Hello from a newby with problems

[jackarmy]

Hi Catherine and welcome You wouldnt happen to know what it was that the Knight in white sat in would you ?

[Bill HH]

Wellcome, I have already started to think how we can help you with your particular problem. I may have to get blind drunk and then go out and do some weeding

[Nicos]

^^^^ ignore those two!

[Bill HH]

Actualy I have nothing but respect for you and I cant imagine how you manage, but you quite obviously intend to try. We have some highly inventive people on here. Just list your problems and we will do what we can.

[Greenleaves]

Welcome to the vine, enjoy the benefits of the advice and humour

[muddled]

Hello and welcome from me too!

And may I say...you have chosen a truly excellent forum name.
Gave me a huge grin before I even "met" you!

[Bal]

Hello and welcome to the best place to get advice. There are some brilliant people on this forum. ( and some brilliant mutters too)

[Noosner]

Hello Catherine and welcome. Do post your questions - you've got me curious now!

[wheelysneakycat]

Hi everyone, thanks for all the welcomes. I forgot to say I grow chilli plants at home too. I posted some questions in other areas about seed starting, strawberry plants and what can be sown/planted right now.

My problems at the allotment really stem from mistakes I made due to lack of knowledge and the real practical difficulty I have getting hold of people to talk to. I should have joined this forum earlier, it's much easier talking here than trying to find people at the allotment.

I have raised beds which I should be able to manage myself. The rest of the plot is grass. Last year I paid someone to dig out loads of bindweed and cover that area with weed suppressing fabric. That seems to be doing a good job but of course the weeds come back around the edges and the grass needs maintaining. My mistake was to under-estimate how often the grass and accompanying weeds need dealing with. I have no experience of looking after grass. Plus the person who was doing it for me no longer has a strimmer so I need to find someone else and this seems more difficult than it ought to be but the amount of people who say they'll do something then don't turn up or whatever.

In the meantime I concluded nothing will grow successfully there without being covered with netting because of the birds and I don't know what else, most things planted there uncovered just seem to disappear. I asked the person I paid to make the raised beds for me to work out how I cover them in netting, he came up with something and I paid for it. I am on a low income and in the meantime things will go wrong at home e.g. broken kitchen equipment, need for plumber and various other things. I still haven't finished getting all these netting things made and paid for. At the same time this meant I had no money to pay for plug plants. I hope this doesn't just sound like a moan and string of excuses. I know the cost won't be a problem after I get the netting sorted.

Then someone at the allotment came up to me the other day and said the net things I have got are too elaborate and costly. I felt they were, but as I can't make it myself or get around other people's plots in my wheelchair to have a feel of how they've done it I have to trust someone to make the best solution for me. Anyway I won't go on too long. Suffice to say none of this is helped by the fact that, as a blind wheelchair user, I can't start up a conversation with other people at the allotment unless they come up to me first. Turns out the people there get their netting from scaffold direct or something non-horticultural which is a lot cheaper. I'm currently waiting to see if this person who says they'll share my plot starts work on it. I know I can get there in the end but it's whether I can get everything sorted quickly enough for the council and my allotment neighbours, or they might decide I should be thrown off. I half want to cut my losses and just do as much as I can on my patio at home, but I half want to see it through and prove to myself and others I can do it. I'm not a person to give up but at the moment the allotment is a great source of worry and really undermining my confidence.

[muddled]

Right.
So we need really is a plan of action that is clear and that you feel able to manage.

Lets start with the good news;
1. At least part of your plot has raised beds that you feel able to maintain. This is great. It means that no-one can say your plot is uncultivated.
2. At least one person on your site has approached you and made contact, even offered some advice.
3. This season has been difficult for everyone. A long cold spring, a sudden short heatwave and wet rainy summer have meant that none of our plots look their best. I'm sure there are people on your site with plots in poor condition who are not facing nearly so many challenges as you.
4. Forgive me for being frank, but being in a wheelchair, blind and with the use of only one hand....your council are not expecting you to produce an immaculate plot in one season. Actually, if you had no disabilities at all, they would not expect you to produce an immaculate plot in one season!

5. This season is winding down now. This is good news because it gives the whole autumn and winter to plan and implement changes to your allotment that will make next year easier for you.

6. This season has not been wasted because you have made some important discoveries. For example; You have found that the grass is one of the hardest things for you to manage. You could not have learned this fact on your patio at home but now that you know, you can make getting rid of the grass your top priority and therefore next season will be so much easier!

You may or may not get to the point where you actually enjoy having an allotment....but I think you owe it to yourself to give it one more year to find out!

[vixylix]

Welcome Catherine! You are an inspiration! Dont lose faith, keep trying and you will be rewarded!

These forums are amazing - some really useful advice and a frequent giggle! Dont be scared to keep asking questions - I do!

[Starling]

Hi,

I'm Catherine from Colchester in Essex. I've had success growing tomatoes and herbs on my patio and last year I got an allotment. So far that is not a successful story and I'll be posting in other areas with some questions about it. I am sometimes on the verge of giving up.

Apart from gardening I enjoy cooking, theatre and reading. I'm blind and a wheelchair user.

I'm hoping to learn from you experienced growers and maybe one day I can help others.

Hi Catherine,

I can help you select bullet proof crops to grow in small spaces, as I kind of have to source these given the harsh Australian environment.

Out of interest, what program are you using to interpret the text on these pages with your eye condition? Do you have something that converts text to an audible file? If so I know somebody who could really benefit from such a thing.

[wheelysneakycat]

Right.
1. At least part of your plot has raised beds that you feel able to maintain. This is great. It means that no-one can say your plot is uncultivated.
2. At least one person on your site has approached you and made contact, even offered some advice.
3. This season has been difficult for everyone. A long cold spring, a sudden short heatwave and wet rainy summer have meant that none of our plots look their best. I'm sure there are people on your site with plots in poor condition who are not facing nearly so many challenges as you.
4. Forgive me for being frank, but being in a wheelchair, blind and with the use of only one hand....your council are not expecting you to produce an immaculate plot in one season. Actually, if you had no disabilities at all, they would not expect you to produce an immaculate plot in one season!

5. This season is winding down now. This is good news because it gives the whole autumn and winter to plan and implement changes to your allotment that will make next year easier for you.

6. This season has not been wasted because you have made some important discoveries. For example; You have found that the grass is one of the hardest things for you to manage. You could not have learned this fact on your patio at home but now that you know, you can make getting rid of the grass your top priority and therefore next season will be so much easier!

You may or may not get to the point where you actually enjoy having an allotment....but I think you owe it to yourself to give it one more year to find out!

Thank you muddled for this sensible/logical description of the situation. I did actually receive a letter from the council saying that I should vacate the plot because it is not cultivated enough. But last week I saw the man from the council at the allotment and he said I don't have to vacate as long as next season I get all the raised beds cultivated and the part where I've put down fabric cultivated. The other allotmenteer must have been there because the grass is all cut back again. So I suppose my top priority now is to think of quick-growing easy crops, preferably which I can start at home and transfer. Plus think of the cheapest, simplest way to cover areas with netting.

I have an extra problem now (everything happens at once) in that my wheelchair has broken down and I can't get to the allotment. But I do have people who will go there for me and do stuff as long as I can give them clear simple instructions. So I need to work out how to simply put up netting (with canes?) and get some seedlings ready here at home to be transplanted.

Absolute worst case scenario is I don't have a decent chair until November. I still think it's doable if I get stuff ready here and get people to transfer it there.

[wheelysneakycat]

Hi Catherine,

I can help you select bullet proof crops to grow in small spaces, as I kind of have to source these given the harsh Australian environment.

That sounds hopeful :-)

Out of interest, what program are you using to interpret the text on these pages with your eye condition? Do you have something that converts text to an audible file? If so I know somebody who could really benefit from such a thing.

The programs which do this for me are called "screen readers". Depending on whether the person is using Mac or Windows they have several options. On Windows you have JAWS (pretty expensive), Window-eyes (free if you have a recentish version of Microsoft Office installed) or NVDA (totally free but comes with an awful-sounding voice, you can pay for a better voice). On Mac you have Voiceover. These programs don't make an audio file as such, but yeah basically they read the screen out in a synthetic voice and you need to learn certain keystrokes to interact with them e.g. "read the title of this window", "read the current line" etc. There are also other programs which will just read out documents if that's what's needed. Stuff like this is available on smartphones as well. Don't know what your friend's situation is, but I'd be happy to help give them info/point them in the right direction - send me a private message if you like.

[Lumpy]

Hello again, Catherine,

I don't know if you already know about this but I found it on the R.N.I.B site

Gardening | RNIB | Supporting people with sight loss

at might be worth getting in touch with them about your lottie to see if there are any local helpers to give you a hand.

This site also might be of interest to you

Gardening | RNIB | Supporting people with sight loss


Don't let the bluggers grind you down Cath!