me some photos like Odette in France has. We only harvested 5 medlar fruits and haven't tried them yet but I will let you know!

I am a medlar lover! I have enjoyed your site and hope that you enjoy the fruits. I have eaten them since I was a little girl. My grandfather used to have a medlar tree and every December I am looking out for them. I come from Spain, and on my last visit I bought 1/2 kg from an old lady in a market... I'm enjoying them these days since although I only eat one or two a day... They can take sometime to bleet! I would love to hear whether you have enjoyed the taste...

Has anyone had any luck with Trading Standards?
I have been told that my T S are unable to do anything because the availible test on the manure is too expensive and not reliable.I have unopened bags of manure.

Going by what I know about this contamination I wouldn't plant green manure in the affected area. My reason for this is that the residue could be absorbed into the green manure. It could then stay trapped there until the green manure is dug in and consequently start the whole cycle again. Contact with the microbes in the soil breaks down the active ingredient in the herbicide so advice is to dig frequently (or rotavate) affected areas to aerate the soil and speed up decomposition. No quick fix I'm afraid.

Tears at the end of the season at the devistation caused by the contaminated manure. I am planting
green manure next month in the hope that
it might possibly help
to break down the contamination'
Incidentally the winter broccolli planted are already
showing signs of
contanimation, the
growth spurt first then deformity of leaves,
I feel so angry about
all of this.

what a fantastic site u have and a great web site. we have a site of 40 plots in clackmannanshire scotland which we have regenerated in the last 4 years, re fence we got a grant of 25k for various items including a security fence metal chain link approx 500metres in lenght 6 feet high, underplanted with native hedging, money from tax on local polluting industries, distributed by forward scotland. good luck with yours. joe

Hello Betty,
A couple of compost brands have been mentioned although they deny that this is actually true.

Please do email me.

Sue,
One of our plotholders told me today that a very well-known brand of potting compost has been found to be contaminated. Have you heard anything about this? (I haven't mentioned the brand here, but could email you privately if you wish)
So far, we seem to have escaped any contaminated manure at Walsall Road Allotments in Birmingham but other allotments nearby have suffered it.
I still haven't ordered any straw and doubt if I will for this year.
Betty
Walsall Road Allotments
Perry Barr
Birmingham www.growit.ik.com

Hello Georgia,
We are situated in Horbury which is a small town just outside Wakefield. Our position looks more rural than it is as it is on the edge of the town adjoining playing fields etc. I guess you read the About us page which tells a little about our surroundings.
By the way some of the people who have emailed descriptions of their problems with contaminated manure have acquired theirs from organic farms - also some suspect organic commercial products so even that is no guarantee of 'safety' I'm afraid. On the Contaminated manure more information page read the web link How organic is organic? I had a surprise when I read it.

I like your site but where are green lane allotments. A town or county area would be nice to know - perhaps I missed it but I have looked and haven't yet seen where you are.
Very sorry to hear of you bag manure problems, but I don't suppose anyone will ever admit it was their fault.
I always use organic manure - perhaps it is the safer way.
All the best.
gx

I am in Hereford and get my manure from the local stables. There is no sign of contamination, but in view of the grim news elsewhere I shall make suitable enquires. Those who have been affected have my sympathy. Thank you for the efforts you are making.
RLW

Many thanks for fronting the aminopyralid issue so effectively.

RE weedkiller in manure
Just to add another perosn to the list of those affected.
My dad has been a dahlia grower for 30 years in Thornton in Lancashire and this year has lost his entire stock of 50 plus varieties some of which he has been propagating for 15 years or more to the effects of this weedkiller in manure he got for the local stables. It was stuff that he had stacked over winter.
As you can imagine he's gutted and the time and effort not to mention money of replacing the lost varieties and of digging out the beds on which they used to grow is pretty emense. Hes understably unhappy looking out onto bear soil where a massive colourful display should be right now.

Kathryn Belfast Annadale allotments (So far not affected)

Karen from Stokesley:
You couldn't email me at greenlaneallotments@hotmail.co.uk
We have a few people suspicious of the same brand as you and putting people with similar problems in touch can help give weight to their suspicions.

Hi,

I live in Stokesley, near Middlesbrough, and I too have been a victim of contaminated manure. Mine was bagged (produced by *****- their peat free Country Natural) and I made the mistake of mixing it with gro-bag compost to use in containers for my tomatoes. When the leaves started to curl, I thought the plants must have caught some kind of virus, but after extensive internet searches I came across your site, and the fern-like growth was explained...............thanks for publicising the problem !!

Hi, Another bunch of allotment holders hit by contaminated manure here in Crewe, Cheshire. Our usual supply was fine early in the year, but the trailor load we picked up in May has contaminated the potato & runner bena bed. We also used it on beds where leeks, cabbage, pumpkins and fennel are growing well, but I'm worried about the veg now being contaminated. 4 plotholders affected on our site with manure from a dairy farm & a stables locally.

I visited your site.
What a shame to see destruction and pollution of organic plots on such a large scale. I am not sure how long the soil association say before you are organic again, I seem to remember 7 years.
I have avoided manure for 15 years now due to the pesticides used on straw.

I didn't count on Pesticides in Peat Free Compost but at least it came in a bag and went into pots and the rest can go out of the gate.

Another point regarding commercial Seed Sowing and Potting Composts unless you buy certified Organic Compost you are almost certainly growing with Chemicals

May be worth a read
http://d.scribd.com/docs/uhq06d6rltddm138jwy.pdf
Supplied by Tiff

You are not being over cautious Betty. Where we have got our straw from the past has been a farm that produces their own and so the track back should be fairly easy - I hope - and therefore safe.

We use a lot of straw for covering, banana plants, carrots and dahlias. Then there are the strawberries so we couldn't manage without it. We will have to be really careful over who supplies it though.

We were thinking of ordering bales of straw again this year as many of our plotholders have asked for it. Is there a danger that straw could be contaminated too, or am I being over-cautious?

Thank you for all the updates, they are very much appreciated. I have passed on the link to this site to many of our plotholders.

To avoid any possible legal problems I will moderate the messages for a while so that I can remove any brand/farm names etc. If you want to post names in your message just for my infomation do but I will remove them prior to accepting messages - Sorry.

We have the aminopyralid problem and definitely from ******** Organic Blend Farmyard Manure. We have two raised beds and had enough local manure to do one, and bought the *******for the other. Even though the local manure bed is doing really well, the ******bed had about half the plants die in the first week or two, and the survivors are small with cupped curled leaves. Even weeds aren't growing well in the ****** bed. I've done nothing different between the two beds beside the local/***** manure and there are different crops, but the health difference is staggering. I've not read any other reports of bagged manure being a problem so I hope this highlights the problem. We've contacted *******who were unaware of the problem but asked to have the manure bag sent to them (which we still have). This is a big problem not only for those of us with affected crops but surely there's a health risk from the animals that have produced the manure?

Sorry Guy but I had to hide the brand name as I don't want suing.

But have we been here before:

http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Clopyralid-Composting-Dow.htm

I said in my post new manure; I should have said well rotted, 2-3 year old stuff. And my location is Bedfordshire.

I put new manure in my new greenhouse border and veg patch. Tomatoes have been hit badly, but courgettes and cucumber unaffected. Runner beans aer showing some sign of leave curl, as are peas.

My diagnosis is further complicated by the fact that I introduced a lot of top soil at the same time, and that the manure supplier (and her relatives) are successfully growing tomatoes in a high concentration of the muck.

I had posted my problems on the RHS forums, but it took a while before anyone made the connection.

Banstead (in Surrey) small site of fewer than 20 plots. 2 plots affected by contaminated manure. Devastating for the plotholders !

Hello Clive,

I am waiting for DEFRA too but the PSD say that many emails that I sent to government departments had been passed to then. They say supply to allotments is a grey area (we don't seem to fit in anywhere), and no-one seems responsible for investigating where the herbicide came from. The herbicide could have been been used in 2006 and laying around in a heap til we anded up with it. We don't seem to be able to find anything out other than what is written on thiis website. So you have done really well.

They say that in the case of manure spread on the soil we should be able to grow again after 12 months from spreading time but that this depends on soil and environmental conditions. If manure is stacked it can take considerably longer. They say anything that aerates the soil i.e. digging or rotavating will speed up decomposition. The aminopyralid is present in the remains of grass or grass products such as hay or sileage which were fed to the animals that produced the manure - both cow and horse manure have been affected. Once the aminopyralid is release by the decomposition process. It takes on average, about 4 weeks, for the chemical to breakdown and during this period, the aminopyralid can be picked up by plants. The PSD say to the best of their knowledge, there is nothing we can add to a plot to 'neutralise' the aminopyralid or otherwise remove it from the soil but it will go eventually.

They suggest planting sensitive crops to test the soil!!!

I'm chairman of Birmingham and District Allotments Council. Similar manure problems. Source[s] identified, at least one willing to compensate. Waiting for report from DEfRA via NSALG. Some of manure had been spread last Autumn and stil caused problems. Major concern has to be the length of time it will remain as a problem. Any one any idea.
Clive Birch

Hello. Came across your site when researching info about problems we have had with potatoes and "leaf curl and stunted growth. Had been told the manure was "just too fresh". Our site has 40 plots and those who used the manure either dug it in or put it directly into potato trenches. Have you been able to get any redress from supplier. Our "muck" came from our local hall that proport to be organic. Oops.
Many thanks
Barry

Hi Sue,
Thanks for "visiting". We have around 70 plots, but have been splitting some of the bigger plots as they become available to help us reduce our waiting list. We're finding that, with busy lifestyles, new members are wanting smaller plots.

We hope to hold our first ever open day & plant/produce sale on June 14th to help us raise funds towards getting a toilet on our site.

Regards

Amblelottie

Just paid a visit to your site - you don't do badly yourselves do you?
Keep visiting and I'll pop to yours now and again too. It's interesting to see what is happening on other sites - how many plots do you have? - it looks like wquite a large site.

Thanks Amberlottie - still some way to go with the fund-raising but we will get there in the end.

Hi - have enjoyed my visit to your site. Very informative and it's obvious that you have a forward looking committee. Well done with your fund rasing.

http://amblecote-allotments.sampasite.com/default.htm

Thanks for the message Stu - hope that you have many happy years on yur plot. If you ever fancy sending us any photos of your plot then please do and I will pop them in our visitors photos section.

BRILL SITE I am only 24 and i have just taken on my own little bit of our allotment at plank lane at leigh in lancs and i love it it was a long 4 year wait but now i am just getting started and any advice is welcome as i have some know how but all advice taken in


KEEP UP ALL THE GOOD WORK

MANY THANKS

STU


ps young seedling part of the site is top draw

I enjoyed looking at your art work Chris but just one question - where are the women?

Alister, Your picture of the snow is fantastic! Thats what inspires me to paint allotments. Have a look at my site at www.allotmentart.com Thanks for a wonderfull site.
Chris.

By the way forgot to mention we have a palm and quite a few varieties of banana in our garden at home too. We also have a tree fern that gives us sleepless nights every spring whilst we wait for it to sprout!! One banana is being spoiled by spending the winter in our living room!

Hi Mick, Really glad that you found the site useful. We have been planting potatoes with a trowel for years - to good effect - allotmenting should be enjoyable not back breaking and we do plant rather a lot of potatoes having five plots!!! I look forward to receiving some photos for the visitors area of the web. Just email any photos and any comments to me (like Odette did) and I will create a page just for you!!! Happy Allotmenting

great informative site. I have just taken on my first plot and am searching high and low for ideas. this has been by far the most imformative.
I especially like the idea of planting spuds with a trowel, I think when I try it the old boys on the allotments will have a fit!!!!
I grow exotic plants at home, ie palm trees etc. So an allotment is the chance to try some different ideas.
Will jointhe blog later and post some pics.
Thanks again for a really truly great site.
Mick

Hi dee - thanks for the message and visiting us - the more the merrier No problem with a plug - I'll add your blog to my blog links too - I'll have a visit too later.

hi great site, i have a plot in south london and have linked you to my blog (shameless plug-ha)
http://littlegemsallotment.com/blog

dee

You're very welcome Gaz! Will certainly visit your blog.

Found this site very interesting, and will be coming back for regular updates.
Take a look at my garden blog diary at www.readsretreat.blogspot.com.

TTFN

Thanks Tom for allowing me to post the comments from the email that you sent to me and good luck with your own web site. If you want to send us a couple of photos of you site or plot I will poip them on the visitors page!

Hi ......I am Tom from Whitley Bay, and a committee member on our local allotment soc.

We have about 140 plots and we are keen to try and engender more community spirit , with this in mind we propose developing our own web site...........and I found yours as I was searching the net for ideas.

Its quite unbelievable re yor fence issues.......as we have exactly the same problem, with an almost identical fence.............you would think it was a pic of our allots....honest.

......and we are a self financing soc so we have the same issues with the council...........and we need to try to finance a new fence from our dwindling funds.

Hi,
Thank you Betty, for your comments about our garden. I will put other photos when the weather will be better.

Very nice informative website. I especially liked visiting Odette's garden in France - it's so neat and tidy with not a weed in sight!
Walsall Road Allotments,
Birmingham
www.growit.ik.com

Thanks for your comments and taking the ttime to email me. The web links yo your site will be posted on our blog and links page as soon as I get the chance. I am afraid that it is no longer possible to put links in the visitors book. This is to prevent all the bizarre links that are posted. People visiting may not have noticed these links as I was removing them as soon as I was notified of their existence but we were getting quite a lot of them so ik changed the system. Blame the spammers!!! If anyone does post a message here and wantsto send links to their web site or blog then just email me and I will sort it out

Hi
I saw your write up in Kitchen Garden and think your website and blog are great. I'm really passionate about my allotments and its really good to see so much enthusiasm for allotments at the moment. I have 2 full sized plots myself in Barnstaple North Devon and have put together my own website charting my families progress from the start to the present day. I hope my site will give those new to allotment gardening a bit of inspiration.

I am also the Communications officer for Barnstaple Allotment Association West Counties Allotment Association which is a new site offering help and advice to anyone wishing to start their own allotment association (not just in the South West).
Please take a look and let me know what you think as we are working really hard to promote ourselves at the moment. If you think the site is worthwhile maybe you could put a link to us on your site.

Saw your write up in Kitchen Garden Mag

Nice blog guys! Fascinating stuff, and I love some of the extra features - animations and scrolling pics, plus all your links and stuff. Our own beginner-ish efforts at the Millfield Allotments in Faversham in Kent, can be found on

http://themulchman.blogspot.com/

Plus my own blog, which is written from the point of view of our Westie pup (Deefer-Dawg) and occasionally features allotments (again the Millfield site) is on

http://deefer-dawg.blogspot.com/

Keep up the good work

Happy Easter
Matt Care
Secretary
Millfield Allotments Association

Hi wavy, Thanks for visiting us and your encouragement . I am happy to say that we have planning permission and now into the next phase - begging for awards. Glad you enjoyed your visit - come back and see us again some time!

Cracking site you have here, you seem to have most things covered. Good look with the fencing but dont forget if its over two meters high you will need planning permission. The ideal type of fencing is pallasade, although not cheap it tends to keep the lovely little rascals out !

Hi Mark, The cost of the fence is likely to have gone up since that quote, so any ideas you and your mates have for fund raising will be most welcome. How about guided tours of the luxury shed? Look forward to your photos - we have dug up several newts but all very tiny ones!

hiya sue!
love the site, love the photos too!
i have a couple of pictures of some newts that i found living on my lotty so i'll email em over to you when i have the chance, for the 'wildlife' section.
also, i had no idea the planned fencing was that exspensive!22 grand!blimey. you should've weighed in that old trolley you found.lol.
keep it up!
mark

Hi Sue,
Thanks for your answer. I've understood everything you wrote. I must think in French before. After that I try to translate in English. Writting is easier than listening, I've bad ears.
I'll show you our garden but I must ask my husband to help. I can't send photos yet on my own.

Bonjour Odette,
Merci pour écrire dans notre livre des visiteurs. J’ essaye à répondre en français mais ma français n’ est pas si couramment comme votre anglais. Je suis jaloux de vous, j' espère qu' il y a des violettes dans notre pelouse mes à Green Lane au lieu des violettes nous avons des pissenlit. Il y en a trop est souvent l' herbe avoir l' air d' être jaune avec eux. Quelques jardiniers déja a planté leurs pomme de terre mais pas nous, nous croyons que c' est toujours trop froid. Je crois que c' est trop froid aussi pour cultiver un abricotier mais nous avons acheté un cerisier cet année et nous aussi avons des prunier, des pommiers et beaucoup d' autres buisson de fruit! J' espère que vous comprendre ma réponse et s' il vous voudriez m' envoyer des photos de votre potager et les plante que vous cultiver, je serai heureuse des mettrai a notre site de web.

Bonjour Sue, Nous habitons dans un lotissement, nous avons un potager et de la pelouse autour de la maison. Ce matin, mon mari a tondu, dommage pour les violettes qui s'y trouvaient ! Il a repiqué quelques salades, les pommes de terre sont plantées. Nous avons aussi un cerisier âgé de 24 ans et un abricotier (en fleurs) de 2 ans.

Thanks Steve and Kevin for your kind remarks.
Kevin - I will certainly visit your site and promise I won't laugh. Maybe you would be kind enough to put a link from your site to ours and I will certainly do the same for you.
Steve- The St John's allotment site does still exist and is flourishing as Wakefield's best site. We here at Green Lane are green (very appropriate) with envy! But one day who knows - we may be able to give them a run for their money. I wish you both all the best with your ventures into cyber allotmenting! Please visit us often and join in the comments on our blog.

Hi to everyone at Green Lane, what a great website. . . I was born and brought up in Wakefield at Newton Bar. As a kid in the late fifties/early sixties I used to accompany my dad to his allotment down, I think it was Cyprus mount area, at the back of St Johns Church below the railway line, not sure if they exist anymore. I left Wakefield in 77 and moved to Bridlington where I now live, have an allotment up the back of Brid which is nice and secluded with houses all round so gets no problem with intruders. Just got it all dug over for the forthcoming season, just planning what to plant. Best of luck to you all, your plots and the web site, happy for anyone to contact me, Steve

Hi Green lane,what a nice neat site,
This is just a quick visit to your web site as I am trying to get ideas to better our own first ventures in to cyber allotmenting.(hope you dont mind)
we are a little further south than you at Rotherham s.Yorks but we have the same problem with repairs and council funding.
Our web site if you can call it that yet is
hartleylaneallotments.co.uk please feel free to laugh,giggle and generally poke fun at our feeble atempt .
Cheers

Hello Margaret, Thanks for taking the time to place a message. The dahlia technique has worked for us for several years now. Each year the plants just get bigger. We have heavy clay soil too - the secret seems to be in making sure the tubers don't get wet hence the plastic. Hope that you visit us again in the future.

Hello Green Lane Allotments.
Loved the site. I really enjoyed exploring it.
I was intrigued to read about the idea of leaving dahlia tubers in the ground over winter. It will be interesting to see if it works - one less job to do.
On the subject of potatoes - I'd heard one theory that the size of the seed potato makes a difference.
Your pictures gave me a great idea of what your site looks like.

Good to hear from you Odette - I wish more of our international visitors would make contact. It is just really good to know you are out there. If anyone prefers to leave a message in their own language then please do - it will be a challenge to us all to translate it!

Nice to see that allotments are alive and well,
Here in the Netherlands it seems that everyone is always busy growing something - sometimes a cash crop, but mostly for their own consumption!
Keep Up The GOOD WORK!

Hello,
I am French so excuse my English. I enjoyed to read a part of your blog.
I could'nt send a mail because "email us" don't works when I click on. I'll try another time.

Hello there.
I have really enjoyed looking through your information and picture packed allotment website.
Let me to introduce myself, my name is James and I am a horticulturalist based in Co. Galway, Ireland. I contribute a weekly garden column to both the Tuam Herald and the Galway, Cork and Limerick Independent newspapers. As well as this writing, I have created an online forum dedicated to gardening in Ireland.

Here it is www.irishgardeners.com

Irishgardeners.com aims to offer free access to an incredible wealth of horticultural information specific to Ireland.
This versatile forum provides help from fellow gardeners and the opportunity to discuss all the best gardening techniques again specific to Ireland.
I hope it helps all current and future (Irish) gardeners.
Irishgardeners.com is in its infancy, but new and knowledgeable members are joining us daily
If you get an opportunity, pop in and say hello.
The forum may be of interest to your website visitors, if so, a link from your site to irishgardeners.com would enable it to be found by those people who require it.
Good luck in the future with your own website.

I live in Germany at the moment and really miss home so it was good to come across your site. I really miss my veg plot!

Hello all at Green Lane Allotments. I'm Betty, from Walsall Road Allotments in Perry Barr, Birmingham. We have a website too, but yours has many more features than ours has, I am very impressed!
Good luck with your Fence Fund.
Betty
www.growit.ik.com

Hi Green Lane Allotments, You have a great website, did you recive my email? my website address is www.plot6a.ik.com
Keep up the good work

Bonjour à nos visiteurs français. Veuillez signaler un message en notre livre de visiteurs !

Have enjoyed looking at the photos and I've printed out the smoky bacon and lentil soup to try. I hope you put up more recipes. I don't have an allotment but am regularly given own grown vegetables and have to say that carrots taste totally different to the shop versions!

Love the site Sue - well done. Hope that the fence building fund goes well.

hi from joe n pat we have plot number 40 at green lane we have had the allotment for 5 months it has been hard but enjoyable work the veg we have had in the few months as amazed joe and I we have enjoyed meeting the people who have allotments and hearing what they have had to say about gardening we are looking forward to next year so we can get a full season in . from Joe n Pat

Yes bonfire night was very good, only 364 days till next year.

Hope we raised a few quid for the fence fund

I would like to thank Sue for the hard work setting up the blog and the website, for her work in getting sponsership. Also thanks to Simon, Phil, Dunny and the Crew!! for coming up with other ideas on ways to make money for the fencing fund.

I dont like to see negative comments from certain people on site when we should be praising people, anybody with negative comments dont put it on the blog see the site secretary.

Heyy.. Bonfire down the allotment was ace! everyone who went will say we had a right laugh, With thanks to Simon, Phil, Mel, Denise, Phil, Tracy and Dunny and little Chuckie.
From Jan, Sharon & Sophie