Should I Lock My Shed

Got my new shed now on the allotment and am well pleased with it and use it to store my tools (spade, fork, hoe, rake, etc.) and all the other small bits and pieces that are essential for gardening work.

But should I lock the shed door with the key when I leave? Or just leave it unlocked with the wheelbarrow upturned against it?

What do people here usually do?

Ed

Reply to
Ed
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Since you've posted in a couple of groups that are international, it would help to know where "here" is. Or, are you trying to find places where people don't lock up their stuff? Or do you live under a bridge, which is my own dark suspicion.

Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

Reply to
Gary Woods

I won't have a shed on our plot, they are attractants for thieves and vandals. It worries me that all the new gardeners on our site seem to think a shed is essential on an allotment, there was only one before, I know we will get trouble soon. Personally I would leave it unlocked as otherwise it will get broken/smashed into and badly damaged (or even be pushed over, seen that too). The tools may not be worth much but anything is enough.

Our shed is a 1986 Defender van, another "old" gardener has a decent trailer so nothing, tool wise, is left on the plots.

Reply to
Bob Hobden

Sorry... I should have said that I live in East Herts in the UK..

Ed

Reply to
Ed

Locks only keep out honest people.

Reply to
Billy

I like having the shed . It means I can leave all my tools and stuff there and I can sit inside if there a bit of rain. So, I can then just cycle up there on my push bike and not need take the car .

Ed (Herts, UK).

Reply to
Ed

So what do you do with your shed?

Ed (East Herts, UK)

Reply to
Ed

Or dishonest people that can't be arsed to find an unlocked shed? Do you have an allotment shed? Do you lock it?

Ed (East Herts, UK)

Reply to
Ed

Here we lock everything or it quickly disappears.

Reply to
J.Gillmon Jr.

Where's you then? You got outer security fencing on your plot?

Ed (East Herts, UK)

Reply to
Ed

Why don't you keep your wheelbarrow inside your shed, wasn't that the point of having a shed, why leave it out in the weather... a door latch would be better anyway, what will keep the wind from ruining your door and shed when you're out with the barrow? As to a lock, it depends who typically goes on your property (like delivery people), the size of your property, how far the shed is from the road and neighbors, how visible it is to you and otheres, and a number of other factors... only you can decide about a lock... but remember, locks only keep honest folks out. I'd say it's pretty rare that a neighbor will enter your shed to steal a shovel or rake but then I don't know your neighbors Often a lock says "valuables inside" and may encourage a break in from strangers. I have a large barn filled with very costly machinery but I never lock it, instead I have insurance. My gardening shed has a lot of much smaller items that someone may walk off with and delivery/service people pass there in the normal course of ther job so I keep that locked because even if they themselves don't take anything they may mention what's in there to people they know. In any event everything of value is covered under my homeowners insurance, all my tools are marked, and I strongly recommend taking photographs of ones belongings regardless.

Reply to
brooklyn1

In the end it is a gamble. Depending on the amount of theft and vandalism in your particular allotment. You have to weigh up the value of your tools, which ones to keep there and the convenience of not carrying them all the time... and be prepared to buy replacements if they get stolen.

If your tools do get stolen you may be lucky and find identical ones going cheap on a car boot sale ;-)

Reply to
David in Normandy

Meant to ask, what's an "allotment"?

Reply to
brooklyn1

Assuming you're in the U.S, you would probably call it a community garden.

Steve

Reply to
shazzbat

Thanks. Then I would definitely lock my shed.

Reply to
brooklyn1

In the UK, an allotment is a bit of land away from your house used for growing fruit and veg. Allotment sites vary in size, mine has only 16 plots and is securely fenced. Other sites have over a hundred plots. Does that help? :)

Reply to
Pete C

I don't lock mine, just put a nail through the hasp to keep it shut. Our site is open, not even a gate. The one time in 7 years we've been robbed, the sheds with locks were simply bolt croppered, in some cases the hasp was cut. So we all lost our tools, but those with locks also lost a lock or hasp.

Interestingly, one of the other allotmenteers called the police, and a detective came out to the allotments, and he was not best pleased because A, someone had just had a delivery of manure, which he didn't like at all, and B, because 8 sheds had been robbed, which meant 8 separate victims, and 8 separate crimes, with very little chance of solving, natch. So that was his statistics banjaxed for that month.

Steve

Reply to
shazzbat

That depends on where you live. I live in a small town in Massachusetts, I leave my barn door unlocked and I've never had a problem. On the other hand I grew up on the South side of Chicago (two blocks from Obama's house), anything that wasn't nailed down got stolen in seconds there. In fact things that were nailed down were stolen.

Reply to
General Schvantzkoph

I live in the US. I suppose there are some community plots here but not like I've seen in France and Germany. Seems like 30 years ago, around Koblenz, no one locked anything. Used to be like that in Northern California, when I arrived 45 years ago, but times have changed, here and there.

If there was something solid, I'd chain my wheel barrow to it and only leave the most worn out tools in the shed, and chuck the good stuff in the boot of your car. Maybe get a duffel bag to consolidate them into. Maybe you have a mate that lives nearby, where you could store your good tools? Here, likely as not, here someone would move in at night to get out of the cold, and clear off in the morning. They may not mean to break anything or to burn the place down, but accidents happen. Homelessness is more of a problem here than there, especially with so many people being made redundant now and our lack of welfare compared to Europe. Wouldn't leave anything I'd miss. Theft isn't the only problem. Vandalism is a diversion for some adolescents. Trashing your shed and garden, just for something to do, would appeal to some miscreants.

Reply to
Billy

Yes, it helps, but what size is a plot, and does each participant need their own shed... I'd think in such a situation a community shed would be more efficient (not so redundant, I mean 16 sheds is a bit much, a 100 is asinine), and with many community tools as well, as I can't imagine everyone needs say a wheelbarrow, or a rake, or a shovel at the same time... probably easily get by with half as many tools or less, I can't imagine 16 plot caretakers need more than 2 wheelbarrows between them, I'd think no more than half are ever there at the same time. Okay, the big question, who owns this farm land, is there a landlord who rents/leases out the plots, and at what cost, or?

Thanks.

Reply to
brooklyn1

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