Trick or Treat

After the rain and cold of 2012 I'm worried about 2013.

 ...so I'm hedging my bets.

The big question is:  have the past 5 years been a downward trend that will continue with an even colder wetter year ,  or have the we bottomed out and are due for a sharp correction to restore the equilibrium?

What's your strategy?  How are you preparing for the worst while hoping for the best?  

Extra, Extra, Read All About It

Just time to say I made the paper today with the Edinburgh plotholders' plight:

See this link:

Edinburgh Evening News

Edinburgh Allotment Factsheet

In 2012 City of Edinburgh Council are renting out 1,037 allotment plots (and 21 raised beds).

The rent is £80 per plot (and £35 per raised bed)

Full rental income (plots x rent) = £83,695

The Council estimates its costs as £81,370.37  (up 18%  from an actual figure of £69,102.99 in 2011)

Edinburgh Council offers a 50% rent discount to tenants on state benefit or over the age of 60.

Over half Edinburgh allotment tenants (541) qualify for the discount.

The resulting shortfall on the full rental is £21,550

The shortfall in the allotment budget - the amount the Council actually pay - is  £16,745.87, nearly £5,000 less than the subsidy.

2013 Rents are being increased to £90 (£45 subsidised) yieding full rental income of £94,170

2014 rents are being increased to £100 (£50 subsidised) yielding full rental income of £104,660

Based on a projection of the 2012 figures, actual rents collected are expected to be £70,000 in 2013 and £77,700 in 2014, so the Council's annual  'top up' contribution will all but disappear, by how much will depend on how costs are kept under control. The cost of the subsidy will be £27,000 but this will be covered entirely by the higher rents paid by both the subsidised and non subsidised tenants.


When you consider that over 50% of Edinburgh allotment holders are on benefit or over 60 years old you realise that these are two groups whose income has not risen much in the last decade, yet their allotment rentals will have risen by 333% between 2005 and 2014

One for Tanya - Celebrating Celeriac

Last year I tried growing celeriac, and all I got was straggly roots. See here    So this year I was pleased when I got a celeriac this big:

How big?    Well not that big....

...but at least the stem swelled.  Obviously they got enough water. Just have to ensure they get more  nutrients next time.

Is that all there is?

Beans have been a waste of time this year - even runner beans! I grew them at the allotment and I grew them in raised beds but the results were like the weather - dismal!

Barlotti -  Nul points
Blue Lake - Nul points
Canadian Wonder - Nul points
Sungold - 1/2 point
Painted Lady - One point
Scarlet Emporer - Nul Points

Clearly I've been barking up the wrong pole this year. I'm tempted just to grow tatties and neeps next year (except that my neeps failed this year too and the tatties got blight!)


For the record I planted garlic, shallots and onions today.  The new year has arrived!

At the end of the year

A visit to the plot today confirmed the inevitable   The frost and wind have stopped the beans in their tracks and killed off the courgettes. That's it for this year!

2012 has been the wettest coldest year on record. Despite everything there were some results:

One day in September...

Proud of this one 

The label says it all

Beans and sky

A forrest of fennel

Late beans

Barlotti bean pods - but no beans to speak of.

Curly Kale

Leek flowerhead

This year's tomatoes - all of them!

Sunset

Jerusalem artichoke, cabbages, brussel sprouts, parsnips and leeks to look forward too.  Roll on 2013.

Gardening 267 Golf 6

In its first Allotment Strategy: Cultivating Communities(2002) City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) adopted the following comparability factors:

• The level of allotment rents in the rest of Scotland and the scale in England

• costs of other outdoor recreational or leisure activities provided by the authority.

The second of these factors was underpinned  by the  court case of  Harwood  v Reigate & Banstead Borough Councils in the High Court Chancery Division when Mr Harwood challenged a 300% rent rise and succeeded.  The judge ruled that as other amenity charges had not been raised in proportion this was a discriminatory practice and unlawful. The full transcript can be read here


So what has happened to allotment rents?  Since 2005

• Edinburgh allotment rents have gone up 267% and are set to £100 for 2014.
• Glasgow rents meantime have tracked the RPI and are currently £33.50
•  In the same period the cost of an Edinburgh Leisure Card has dropped from £43 to £25 and the following increases made on the sports tariff:

Gym           6%

Swim           39%

Tennis          8%

Golf             6%

Football       32%

So inflation for Edinburgh golfers is 6%.  For allotment gardeners it is 267% !

What happened to the comparability factors?  They have been dropped in a dash for cash. Clearly allotment holders are an easy target. Once FEDAGA sided with the Council the rest of the 1,300 Edinburgh Alltment holders were deprived of a voice.

No one can be in any doubt that City of Edinburgh allotment rent rises are illegal. 

*Note - this post has been updated to include data for the current year