Grow Your Own Needs You!

[JimmerG]

Our allotment in Bristol has a bomb proof 20' steel shipping container on-site. Keys are given to those who wish to use it for storing exensive machinery - lawn mowers, rotorvators etc. Our sheds are just used for storing the sort of things you wouldn't be too distraught about loosing....hand tools, fertilisers, weedkiller etc.

The whole site is also protected by substantial 8 foot high fencing, with vicious looking points covered in black tar preventing anyone trying to climb over (I've tried... and decided the digging could wait until I'd found my keys!)

It all seems to do a good job, and we back onto a 'not terribly desirable' part of Bristol...

[frantic furball]

We had our shed set on fire about a week after we got the allotment near my house and then the items that didn't burn were stolen! The culprits were caught setting fire to another shed with a bottle of petrol for the job, by a group of allotment holders. We also had our Polytunnel stolen!
I have since given that allotment up as I don't feel safe going in the evening on my own and only working it at the weekend didn't work out. The new allotment is far better from a security point of view as it is close to houses and they tend to report anything unusual. I think that it is the responsibility of the local Council to at least make sure the perimeter fencing is secure, they keep telling us that this is going to be done but it never is.
ETA I do leave the tools in the shed now and there is a small lock I don't want a big lock as I think it attracts attention and infers that there is something valuable in there. My friend has lost produce before now and fertiliser.

[lotthedrinkeroftea]

It's not an alltoment in the traditional sense but we have a large allotment area and mini allotments on a housing estate in Brixton. We've no storage but I leave some tools chained up with a lock. We've no security what so ever and I've been continually surprised by the total lack of vandalism. I thought at first it would be dreadful but the most we've had is bean canes beign used as swords and an apple tree being broken by a kid but all the other kids came and told me about it. (garden lady! he broke your tree! Garden lady!) I do put this down to the complete openess of the site - you can see that there's nothing there and it's not interesting. There is another communty garden in the estate across the road, about 200 metres away, which is entriely enclosed by buildings and complete invisible from outside. Thy've had lots of problems, mostly caused when people where trying to get in the site. A shed collapsed when someone used it to jump on to and they've things broken and smashed. I think it's really interesting the difference between the two sites.

[glallotments]

We have a shed on our plot that is kept locked but we do not store any tools or anything of value in it. We use our shed as a bolt hole in poor weather and just keep things like netting and plant food in there. We haven’t had anything stolen but other plot holders on our site have. There is a clear view from the window so hopefully any would-be thieves can see that to break in would be a waste of time and effort. We did have a more secure gate fitted to the site and were planning to renew a dilapidated fence. Many of us thought that to keep the gates locked at all times would stop people wandering around the site during the day when sheds were open and everything inside was on display but some plot holders took exception to being asked to keep gates locked. Our council wouldn’t support the idea so we now have a situation where some lock gates and other don’t even close them. The council own and run our site so I do think it is their responsibility to protect the land, plot holders and their produce and equipment. Anything which could cut down on vandalism and theft is worth a try so I think a trial using CCTV would be a good idea but can hardly see it happening due to the expense involved.