First visit to allotment site

Have just returned from my first visit to the allotment to meet the site secretary who turned out to be a very nice chap who is passionate about the site. Unfortunately i'm going to have to wait a while for a plot. There is quite a large expanse of land which is currently unused, but it is waiting on Oxford City Council to clear it. Otherwise there would be a localised outbreak of David Bellamy impersonations. This clearance is apparently immenent, but failing that rents are due in March and the feeling is that there will be a few plots given up at that time.

So (or should that be sow) for the time being I will have to continue with my pots on the decking and seedlings in the loft. Time for another quick call to the council I think to see if I can hurry things along a bit.

Snow!

Awoke this morning to find there had been about an inch of snow overnight. That will teach me for going out to dinner instead of watching the weather forecast. Fortunately I wrapped the four new apple trees in fleece after potting, so hopefully they will have survived their first night outside.

Emergency potting

Well I got back to the house after lunch today to find a delivery of apple trees from Ken Muir which I had ordered in November 2006. So a rapid trip to the local garden centre was carried out in order to pick up some large pots and earth to plant them in until I can get a plot sorted out.

Why can't the mail order companies send out an e-mail when they despatch perishable products so that we can do a bit of planning?

Anyway by 5pm all four trees were safely potted. For the record I ordered: Michelin Cider, Malling Kent, Bardsey and Original Bramley.

What is an allotment

The Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary defines an allotment as:

alˈlotment, noun: a small part of a larger piece of public ground rented to a person to grow vegetables etc

Arabic: قِطْعَة أرْض صَغِيرَة تُؤجِّرُها البَلَدِيَّة لِلزِّ�
Chinese (Simplified): 租用的菜地
Chinese (Traditional): 租用的菜地
Czech: přidělený pozemek, parcela
Danish: kolonihave
Dutch: volkstuintje
Estonian: rendipeenramaa
Finnish: vuokraviljelypalsta
French: parcelle
German: der Schrebergarten
Greek: αγροτεμάχιο του δημοσίου ενοικιαζόμενο για την καλλιέ
Hungarian: zártkert
Icelandic: úthlutun, skammtur
Indonesian: kapling, bagian
Italian: lotto di terra*
Japanese: 市民菜園
Korean: 할당, 몫
Latvian: neliels zemes gabals
Lithuanian: sklypelis
Norwegian: parsell, kolonihage
Polish: działka
Portuguese (Brazil): parcela
Portuguese (Portugal): lote
Romanian: teren dat în arendă
Russian: земельный участок
Slovak: pridelený pozemok, parcela
Slovenian: parcela, greda
Spanish: parcela
Swedish: lott, andel
Turkish: kiralanan sebze bahçeciği

So there you have it, this site is all about a small plot of land which I have rented in order to grow vegetables and this is its story.