Cultivation Tips

by

UNDPS/BWAS
Cultivation Guidance for Members

Preamble

Rule 3.1a of our Rules and Conditions of Tenancy requires members to maintain their plot in ‘a proper state of cultivation to the satisfaction of the Committee’ and that ‘the Committee shall issue periodic written guidance to all Allotment Holders, as to the standards of cultivation required of them’.

The Committee has produced this guidance for members taking into consideration our lease from the London Borough of Croydon and our UNDPS/BWAS rules as well as advice from the National Allotment Society (NAS) and the Croydon Federation of Allotment and Gardening Societies (CFAGS). “An allotment is an area of land, leased either from a private or local authority landlord, for the use of growing fruit and vegetables. An allotment is traditionally measured in rods (perches or poles), an old measurement dating back to Anglo-Saxon times. 10 poles is the accepted size of a full sized allotment, the equivalent of 250 square metres or about the size of a doubles tennis court.

If your allotment is on land owned by the local authority then it will either be classed a statutory or temporary site. Statutory sites are protected by the Allotments Acts” 1 .

As a minimum requirement, the National Allotment Society believes that allotment gardens should be cultivated in a way that does not interfere in a material way with the enjoyment of neighbouring tenants, or that is likely to impede the ability of the allotment provider/Committee to re-let the plot at a later date 2 .

Guidance

Plot holders should keep their plot clean, free from weeds, in a good state of fertility and well cultivated 3 .

75% of the plot should be cultivated for growing of fruit and vegetables with 25% allowed for compost/tool box, and sitting area 4 . 10% can be used for growing flowers 5 . There should be a good use of plots, neither wasting space nor overcrowding. 6

Appropriate cultivation levels are 7 :

  • The plot is in readiness for growing.
  • The plot is well stocked with growing produce relevant to the time of year.
  • The plot is in the process of being prepared for the following crops or season.
  • There should be no mono-cropping as this has potential to exhaust the soil and cause disease 8 .
  • Plots should show that they can provide normal supplies throughout the year 9 .
  • The plot is cultivated in a way that does not cause a nuisance to other tenants: these should include:
  1. Keeping paths free from hazards and ensuring that the edges are trimmed and kept neat.
  2. The removal of seed heads, before the seed has set.
  3. The removal of long grass and detritus that could harbour slugs and snails.
  4. Controlling pernicious weeds, including weeds spreading via extension roots, or by generating new plants from growing tips in contact with the soil.

General

No construction of any kind is permitted on plots under the terms of the Lease with Croydon. Tool and compost boxes and cold frames may be permitted subject to on-site provided they do not exceed one metre high x one metre deep x three metres long) 10.

Scaffolding poles are not permitted. Existing scaffolding will be removed by the Committee when the current tenant gives up their plot.

All timber and timber like trees are the property of the Council 11 and should not be cut without consulting the Committee. New fruit trees must be planted on dwarf rooting stock 12 .

The use of weed killer on paths is not permitted 13 .

Do not lean anything against boundary fences/walls.

Keep a gap of one metre to allow for maintenance.

As a courtesy to other members, only water with hose for 20 minutes at a time.

1 NAS definition
2 NAS Policy document 108: cultivation standards
3 Lease: 3.3 ‘to cultivate whole of the property or cause the same to be cultivated as allotment gardens in a good and husband-like manner and to keep the same clean and free from thistles and noxious weeds and in a good heart and condition’. Rules: 3.1 a) ‘Every Allotment Holder shall keep their Allotment free of perennial weeds, well manured and otherwise maintain it in a proper state of cultivation to the satisfaction of the Committee’
4 NAS guidance
5 Lease: ‘3.5 not to permit to be used more than 10% for growth of flowers’
6 CFAGS competition criterion.
7 NAS guidance
8 Old rent agreement
9 CFAGS competition criterion
10 Old rent agreement. Rule 3.3b
11 Lease. Rule 3.1c
12 Rules 3.2
13 Rules 3.4c

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