Neighboring allotment spraying chemicals before we've harvested....

Allotmentpixie

The allotment plot next door to us is very overgrown, over the last couple of weeks it has started to go brown quickly despite the rain. A is a new person (who we haven't met yet) has just taken it on but not cleared it. We think they have sprayed it with chemicals.

There doesn't appear to be any chemical discolouration on our plot just we didn't like the idea they didn't wait til autumn after our veg were all harvested before spraying a large plot. 
Are we being over sensitive?

Allotmentpixie

We don't use chemicals and have lots of bee and insect friendly plants and areas on our plot. 

KT53

No your aren't being over sensitive, but if they are new to the game it may well not have occurred to them that spraying could be an issue.

Dovefromabove

I think this is a matter for whoever is in charge of the allotments …. there’s usually a committee. I certainly wouldn’t advise talking to the new neighbour about it before having talked with the committee first. Having good relations with allotment neighbours is important. 

philippasmith2

Agree with @Dovefromabove There will be a committee and usually 1 person in charge of the day to day management.
Speak to him/her first - allotment holders are usually a close "society" and you can't afford to be at odds - for your own sake as much as anything else

barry island

Ask your new neighbour if they have been spraying they may say yes but no need to worry as they were very careful and none of it drifted onto your plot, if they have sprayed and you aren't confident that it hasn't landed on your crops then you have the option to either still use the crops or throw them away. Allotments are full of people who all have different methods and ideas of what is and what is not acceptable I'm afraid.

Skandi

If there isn't the slightest evidence of it on your plot then yes I feel you are being to sensitive. unless there is a site rule against sprays they won't have done anything wrong.

Dovefromabove

Further to my earlier post, I think I'd be quite relieved that something is being done on the plot before weed seeds spread onto yours.

barry island

I have three plots next to mine one has been vacant for five or six years and the other two for the last two years the weeds seed freely and there are sometimes plumes of weed seed blowing across the plot, strangely there doesn't seem to be any more weeds on my plot than there was when these three plots were occupied.

Loxley

It would be less effective to wait until autumn to spray. If it's not against the rules, and there's no sign of drift into your plot, I wouldn't worry. (As an aside, you're probably consuming glyphosate in your food already, if you eat non organic-certified cereal, due to the over-use of it in agriculture, for instance spraying it all over wheat to ripen it before harvest).

Hostafan1

maybe I've missed something, but you don't seem to KNOW they've sprayed, and if he / she / they have, you don't seem to  KNOW what they've sprayed with? 
I'd not overly worry until you find answers to IF and WHAT.