Grow Your Own Magazine

i am very much looking forward to getting my plot in mid march and have had a few wanders about the site

it is very very hard to see where the plot starts and ends are as they do not seem to be very well marked or numbered

i want to mark out my plot and number it, one end is off a path so is very clear but the far end is very hard to distinguish just exactly where it ends

how do you or your site mark yours?

ann

Hi Ann
i am hoping to get a plot this year,. and have the same problem. My plan is to use all the pots that I have in the garage - which includes some rather large plastic storage containers and initially put them around the boundary. Mainly, so that as I am clearing it I have somewhere to chuck the weeds/stones and whatever else I find.

As I get it cleared, if the large containers are needed for anything [I will probably use some as coldframes] they will stay put but I will use old bricks/wood etc to mark out the paths and eventually I will put raised beds in.

If in doubt of course you could just pop posts in but I like a good boundary if possible.

i am sure some of the expert allotmenteers will be along with some advice in a bit!

Not sure how others achieve it, but we're fairly lucky in that one of the allotment dudes made some "number plates" on a stake and put them in the ground by each plot. I think the sizes vary slightly and nobody seems to precious over the odd few inches lost/gained.

I fenced myself in, but in the process have lost a little all the way round (having to leave pathways between etc), but mine was to keep the pesky wabbits out anyway - which it does very well.

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Updated - 25th August

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev036pr___.png

Same as HW here, I've had to fence myself in and the pesky wabbits out. I have used pretty rustic looking tree stake thingys and chicken wire

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aka
Suzie

Might need bigger wire to keep Mr Hoety out.

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Updated - 25th August

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev036pr___.png

Mr Hoety and me are like that *crosses fingers

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aka
Suzie

I can think of a few ways of marking your teritory but I don't think y'all want to be picturing that!

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

on our site we have to leave a 30cm border all the way around and you have to have your plots numbered. Some people have the number on the water butts in paint, others on laminated card attached to a stake..... I have a cute little thing that came with the plot, just to the side at the front

I'm not 100% sure where my boundries are on my new plot, the paths have got quite wide.... not sure whose side has crept over though One side is marked with a border going all the way down, which seems to work well, certainly have no plans to change it

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"Nothing contrary to one's genius"


http://chrissieslottie.blogspot.com/

My plot came ready fenced in, well to a point at least! There's chicken wire all round it which is on the point of collapsing in places and needs more staking but at least it shows exactly where I am. One side has a lovely wellworn down grass path between me and 'next door', the other side not so good, so that if I wanst fenced in I'd have trouble knowing where I ended and they started. There's a road at the top and a fence at the bottom, so no problems there!

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Life may not be the party we hoped for but since we're here we might as well dance

We had a piece of baler twine between posts on the 4 corners, with a 5th stake in the middle at the front holding a numbered board (well, plastic sign with a number). A lot of our plots were re-allocated last year after some years of non-usage, and boundaries aren't too clear. Needless to say, the baler twine snapped pretty rapidly on most side for most people.

In our case, we have no direct path to our plot (where some have used other wire to take the whole space and not leave the boundaries which were specified in our agreement with the LA) but the boundaries aren't too bad on our own plot. On one side, both us and the neighbours have pretty much made a line of stones (which we've dug up) and which is fairly reasonable. On the other, we sort of have a path that we created along the edge, but more a "where you've walked there's a line" than a purpose built path.

I have already got some concrete posts, but not on every corner. So a few steel posts banged in to the soil and then i put some of that blue nylon rope around the edge of the whole plot. that way i can see where to edge to. It's also easy to remove, to mow or cut the border/walkway.

Hi
We're not allowed to fence ourselves in and when I first started there was some confusion as to the boundaries of the plot so had to get the council out to work it out - my boundaries then became 4 bamboo canes....
If there's confusion you might have to do the same?
Sue

On my first plot on our site there was just a string line laid out by the 'Committee' to show my boundaries. I was allowed to utilise old floor boards sunk into the ground as a more permanent boundary.

On my present two allotments I already have a rough boundary either side with corrugated tin sheets set into the ground. I am busy setting up cordon apples and pears down one edge which won't block out the light to my neighbours plot. On the other side I am establishing soft fruit bushes down the length of the plot!

My plot numbers are six and seven which is rather apt as I am always at 'sixes and sevens'

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

we have grass paths surrounding each plot which we have to take turns in strimming with our adjacent neighbours and we have to have the plot number on display .....works well for me

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The love of gardening is a seed once sown never dies ...

We have grass paths too, and most of the plots on our site have fences of some kind around them, ours is just chicken wire but it keeps it all looking nice and orderly

We have grass paths on our site shame the lazy lot either side of mine dont.
Ever strim the paths allways down to me ,As they are very part time .

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The force is strong in this one!

I would say it is down to you site committee or tenancy agreement to define your space in the first instance. I would check your agreement to see if the type of boundary you can put in is specified/limited. If you do decide to mark your corners with posts make them tall! It is unfortunately true that not all site committees worry about defined edges and you need to do what you reasonably can to minimise possible trip acidents off poorly trimmed grass edges. For your sake if no-one elses!

Tall posts have another benefit - tension wire between them and you have a framework to grow raspberries up!

thanks for the good ideas

ann