We took possession of our allotment about 18 months ago. It was in
such a sorry state. It hadn't been worked for years, completely over grown with weeds, and with a dilapidated wooden garage on the plot. I had big plans, get rid of the garage,
which was on a concrete base, and replace it with a poly-tunnel. In the first
year I managed to clear about a third of the area and to maintain my interest
grew courgettes, potatoes and runner beans.
As I cleared the weeds etc. towards the area where the garage was
built, small amounts of asbestos started to
appear. The Local Authority did a site survey, took samples away for analysis
and decided that as it was potentially dangerous and employed a specialist agency
to clear and decontaminate the site. At this time (February 2015), and after
taking the garage down with my future son in law (Andrew), and shortly after ordering
a poly-tunnel, I was struck down with Brain Cancer and started 6 months of high
dose chemotherapy followed by a Stem Cell transplant. My plans were turned
upside down. I spent a huge amount of time in hospital and had no energy to do
any work on the site when I was home.
As part of the decontamination process the
whole site was rotavated. This was a great benefit, all we would now need to do
is remove weeds as they appeared. Fortunately my wife (Shirley) along with our daughter
( Charlotte) and Andrew successfully took over the management of the plot
having an excellent year growing a wide range of vegetables. Fellow allotment
holders were a great help to the family during this period, not only asking
after my health but also providing practical help and advice. One even gifted a
very good shed which has proved beneficial to us to store tools and equipment.
Needless to say I didn't really do
anything on the site after being told I was in remission in September. Christmas
came with relatives buying seed packets as presents but still the poly-tunnel
wasn't constructed and the weather at the start of the year made it difficult
for us to make a start. However about two weeks ago the weather changed and
with the help of a neighbour, me and Andrew, started on its construction. The instructions
were not easy to follow and a few phone calls to the supplier helped us make progress
to get it finished on the 3rd April.
We've bought staging etc. and we will soon
be sowing seeds, for what we hope will be a successful year.
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