allotments v marriage

[dinky_doo]

it was like that in our house so i took mrs dinky down to the site gave her a spade told her to clear a bed she ended up doing 4 in total and now shes as keen as mustard

get the other half involved in some ways down there if ugot kids get them into it to my son is chief brewer-upper (he gets to set the fire) and he loves it
whishing you all the best dinky_doo

[heebiejeebie]

My OH occasionally appears at the top of the plot muttering stuff like, "I thought I had a wife or did I just dream it?" when I've been on the plot for ages. However, he likes home grown veg and knows I'll be in a much better mood after a couple of hours graft on the lottie!

[chuffa]

I must say that i sometimes am a little bit selfish when it comes to the lottie. Clare wanted me to get another allotment as she knew i enjoyed growing veg. She now thinks that i am on the computor or the lottie most of the time. I did take Clare up ta lottie some time ago to show her how things were getting on. She had a chat with some of her work mates then helped me do a bit of weeding which she cleared perfectly. She also cleared the beetroot, carrot, and kohlrabi seedlings. God bless her. I have not taken her back since.

[rainbowbrite]

i love that fact that OH has no interest in gardening at all and won't offer to help, in fact i'll shoo him away if he tries to pester me!! i have to work around our family commitments etc but on the whole i'll spend all my time in the great outdoors. my OH says he likes me spending time away because we get our own space and i always come home in the best mood. then when i am home the only rule is no gardening, just no one tell him that there's a progator set up in the spare bedroom

[Macka]

hmmm i have no such problem, my other half is DIYmad:-) sorry to hear your troubles...but don't give up on carrots. ...At least they won't talk back ;-)

[Snadger]

Has to be said...........allotment wins hands down!

[piskieinboots]

we (me n he) share most hobbies but he is so not a gardener, he will help with the heavy stuff though. If I had a wish to make it would be that he transformed into a keen gardener overnight - but he won't so I will make the best of it.

[sallyw]

it was actually me that wanted to do the allotment thing, when we first saw ours i didn't want to take it on as it was so overgrown and full of rubbish, but OH could see the potential it was a good size and in a good position, so off we went, he has done a lot as well as me and he can obviously do the really heavy stuff, he is good at planning and we discuss what goes where, he does the building and assembling while i do the planting and sowing bit, he doesnt know a lot about plants and even raked up a newly planted blackberry the other day, but we are really enjoying this new hobby, and now that things are growing we are both getting a lot of satisfaction, plus we get a bit of exercise and plenty of fresh air at the weekends, i just wish the weather had been better this weekend as we had lots of plans, but at least we spent all day there on saturday.

[Sanjo]

Hi Sally, I am just down the road from you in Hornchurch. Rotten weather eh? Sanjo

[bluespuggy]

Has to be said...........allotment wins hands down!

from the comment that you have made it apears that you are not married thats nee bover to me

[kirsty b]

He goes fishin and plays xbox with his boys, both things that make me lose the will to live!! (xbox, not boys, well not all the time!)
I prefer to get out in the fresh air, but he comes down the plot too sometimes, it was originally his idea that we get chooks.
He's a lot more handy than me, stuff he builds tends not to fall apart!
If we spend too much time in each other's pockets we start bickering and getting snippy with each other, so that we each have a release valve can only be a good thing.
Also helps that he works nights, so most of my lottie work is done in the day when he sleeps and daughter is at school.

[Snadger]

from the comment that you have made it apears that you are not married thats nee bover to me

On the contrary, married for 35 years and I can honestly say I've never regretted the first fortnight!

[dabsisme]

I have three little girls 2,6 & 7(8 in two weeks) so I have to make sure i split my time up, then there is the allotment, fishing, the dog that needs walking, soon to be ten ex bats (14 june),the cat,the two birds in the house, the three G-pigs, my two big fish tanks and three mice NOW................ let me think Allotment, fishing, chickens, kids, dog, cat, birds, G-pigs, fish tanks and three mice.

I think thats all of it..... wait there is something missing......Thats it the wife (I almost forgot her then).


It works well if i'm alway busy we all get on fine and the kids eat loads of veg the wife loves cooking I'm an outside d-i-y mad man so i think we fit nice.

Dave....(big smile) I love them all (bigger smile) the same.

[CarolineW]

Couldn't agree more with sallyw. My husband wasn't interested in gardening or having an allotment at all, but liked eating what I produced in our garden last year. So he said he'd help me sometimes if I took an allotment, and not nag me. In fact, he's ended up enjoying it as much as I do. We took on an allotment that hadn't been cultivated in 20 years (posted here as the blackberry allotment when I first asked for advice). He does most of the heavy work, and I do anything which needs knowledge. We BBQ our meals there, have set up a gas camping stove for a cuppa, and rigged up a swing on a tree for our 4 year old, plus a mini sandpit and her own raised bed. It has gelled the family, and especially our marriage, together like nothing else. We all love it, and voted it our most fun and relaxing thing to do together as a family or couple. Still, I enjoy the time I spend there on my own too :-) It would have been an altogether different story, of course, if my husband hadn't been willing to support me, and had remained passive aggressive to it (as he used to be to my gardening, before I turned to food!)

[rainbowminx]

Fabulous idea CarolineW about the sandpit - an idea I'll be stealing very soon for my 4 and 5 year olds!

My allotment is exactly that .... MINE! I do get hubby to help out with heavy work like rotovating or raking, and as he's very task orientated that works well. He knows that if I spend an hour at the lottie, I come back absolutely bushed but very satisfied, chilled and happy. Therefore, it's in his best interests to encourage me to spend time there!

Kris