The Return of the Plot Inspection?

 

Like many sites we suspended plot inspections back in March and put in measures to support those isolating, shielded and with problems. Plot buddies helped maintained a small number of the plots to ensure when the plot holder returned, they didn’t face a jungle and a mountain of a task. The site always remained open albeit with several new rules to ensure everyone’s health and safety.

Today we continue to now face a winter of new tiered uncertainty and challenges. We have dealt with changing the site locks and reissuing key and collecting rent and issuing shares and are preparing to hold our first committee meeting. But is it now time to reintroduce plot inspections?

A small number of plots remain on support, but many have returned to their owner’s hands. However, of the plots who did not request support or want it, not all have been attended or continually maintained. So, we have a decision to make, and one probably facing other sites too. Do we resume plot inspections now, as we normally would, or leave it till Spring? If we leave it till Spring are we sure that the situation will be back to normal by March?

If we inspect today, we can ensure all plots are ready for winter, waste is composted, the plots are weed free and all are awaiting Spring sowing and planting? There are obviously winter crops and those over wintering, but the rest should be cleared. Some will cover the unused areas in tarpaulin, others with manure and some just dug over all ready for Spring.

The question is do we, or do we not, have inspections?

If we don’t a small number of plots will remain as they are today and will be even harder to get into shape in the Spring. A small number of plots today are in an unacceptable state. Some covered in  rampant bindweed and couch grass and their paths have been neglected. These will certainly be harder to clear when those weeds become reinvigorated. Some who have failed to get on top of their plots this year face a real task next year if they do not clear the plot today. Some would question if they should retain the plot when we have a 250% over subscribed waiting list today?

I do not have the answer, it is up to the committee to decide. Allowance can always be made for the genuine case and we have a couple of those. However, if some want to work the plot as a patchwork quilt (a small square a season) perhaps it is time for them to downsize or move on. Those who do not have the time will probably never have the time. We have already reached 10% allocation of half plots and this looks likely to increase.  

However, it’s ironic that several plots have again attracted my eye this year. Four are worked by octogenarians who have continued to turn up regularly in all weathers and whose work ethic and plots are a joy to witness. I hope I can show the same commitment when I reach that age. The schoolchildren’s plot which was maintained by the caretaker during the school closure has once again seen the return of the kids. The doctor’s plot which has been shared with her NHS key worker colleagues as a respite from their constant pressures is looking the best it has in years. In fact many plots are now looking the best they have for some time and have certainly been productive this year.

Plot inspections are always hard as we are not always aware of the circumstances as to why the plot has not been fully worked. We also have to acknowledge that different ethnic groups not only grow different produce but maintain their plots differently. But all plots should be cleared at the end of the season.

Normally plot inspections cover the plot’s total growing area, the maintenance of adjacent path, the storage at the back of the plot or lack of rubbish collected.

We normally give a failed plot 14 days to fix it or appeal against it. If the failure remains and no appeal is upheld then the plot holder is given 14 days notice. However, if we decide to fail a plot this late in the year it would appear only fair to give them say six weeks to fix the issue. This extension is needed due to the shorter days, more volatile weather and the fact that rubbish has to be cleared also.

Whatever is decided I am sure the message will get out that inspections are on the agenda again and that is enough to motivate some.

Plot Inspections

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.