Allotment - the Where, When, Why and How - When allotments go bad

Allotment woes are not common, as most people are happier, healthier and richer in pocket as a result of growing their own, but there are a few things that can put the fly in the proverbial ointment. These are things to watch out for when selecting an allotment:

Bad neighbours - when you're offered a plot, ask how many times it's changed hands recently and why the most recent holder has given it up. Most often it will be because people have moved away or got too old to keep the plot up, or had kiddies (or grand kiddies) and can't devote the time to the allotment, but sometimes, just sometimes, it's because the next door allotment holder is from hell. I know of one allotment where the plot has been vacated five times in two years, because the neighbouring allotment holder complains constantly about noise, not turning taps off properly, not weeding often enough, leaving dirt or debris on the communal path, not maintaining the shed etc . she's just a really nasty lady and nobody can bear to have their ear bent by her!

Bad location - corner plots can be a bugger, to be honest. If they are bounded by a road, people will tend to cut the corner and drive over the edge of the plot, and the more they do that, the more the corner gets cut, so your plot is constantly eroded and turned into road. Corner plots on walkways also tend to get cut across, but here people will tend to walk through the middle, meaning that your path gets wider and wider as people bring their barrows etc right across your space rather than making the right angle around it. Plots far from water can be a problem too, as you then have to carry your water back and forth.

Bad soil - every so often one plot is bad, normally because a previous owner had a permanent structure like a greenhouse there, and the footings are still in place, or alternatively because they exhausted the soil and did nothing to replenish it.

allotment fly tipping photograph author's own