LONDON ALLOTMENT SITE TOUR / JANUARY 2024

good morning everyone welcome back to my lotman Diaries my name's Emma these are my lotman Diaries and welcome to a very rainy miserable day here in the UK particularly in South London I think a few days ago we had a storm is it storm East storm Aisha um and I think we do another storm later on today anyway I thought what I would do today because it's such a miserable day is take you on a bit of a tour around the allotment site I quite like to do this at least once a year and this time of year is usually quite a good time to do that uh so I'm going to see how much of it we can film today see how far around I can get I thought I like doing this because not every time that I come here do I actually work my lot M plot sometimes I do just come and walk around and just enjoy it and it's always good to get get good inspiration from other plots and a lot of you who haven't seen an allotment site yet and maybe you're on the waiting list it can be quite good to kind of see it and see what it's uh see what it's all about so there's two entrances to my allotment plot the one behind me which is a gated gate padlocked gate I should say and there's another entrance with a very small car park um which has about six spaces so it's not massive but useful if you're bringing things here by car so this is the walk into my alotment PL but you can see that we've got this lovely sort of Wildlife Area here which I think is protected um and Foxy likes to go in there this is a great big pile of compost I think that we're allowed to dump stuff there to rut down and then this is the long pathway into my lot plot we might find a bit of storm damage today as well guys um you can see this tree here doesn't look particularly straight hey dear yes the storm's definitely blowing this tree bit further under let's see if we can get under this tree have to go right under like this God oh dear okay made it so this here would be where we get our wood chip pile um whenever they decide to dump it off and this here is our horse manure that we usually get delivered um which is really useful it's all free I think they come most days with the horse manure but the wood chip is quite varied so but it's both free so I'm happy with that just behind that is our communal allotment plot so this is the one where sort of the members of the public can come in I think the gates open Mondays and Fridays and everyone can just come and uh have a look really and just have a go at growing something and get some some good advice that's where I started to come before I had an allotment plot and that's how I found my plot basically by snooping around so we're going to go this way today I think I always take you that way towards my plot we're going to go the long way around today so I can show you some more of the allotment site um so if we come through here past a couple of plots you can see that somebody has found themselves a lovely bathtub which I think is just amazing I'm just going to scoot on there and show you up close cuz I do think this is this is what I love about lot plots the Ingenuity the creativity it's just fantastic how about this for repurposing what do you think of that amazing oh there's a cat thing there scare Rocky away how fantastic is is this what a fantastic idea that's what I love about allotment plots see however crazy you think you are there's always someone who's just little bit more creative little bit more Bonkers growing in a bathtub absolutely love that right let's come down here that is a lovely colored shed I'd love a blue shed like that I think that is an absolutely lovely color look at this for a structure isn't this interesting it's sort of a a made kind of I wouldn't say it's a poly tunnel I think it's more of a cage I think it's more of a cage it's made out of chicken wire and stuff you could probably keep chickens in there couldn't you that is fantastic they must have it looks like they've got some fruit bushes in there and they've just created this oh I can see it's got um it's got netting at the top that's ingenious isn't it I wish I could make something like that and I've just spotted through here a really cool Archway made out that blue water piping I didn't even think about making a like a hum sized Archway out of it that is this is ingenious I absolutely love this so this is like a really long Archer it looks like they got blackberries or raspberries growing over it and it's just made from the blue blue water piping and they got some canes going across it and oh look yeah some some netting and then it just grows over the top to keep it all up and and neat I guess that's really good I really like that that's a really clever way of making an arch way these here these are the pette colars that you can sometimes get free on Facebook Marketplace they're not very big though that's why I steer clear from them cuz I just I like my beds to be a bit bigger but these are quite useful for growing in oh you see in this here they've stacked them up so you can stack those poet those pallette collars up I think they're called palette collars I think I'm right in that you can stack them to make them into a tall Rose bed or perhap maybe even a compost bin would be quite good out of those lots of pallets around here us a lot Minter do love pallets are this is sort of what I want to make a compost bin made from pallets so you got the different sections that's sort of what I want to make so how have they done that let's have a look I think it's just some wood I think it's just some wood that's been pushed into the ground and then that's just been attached to the wood that's quite easy I think and it looks easy but is it no this is actually one of my favorite allotment plots this is the plot that I was most inspired by when I first got my plot because I just find the structure so cool I mean these are all made and look these old Pao doors that have been used and then over there there's like Conservatory windows that have been used you got the swing set which is used for growing beans um you've got all the cool structures but one of my favorite things is this which is the stop sign which which has just been here for years and I just think it's absolutely amazing um and it really just inspired me this is one of the plots that really first inspired me to be more sort of Thrifty I suppose seeing this plot for the first time when I got my plot made me realize that it's actually better to use what you've got and to kind of repurpose stuff and it looks cooler and it would be more exciting um and that's why that's when I realized that aot menting is really attainable because you don't have to spend a lot of money on new stuff you can upcycle anything I mean patio Windows a stop sign an old swing set and it just looks so cool you know it's like a post-apocalyptic world or something and everyone's just had to start over and and use whatever they can find and I find that so [Applause] inspiring I've just noticed a little CG hanger here which I'm assuming is to keep birds away or something how sweet is that this plot is just literally thrown together with whatever whatever they could find the shed is incredible I think you've got pallets there decking boarding at the top there and then this goes into I think a fence panel and then you've got some a front door or a back door um and then you got all the guttering on the back I mean this is literally an apocalyptic world isn't it where you've just found whatever you can you have to make a house out of it this is my dream house I think yeah I'm going to say it I think this is like probably my dream house that's where I want to live honestly my dream is to live in a post-apocalyptic world where everyone's just had to start over and no one cares about money and everyone just finds what they can and builds little houses out of it and grows their own food and has chickens I think that's just my dream life guys wow there's some new there's some new structures over here my goodness and this is one heck of a snazzy allotment shed yeah it's got like a little little porch is that porch they've made that's amazing and then over here look again the free pallet planters pet colors I think a lot of people use these and I guess if you've got a lot of them like that and they are free does kind of make sense I do understand that hey look it's a little little cat hello I tell you what they got nicer looking cats at this end of the allotment plot isn't He Lovely where are you you are a beautiful cat yeah you are oh the cats are a lot prettier at this side sorry no offense to you Rocky but my goodness aren't you a gorgeous color right you better go and get inside cuz it's cold it's rainy cats don't like water do they just my opinion guys don't hate on me Rocky can't hear this you won't watch it don't worry oh no I've got a new friend why do I attract them I don't know um a lot of people use their alotment plots for their kids as well so there's a lot of trampolines here nice to know that this one's been secured down after all the storms um but a lot of people put swing sets and stuff up for their kids and you are allowed to do that here and that's quite nice they got the growing section in the middle and all the sheds there's a lot of spare materials here look at the tire I don't think we're allowed to have tires in our allotment plot I think that's the rule um but yeah we got the fence panels I'm assuming all this stuff is like you could take it if you wanted to cuz it's on the communal pathway what's up you need to go home it's raining you need to go home home yes you need to go home yeah you need to go home look at his eyes they're different colors your eyes are different colors mate gosh you see that black thing there which I think is just an old bit of there I thought that was like a panther I thought it was a panther sitting there ready to kill me my eyesight is my eyesight is so bad sometimes it really is what are you going on about why do I attract them why I don't know what are they growing here then what's all this this is unusual and I've seen this before is it a squash don't know it's very knobbly and bumpy looks like a squash oh looks like it's probably a bit rotted but wow this plot next to it was the other one that I was looking at taking over because no one wants it it's been offered to about five people I think and no one has taken it no one wants it all it needs is a bit of chopping down there's no rubbish on it that I can see that's like obvious rubbish except for that little thing there but yeah no one wants this it's got a beautiful tree over there put all the bird things on it you put swing on that tree but yeah nobody uh nobody seems to want this one which is a shame I guess you've got the Christmas tree there which is a bit annoying you might have to chop that one down but you could use it at Christmas you know it's a free Christmas tree there and then right next to that one it seems to be another plot as well if you took all of these on like both of them you could have a massive piece of land here and you could do it really nice and you could have well everything that I've got and more if you could do it better yeah it'd be amazing what a shame just two plots just here that doesn't even look that bad at the moment because it sort of died back that's very deceiving that's dead under there look you could chop all that back and had that plot anybody want want an allotment plot in South London let me know just come and take it no one will even notice honestly they won't even care they'll just be glad someone did it this has been here for years this thing I'd love to have a go on that oh what's he following me for got stalker we're sort of onto the dark side of the allotment plots now I mean I've counted about eight plots that are very clearly overgrown and not being used this one's even got a greenhouse on it over there unless it belongs to someone else um this is probably blown over in the storm but look we got like old mattresses and stuff just all about the place this is definitely not been grown on I know it's got all the stuff here and I know it's got a little shed but look no one's cultivated that for years it looks like there's a nice little fruit Bush there or something and then over in the background you see there all that stuff that's another couple of plots as well all overgrown very clearly not in use you know what I'm going to walk down here I've never been down there before I'm going to do it because if no one's using this pot and I find something here oh my God I'm stuck on a bush stuck on a bush if no one's using them and I find something useful I'm just going to have it I'm just going to have it this is all not been used this is all this has not been grown on there's a bit of wood there I don't know how good that is oh yeah that might actually be all right I wonder if I could just take that no one's using it think I might have some of that there's another plot here which again it's got a tiny shed looks like a toilet and a couple of benches and then nothing growing um I know it might be the time of year I might be being a bit hard but it doesn't look like it's been cultivated any any time in the last couple of years and you see all the bushes behind you know there's look there's another plot there just completely overgrown just not being used that's about 11 I counted now might come back for that word oh my God no it's dangerous walking on here no one no one could possibly grow here not if I'm falling down holes I don't want to become the person who's like you know fighting for the allotment plots but I sort of do as well because my concern is that if people aren't using these plots it makes it easier for the council to go hey let's just sell off the allotment plots and build some Flats there and that's like the last thing that I need to happen in my life you know so I do kind of want to root for people to like actually go and grow on it you know and use it it's another one it's another one completely empty plot please come and take these plots people they are going to sell off these SES I know they're going to sell it off I know they are oh I've just spotted something in here which looks of use oh is that poles oh they look good is that no poly tunnel pole are they straight oh they're straight they're straight they're straight don't know why I'm getting excited about this but i s of am you see what I'm I'm looking at you see these like green poles they look fantastic I could use those I could make a teepee out of those oh I love that yeah this is all being used look at the poor little sunflowers all leaning over something quite pretty about them actually all dead like that dead sunflowers right that's my neighbor's PLT so now we must be coming up to mine mine is down here oh dear I've had a little bit more storm damage than I thought I would oh is that all of my rubbish that's gone flying oh God I better clear that up today actually otherwise they'll be mad about that um I can see look some of my rose beds have falling off gosh that was a really bad storm wasn't it and then if we come to my new plot poly Chunnel store there thank goodness W bear is falling over that's okay I can just pick that up yeah see my plot looks all right I think compared to the ones that we' just seen as well do you know what I mean yes rather a lot of my uh ground sheets and stuff have gone flying I definitely need to pick all that up today so I'll have to stay for a bit they come flying right down here as well that's definitely mine that's definitely mine right come on then you need to come home come on oh this is a lovely color shed look at the yellow isn't that gorgeous I love that this is like the other end of the allotment site that I don't come to I think I did get offer a plot here absolutely ages ago but I didn't take it cuz it was sort of off the Beaten Track um but I don't really come around here can you see what I mean when I keep saying it's like a post-apocalyptic World it really is isn't it it's like everyone's had to start over and got all these little structures everywhere oh guys do you think they're using tinsel to scare the birds away like I did that year do you remember when I put tinsel over my pumpkin Archway scare all the birds or do they just have one heck of a Christmas party I think this might be to scare birds away look how funny I'm Not The Only One using tinsel oh dear I think this ship might have seen better days it's very leaning it also has Ivy growing on it so I think this has been taken over by Nature wow definitely taken over by Nature oh look there's another plot what's that then is that 30 30 now we counted 40 loads of free plots here does anybody want an allotment plot seriously come and take one love that for a bench lovely little pallet bench oh look some toilets couple of toilets over there don't think they're being used for anything now I think they've just been dumped but could you use that as a whole bathroom set with a potty as well my goodness who's dumped that there then so I'm walking down the front of the allotments now you've probably seen a lot of these ones before but um the people who had the plots on the front path the main path they've had their plots for years and years and years and they're always very very well looked after you do get a couple that kind of go overgrown but they always come back again in the spring or summer I think they must be more popular for people to take on cuz they're right by the path by the the gates just behind me straight path to the the compost and stuff so these ones down here these are usually very very well looked after and very beautiful as well this is an interesting um sort of Border I think it's a um no I don't know what it is actually I'm not going to I'm not going to take a guess it looks like some fruit trees or something though and they sort of manipulated it over this little structure here underneath they've got a lot of little mini daffodils coming up I think they're called Teta tetet or something the little ones um but yeah this always looks really beautiful when it's all In Bloom and it creates a nice little border nice little boundary to the plots there and I think the birds love it too there's always little sparrows in there another personal favorite I think there's a couple who do this one and honestly stunning beautiful every single inch of this is usually um looked after and growing and just just absolutely beautiful such such a lovely plot um and a really interesting structure as well and you have no idea how much I want to go in there and Route around and see what's going on in there but obviously it's not mine look at the front door I'm actually genuinely starting to think if they just live here like who would stop them who would know like who would know that's a really nice shed isn't it goodness it's an absolutely lovely shed what's the little one for that's my question what's that for teeny tiny little door at the top it's that like little helper who sort of comes out at night and helps them with everything and they got barbue what's going on over here then little parties going on over here there's all the cardboard down that's what I like to see fellow cardboard lovers fantastic sort going through Wilderness now to try and find my way out cuz I thought the pathway would continue ow it did not continue did not continue so I'm sort of going through like Rogue plots now trying to find my way out oh God this is the one with all the holes and I am just approaching my alotment plot again so I hope you enjoyed this little Vlog for a Friday something a little bit different um and just to show you say you know I do walk around my alotment plot quite a lot and I don't always come here and do jobs it gives me a lot of inspiration to see what other people are up to what they're growing what they're doing um if I'm on the right tracks yeah I hope it gave you some inspiration I hope you saw a little bit more of allotment life today I will see you again at my allotment plot on Monday thank you so much for watching and see you Monday guys bye