CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh
New allotments
(14 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
-
*has been on waiting list for allotments for ages*
Posted 12 years ago # -
Me too.
Posted 12 years ago # -
As heard on R4
'don't waste your time growing ordinary veg - try saffron, Goji berries and mulberries'!
Posted 12 years ago # -
Oooh, nice link, chdot!
I have a raised bed in a community back green garden nearby. Use it mainly for salad and herbs as it's quite small. Some of James Wong's suggestions look great and I'll try a few...
Posted 12 years ago # -
Apparently Goji berries don't really work in Scotland. I've just got this brilliant book that sets realistic expectations about what works up here and what doesn't...
Fruit and Vegetables for Scotland: A Practical Guide and History by Kenneth Cox
Permalink: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1780270461It basically makes the point that what grows in the South of England doesn't necessarily work here!
Posted 12 years ago # -
It basically makes the point that what grows in the South of England doesn't necessarily work here!
Oh yes, I was mindful of that too looking at all these exotics, thinking "That'll never grow here", etc.
The "microgreens" may be worth pursuing though...
Posted 12 years ago # -
Some years ago it was believed that soya beans would grow well in Scotland because they had in Sweden. Didn't quite work, something to do with day length (perhaps).
Posted 12 years ago # -
The main problem with Goji berries is they are not very nice.
Rather a shame these allotments have to be out of town but I suppose they have to go somewhere and it is better than none at all. I guess some of the space will be for a big car park!
Posted 12 years ago # -
"Rather a shame these allotments have to be out of town"
Yes.
Perhaps time to see if CEC has 'enough' golf courses. Both golf and allotments are counted as leisure activities. It would be interesting to know the relative number of users/activity hours per acre. That's without looking at the value of 'outputs'.
There is agricultural land around The Braids and Silverknowes plus lots within the City boundary west of centre.
Some existing parks have allotments and that was mentioned for Harrison Park (presumably rejected?)
There were allotments in The Meadows during the WWII, though that might not be too popular these days.
Posted 12 years ago # -
This former railway yard in Lochend could become an allotment site, if the soil were improved.
IIRC Portobello Golf Course will latgely disappear under the new Portobello High School. You do have to wonder whether the Silverknowes and Carrick Knowe courses are really needed, given that other (privately owned) courses are available nearby.
I'm sure that golfers would disagree!
Posted 12 years ago # -
An interesting and pertinent point, chdot.
Golf courses are a bit of an odd phenomenon. And I count myself as a golfer, albeit one who's rarely been spotted in the act since the arrival of offspring. But I always felt that with four 18-hole public courses and two 9-hole public courses spread around the city, Edinburgh was very well served. So much so that I didn't bother joining any of the seriously pricey private clubs.
And so here's the arithmetic - it appears that an average 18-hole golf course takes up 150 acres or about 64 hectares. Which for those paying attention is plenty in excess of the 52 hectares quoted by CEC as required for allocation to those on the lengthy allotment waiting list.
Personally, we've been on the allotment waiting list for about 7 years, and were recently told it would be another 3 or 4 years at soonest (!) for the 2 allotment zones we're interested in.
There is perhaps a good argument for trimming 2 of the 18 hole courses down to 9 holes, perhaps Carricknowe and Craigentinny, to provide alottment space to serve both east and west. (I wouldn't recommend Silverknowles, it's basically just sand. Good for carrots maybe.) So instead of 4 18-hole courses and 2 9-hole courses, there would be 2 18-hole courses and 4 9-hole courses. Frankly, I don't think most 'public course' golfers care if they're going round 9 holes twice to get their fix. I didn't.
The question is probably just one of numbers - are there a greater distinct number of individuals being served by using the space for golf rather than would be served as allotments? Knowing the Edin Leisure booking system, I think they'd struggle to measure it, but personally I think the allotments would serve more people - especially if you take families into account.
Besides, I'd quite like a shed.
Posted 12 years ago # -
People on the allotment waiting list might be interested in Edinburgh Garden Partners? It's a garden share scheme - where people who can't manage their gardens so well any more are linked with people without access to land who want to grow food.
http://www.edinburghgardenpartners.org.uk/how-to-get-growing-or-get-a-grower/Posted 11 years ago #
Reply
You must log in to post.
posts
