Hi All

[zebedee]

My 'handle' is Zebedee, and I'm from the Isle of Wight. Anybody not familiar with it, it's the small, diamond shaped island at the bottom of the country. I look forward to using this forum, I really do.

I have 3 mottos;
1) Raised to a state of heavenly lunacy where I can't be touched
2) British by accident of birth, Scottish by the grace of God
3) Gloria Virtutis Merces

I'm 62, have 4 children and 3 1/2 grandchildren, and I completely subscribe to the maxim "You're only young once, but you can be immature forever"

Garden on Dudes

[Husker]

Hi Zebedee, and welcome to a great gardening site. Loved the mottos and maxim, glad to have you here.

[zebedee]

Good day Husker

Wow, somebody from USA! Allotments are quite a big thing here in UK, are they the same with you? We get allocated ours by Town Councils or Parish councils, and there some pretty hellish waiting lists. What's the process in Iowa?

[scarybex]

Hello Zebedee I completely agree, age is a state of mind Both my parents are off to the Isle of White next week, I bet your have nice weather there at the mo'.

[Husker]

Greetings Zebedee. Over here we have community gardens and they're usually run by non-profit agencies on ground that is leased from the town or city. I think in places the waiting list can be pretty long. My brother lives in California and his comm. garden is leased by the c.g. association from a church for $1 a year, they only ask that the gardeners donate 10% of their produce to the local food bank. He pays $60 a year for a 40'x40' and 10'x15' plot to cover water bills. From the pictures I've seen of the U.K. allotments, they look fairly large. It's a shame there's such a long waiting list for folks. Most folks around here till up part of their yard to use for a garden. You find this in most smaller towns and even cities in the mid-west and south (Hamburg has a pop. of about 1000) The community gardens are more common in bigger cities and on either coast. I think we're far behind the U.K. in the idea of c.g or allotments but the idea is catching on, especially with the rising cost of food and the idea that folks want to know where their food comes from. I'd love to see your garden. I'll be posting some pics of mine soon, although there's not too much to see yet. Take care,
Husker

[zebedee]

I like the idea of the food banks and the donations, good plan! I look forward to seeing some pictures. I've got some photo's on my cell phone at the moment, but will be downloading them to my PC. When I do, I'll post them for you to look at. Don't know about you, but I grow for the stress relief (job related) and for the sheer pleasure of eating something that I have grown myself. It's a great feeling and a great taste. Happy gardening!

[GMB27]

Welcome to the Forum, hope you find it as useful as I have! all the best.

[Hammer]

Hello Zebedee or should i say,"Boing", like you i do it for strees relief, best thing to empty a cluttered mind.
Regards Hammer.