allotment next to the road

[poohs tao]

I have recently 'swapped' allotments. the new one is next to the road. how many metres from the road is it ok to plant veg to avoid pollution? is there anything i can plant to filter car pollution? does anyone have an allotment that backs onto a busy road? thanks

[poohs tao]

[OllieC]

Mine's beside a fairly busy road (which once was the A3 before Guildford got a bypass)... It doesn't bother me. Once upon a time, lead may have been a worry but that's not in petrol any more. I heard that you get high amounts of precious metals from catalytic converters near roundabouts but don't think that's a problem near moving traffic... I don't think you have to worry about anything from CO, CO2 or hydrocarbon pollution.

I wouldn't eat mushrooms from too near a road - they mop up any old junk!

[kt.]

One of my plots is next to a main road, but the site has a decent size fence around it. I do not plant near the fence but  I have my shed,  manure pile and compost pile along the fenceline.