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Permalink Reply by James on January 15, 2009 at 16:25

Here in Edinburgh waiting lists for allotments on some sites are up to 7 years, so naturally people who can't get a plot are turning to their back garden instead.

For me this is becoming increasingly popular, I'm currently maintain a couple of gardens with a dedicated area of the garden for growing veggies. I am also restoring a garden where the clients wants the garden to revolve around the production of food.

I like your idea of one off allotment clearence Kev, that can be half the battle when taking on a new plot. I have been asked to prune some apples trees on a ladies allotment.

I'm certainly going to develop this side of my business more this year as sustainability and growing your own become increasingly popular.

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Premium SupplierPermalink Reply by Ofer El-hashahar on January 15, 2009 at 17:26

I get many news letters (e-mails) from varied sources that say that this year it will be the thing.
Shops and TV gardening programs will try to Encourage it.
I am trying to bring to the market few products that are designed for that.

With a bit of vision - you can see that it got huge potential a Playble Raised bed.varied heights.Easy Raised Bed and the blooming post that is like a strawberry pot but taller- you can grow many sort of herbs and small veg inside- It looks great with the plants. easy to pick so attract children,less pests as it higher from ground level. great for outdoor or greenhouse.

The third product is a great potato tub that make life easier and last for good.


Prices are great and as member you can get a good discount and create a good looking project.
I actually asking if anyone got contacts with retailers That may show interest.

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Permalink Reply by darrell on January 15, 2009 at 20:20

just an idea for an bit of extra income is if you advertise include the services of building raised beds and compost bins for clients, local schools, etc.

raised beds are made with treated gravel boards and 2x2 as posts.usually 4 wide by what ever lenght you can arrange or size of area. they dont take long to prepare as long as you have a good heavy duty rechargable drill and screw fittings they can be put together in no time use treated decking screws.

also compost bins for your larger sized gardens of your clients, convince your client to do their bit for the enviroment and recycling.

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy Dore on January 15, 2009 at 21:20

I've had a few people suggest that my website, www.growveg.com, should team up with some landscape suppliers who are doing 'veg gardens in a box' type products. The idea would be that they use my website's software to design a plot, then the landscaper puts together the plug plants and raised beds and either installs it or ships it to them.
What do people think? I'm not convinced it will work significantly, though if any of you want to give it a go I'd be happy to help. At the moment I think the movement to grow your own veg is fuelled by people wanting to actually do the growing themselves.
Jeremy

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Permalink Reply by Kev Thompson on January 15, 2009 at 22:42

I would agree with the fact that clients prefer to be hands on with growing. Knowing that the dinner table is stuffed with food that youve tended, watered, cared for for months. Free of anything chemical or pollutant.
my impressions are that like everything in todays instant want it now society ( of which we are all in the business of proliforating )people dont want to do the hard work like having to set up raised beds and double dig soil. so..........1 or more purpose built 6' x 4' raised beds, constructed with solid pine tanalised sleepers filled with organic soil from the slumbering cheshire plains.Complete with cloches & pre drilled holes to slot in canes for climbing veg if i could keep it in the costs an engraving along the sleepers of how & when to plant the five most common veg. Great for kids & Adults alike. thats not a veg patch its an m&s veg patch.

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Permalink Reply by David Aylieff-Sansom on January 16, 2009 at 18:21

Hi
We are a small garden centre and having been selling raised beds for a year now. We have them made locally from timber cut out of our local estate.
They are not the cheapest of products but can be customized to any size. So far we have sold a handful but there is a lot of interest. In the next few weeks we will be offer a ready made unit so for about 40% of the price. it will be interesting to see if people are keen to try this.
It is also interesting that Scotts have produced a Veg-Sac, which is basically a bag of compost with instructions for growing various vegetables printed on it. Retailing at £4.99 it will be a good barometer to see if people are really that swayed to start growing their own.
Regards
David


Ofer El said:

I get many news letters (e-mails) from varied sources that say that this year it will be the thing.
Shops and TV gardening programs will try to Encourage it.
I am trying to bring to the market few products that are designed for that.

With a bit of vision - you can see that it got huge potential a Playble Raised bed.varied heights.Easy Raised Bed and the blooming post that is like a strawberry pot but taller- you can grow many sort of herbs and small veg inside- It looks great with the plants. easy to pick so attract children,less pests as it higher from ground level. great for outdoor or greenhouse.

The third product is a great potato tub that make life easier and last for good.


Prices are great and as member you can get a good discount and create a good looking project.
I actually asking if anyone got contacts with retailers That may show interest.

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Permalink Reply by Mark on January 16, 2009 at 18:28

I've got an allotment and also tend several veg patches for customers, one I made from very well rotted horse manure, they have 6 horses and the poo soon mounts up, I used a a digger to shift it. The courgettes and carrots went mad !!!

It amazes me that the whole idea is to grow your OWN, yet some people pay me to grow it for them ?? for the money it has cost to sort their veg out they could have it delivered and cooked for them !

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Permalink Reply by Jane Dorning Cornwall Allotments on March 23, 2010 at 9:55

I have 0ver 70 plots on my private allotment site, people are often asking for raised beds etc they often seem to want manure and topsoil to raise the level quickly so maybe being able to arrange that for people would be popular too.
Jane

Mark said:

I've got an allotment and also tend several veg patches for customers, one I made from very well rotted horse manure, they have 6 horses and the poo soon mounts up, I used a a digger to shift it. The courgettes and carrots went mad !!!

It amazes me that the whole idea is to grow your OWN, yet some people pay me to grow it for them ?? for the money it has cost to sort their veg out they could have it delivered and cooked for them !

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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Pip Howard on March 23, 2010 at 11:03

I have seen some huge price hikes in manure and top soil when ordered for allotments! In Cornwall it is absolutely vital to ensure certified soil and given the limited suppliers there is surely a huge market for this.

I love the fact this is becoming the fashion for all, with even the large estate owners and second home owners demanding a space for growing. Which is all great, but as hinted on with contaminated soils I fear there are many who will jump into this without due care and attention and as an industry we should be on hand to ensure this doesn't happen.

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