allotment inferiority complex!

[pops]

i've just popped up to the plot to retrive a spade and found a couple working on thneat plot across the path froj mine.
after introductions i was stunned to learn they have only taken it over 2 weeks ago and are weekenders as they both work - granted they took over a half plot surrendered by a little old lady who kept hers very well, while mine was vacant for 2 years!
they have wooden bed edges all neat and done, weed free earth and a brand new shiny orange shed (casting a shadow over my plot in the afternoons!)
i felt very sheepish about my 2 month efforts, totally undeservedly as i have worked hard on any sunny day since early february but i still feel a bit like the slow new girl

and scraps of reassurance out there please?

[MKG]

And they did all that themselves in two weekends? I suspect they've had the help of a few flying pigs. Unless, of course, there was very little weeding to be done and the soil was already easily diggable - in which case all they've really done is nail a few boards together.

But an orange shed? ORANGE?

Mike

[pops]

oh you know, that 'new shed' colour!

[eco-mick]

Don't be taken in it all lol - they could give up in a few months.

Think I could be considered for showing off on my plot as - 25 new raised beds (13'x3') went in (scaffold boards), greenhouse, IBC Water Collection Tank, brand new chicken pen, extra 9 hens, all rubbish "GONE!" , Shed (old Caravan) - painted light green

All this in the last 3 weeks... But I ain't planted anything yet - best get a move on I think



Mick

[PlainQB]

They are two and you are one.

You've also shown commitment for two months, you never know they could burn out and give up.

[pops]

thanks everyone! :D
i spent a few hours up there this weekend and chatted with a few plot neighbours who said i'm doing pretty well for a 2 month-er, and although my beds are a bit wobbly and edged with old roof tiles, they look very 'homey' and the boys enjoy them. i'm a bit more positive about myself and my efforts this week :D

[Susie]

Whatever you do in life there's always someone who picks it up instantly and does it better than everybody else, isn't there? ;-). Indeed I live next door to a Gardening Prodigy and it just makes me feel bad (although just in case you're on Ish, Simon, the new patio's looking great!). Don't be discouraged! You sound like you're doing really well (and PlainQB is absolutely right).

The internet sometimes makes things like this worse. I once contemplated knitting a lace shawl, I looked at the projects on ravelry and there was a woman who'd knitted the bloody thing in a day (lace shawls are not quick to knit). I don't know if she'd brought about world peace at the same time but it was a bit discouraging. But then I probably have that effect on people about some things I do, because I think everybody does - your allotment people might have gone home and said, 'we can't believe pops has got so much done on her allotment! We're going to have to work even harder to keep our ends up!' ;-).

[pops]

LOL! thanks susie :D

i agree, i'm crocheter and frequently stunned at the range of skills i see on t'internet :S
but you're right, i'm me and i can only be me. there's no point being badmouthy about others when i only have a brief observation to go on :)

i will carry on freecycling my way to allotment nirvana, and wait to see if they've bought anything i can borrrow :D

[happyhippy]

It'll be interesting to see if they can grown anything? Perhaps remind them of the story of the tortoise and hare!lol I'm sure your plot will flourish.They're either extremely well organised or stressed to the hilt!xx

[pops]

i certainly don't ill-wish them, i just got a little deflated!

[Nomada]

i will carry on freecycling my way to allotment nirvana, and wait to see if they've bought anything i can borrrow :D

Hmmm, now that's a thing though, it does take longer anyway when you're trying to source what you need for free. I think sometimes people don't understand that you can't just run out and buy enough timber, compost, weed suppressing fabrics etc etc etc to get it all done at once. It's took a year to do mine and it's still a mess. Don't be so hard on yourself

[Susie]

They might have paid someone to put their shed up as well. (Says she, jealously ;-) ).

[pops]

ok pantsm, have now been left a phone message by the lady from the council saying they've noticed i am using roof tiles to edge my beds and i'm not allowed as they tend to break and the next plot holder ends up digging them out.
- so that's as opposed to the 2 hour i spent this saturday digging out rotten old wood edging then?!

i'm hearing from neighbours on the site that i should buy scaff planks and wonering where is the reuse and recycle that i thought was part of the allotmenting ethos? i don't want to buy timber, and i can't afford too, anyway if i did my plot would look like everyone elses! *seethe*

i'll pull up the tiles tomorrow, but i'll be b***ered if i'm paying for boundary wood

[Millymollymandy]

That's a shame. Do you really need edging at all? I know it looks 'neater' but it isn't necessary. I didn't have any in my veg patch for the first few years and now I have pallet plank edges - does look a lot better but we waited until we got hold of some free pallets (they are very hard to come by here as they are all returned for re-use in industry). Anyway edging or not edging, it didn't affect the veggies I was growing, that is the long winded point I am trying to make!!

[pops]

thanks love, i've been up there this morning to re-stack the tiles and had a good nose at other peoples while they're all at work/stilli n bed!
you make a good point, the boundary was really to remind my kids where the edges were so they don't trample their own pumpkkins etc!
sometimes looking at neighbouring plots can be inspiring, but that can lead to overspending in trying to 'keep up with the joneses', and other times it is infuriating and i end up with a 'poor me' attitude, neither is helpful :D

but then, aside from the neighbours i mention in the original post, i'm the newbie and no-one expects me to come out with my homebase loyalty card maxed to the hilt do they?!