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Plots are shared on my site.
My plot neighbour has 2 plots with her friend which they share and cultivate together. One always does far more than the other but they have been at it for years and have worked out a system that they are happy with. They rarely go to the site to work together.
I have noticed that they don't always talk to each other about who is planting what - so stuff sometimes appears as a surprise to the other. Also they do not always harvest evenly - leaving food for too long in case the other wants it, then picking it cleanly when the other wanted some.
What is really clear is they do not put enough time into the plot fertility and so it is not so productive as the others around nowadays. I think a lot of this is around communication - and the fact that they have more land than they maybe can cope with presently.
At the other end of my plot [14A] is a young couple who took on 14B a month after myself. We act entirely independently, only really sharing an access path. That works very well. We can be independent of each other and respect the time and commitment that we have to give to our land. We work the land very differently to each other but also share ideas where it clearly works - we also share plants from time to time [but then we all do anyway here].
Three plots along are people on plots where they share tools/compost bins etc but plant independently - this works well.
Personally I would be unhappy at sharing my plot in any other way - it's my domain and it's my pleasure. My husband has helped with structures that I needed but he knows I need the peace and the joy of producing with my own hands. He would not want to interfere but he is happy to put in a request for produce he prefers [he wants more potatoes & sweetcorn this year]. I am happy to comply.
Expecting others to work in the same way as you is possibly a recipe for some disappointment. You might find it works, but only rarely will it work exceptionally well as we all have differing needs and time to commit and life has a habit of getting in the way at times.
My plot neighbour has 2 plots with her friend which they share and cultivate together. One always does far more than the other but they have been at it for years and have worked out a system that they are happy with. They rarely go to the site to work together.
I have noticed that they don't always talk to each other about who is planting what - so stuff sometimes appears as a surprise to the other. Also they do not always harvest evenly - leaving food for too long in case the other wants it, then picking it cleanly when the other wanted some.
What is really clear is they do not put enough time into the plot fertility and so it is not so productive as the others around nowadays. I think a lot of this is around communication - and the fact that they have more land than they maybe can cope with presently.
At the other end of my plot [14A] is a young couple who took on 14B a month after myself. We act entirely independently, only really sharing an access path. That works very well. We can be independent of each other and respect the time and commitment that we have to give to our land. We work the land very differently to each other but also share ideas where it clearly works - we also share plants from time to time [but then we all do anyway here].
Three plots along are people on plots where they share tools/compost bins etc but plant independently - this works well.
Personally I would be unhappy at sharing my plot in any other way - it's my domain and it's my pleasure. My husband has helped with structures that I needed but he knows I need the peace and the joy of producing with my own hands. He would not want to interfere but he is happy to put in a request for produce he prefers [he wants more potatoes & sweetcorn this year]. I am happy to comply.
Expecting others to work in the same way as you is possibly a recipe for some disappointment. You might find it works, but only rarely will it work exceptionally well as we all have differing needs and time to commit and life has a habit of getting in the way at times.
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