Why do we have plot inspections?
Some plots are always in immaculate condition with neat rows
of vegetables and not a weed to be seen and a shed you would be proud to show royalty
around. You can imagine them going round like an old army sergeant inspecting kit
ensuring everything is perfect and you can see your face in the flowers. Others
may be less regimented in their style with an abundance of stuff growing in
every available space and no room for a weed to even surface let alone survive.
They have a shed which may be ‘practical’, but often only its owner can find
the simplest of things.
We now have different cultures, with our Chinese and Vietnamese
plot holders growing vegetables one may not know but often on a market garden scale,
planting and harvesting on an endless succession basis with probably only
January for a rest.
There are the ‘Mary Celeste’ plots where the plot remains,
but the plot holders are never to be seen unless it’s rent day and if they were
to appear in normal times they would be lost from view in a sea of weeds. Their
shed, like their plot, is often suspended in time and needing some attention if
it is to remain standing.
My favourite, the patchwork quilt gardeners. These work on
one square at a time often forgetting that they have lots of other patches to
tend and all of which are in different degrees of neglect.
One other group is the chancers which constantly push the
envelope and are less prevalent but do exist and thrive in an uncontrolled
environment. Here we may see sheds turning overnight into house extensions with
curtains and doorbells. Seating or patio areas crawl slowly until they surprisingly
take up half the plot and were always that size. Lawned areas big enough for
tennis which are clearly not paths but lawns and require their own mower. Plants
live mainly in containers ready made in garden centres and the shed has the
obligatory hanging basket. The cost of the plot as a private garden in inner
city and dense urban areas is a little price to pay, but is it an allotment?
Against this diverse background of growing techniques and
levels of skills there is a need to ensure that all plots are being worked. Not
only must we all be aware of those looking through the fence or on the waiting
list but the need to ensure that all allotment land is for ‘the production of
produce for the immediate family and friends.’ Commercial gain and cheap leisure
garden should not be allowed. The challenge if you lose that view is that
someone may question if the use is within the allotment framework enshrined
within statute.
We then have 2020 and the virus and lockdown. We, like many
others, cancelled our planned Spring plot inspection. It was not correct to put
any pressure on plot holders and we set out a programme with volunteers to look
after the plots of fellow members who were shielded, in isolation or just
wished to stay home. We also had Ramadan in the middle of lockdown. Today many
have returned and there are probably only a few plots where we could contact
the owner, or they didn’t want help and whose plots now need attention.
However, we wait to see just how the exit from lockdown evolves. Our
neighbouring farm is a good barometer and we expect we will return to plot
inspections later this year.
We perform two inspections a year, one in Spring to ensure
the plots are ready and prepared for the main season, and one late in the year
to ensure plots have been cleared and in the main bedded down for winter. The
inspections aim to ensure the vast majority of the plot, some 80%, is worked, that
paths are tidy, safe, conform to standards, that sheds and other erections have
not sprung up unauthorised and that rubbish is being managed and the back of
the plot doesn’t resemble Steptoe’s scrap yard. It’s surprising what plot
holders can and do collect for that rainy day.
The inspection process involves a notice for all to see and
quickly react to before the day. On some plots there is sudden high level of
activity and before the day what would have failed suddenly is turned into a
prize winning plot. All plots are inspected on the same day by the same team. If
the consensus of the inspectors is a failure, then this is handed over to the
Site Manager who through the Secretary issues a 14-day notice itemising why the
plot has failed and the date of the next inspection. The plot is then inspected
once again and if it fails again is referred to the committee. There may be mitigating
circumstances such as illness which have to be considered and the Site Manager
then takes instruction from the committee on actions and timelines. If there
are no mitigating circumstances and no satisfactory action taken by the plot
holder the committee may issue a 14-day notice of eviction, which is final and
binding.
The process may appear hard but the reality is we recently
have rarely evicted and find that gentle persuasion and a large stick does the
trick. People either give up their plot or rise to the occasion.
I know of one site in North London which operates a
perpetual plot inspection process and another which does three a year and there
are no hard and fast rules, but sites should decide their own frequency, criteria
and process.
Plot inspections must increasingly acknowledge the ethnic
and cultural divergence that exist on many sites. Many do not grow the
traditional ‘BBC’ way and we must respect the plants and techniques they
follow. I was surprised when I first saw a plot of full of little nettles ready
to be harvested. The sowing of seeds, not in neat rows but literally by scattering
them over the ground. The watering can be indiscriminate and by the bucketful
poured over the plants and momentarily creating a paddy field. The harvesting
of produce between weeds, or with them in some cases. We must no longer judge a
plot by the neatest rows, the vegetables produced, or the pursuit of the
largest pumpkin, but by the use made of the land to feed the family.
Plot inspections help also focus all on plot sizes. Some may
be happy with half a plot, some only with a full plot. We now start all new
starters on half plots. After a season they can have the opportunity to step up
to a full plot when one becomes available or stay on a half plot. This gives
them chance to find their feet. It also gives those on a full plot who are
finding it difficult the opportunity to consider downsizing to a more manageable
plot.
Plot inspections are part of the process of helping folk
along and yes some may need a gentle push, but it is also about reminding why
we all have allotments and ensuring we have sites we can all be proud to be members
of.
