UK Edition
Allotments are a ‘way of life’ not a plot of land, says National Society as they battle long waiting lists
Allotmenteering is a way of life not a plot of land, the National Allotment Society has said, as it battles long waiting lists.
Some 90,000 people are in the queue for an allotment around the country, with some expected to wait as long as 40 years for a plot.
Now, in a bid to make sure those people don’t miss out, sites across the UK will be opening their gates for National Allotment Week, showing off their skills and “sharing the joy in gardening” in a bid to encourage everyone to grow their own food in their back gardens, balconies and window boxes.
“For some people growing your own fruit and vegetables is a way of life, especially on allotments where there are also other social benefits,” said the National Allotment Society’s PR Co-ordinator, Di Appleyard.
“However, everyone can work growing their own food in to their lives, even those with busy schedules.
“More and more people are living in flats or have small gardens but are interested in knowing what’s being put on their plates,” she said. “We hope that people will be inspired to hone their horticultural skills.”
“There’s a sense of wanting to know where your food comes from. Growing your own food is useful for children. It helps them to know that vegetables come from the ground, not the supermarket.
“Along with enjoying the delights of having fresh salad ingredients and herbs outside your back door,” she said, “families who grow their own food at home are more likely to eat healthily and - we hope - start hankering for an allotment.”
Allotments in the village of Blisworth in Northamptonshire, are among those throwing open their gates to the public next weekend [18 and 19 August]. They are some of the oldest allotments in the country, being established in 1838 by the Duke of Grafton to give villagers somewhere to grow their food when the Grand Union Canal was built.
The event coincides with a canal festival in the village, which is expected to attract some 25,000 people. A land train with 30 seats is being laid on to take visitors from the canal to the nearby allotments.
“Visiting allotments if very popular now,” said 78-year-old allotment manager Jane Percival. “People like to have a look around, particularly in people’s sheds.”
Growing your own vegetables is, she said, “a way of life.”
“Some people have been gardening here for more than 50 years,” she said. “In the last year we’ve had 13 new plot holders come in, and they are very glad of the experience of the older people.
“There’s a real sense of friendship here, as well as peacefulness, and you know what you are going to eat. There’s a great deal of pleasure in picking blackberries and strawberries.
“A lot of people start at home doing just a little bit,” she said, “and then they want to do more and get into allotment gardening.”
Rachel Hardy, 39, an ecologist from Winchester did just that, starting to grow one tomato plant in a pot in her tiny courtyard garden.
Finding that she wanted to “dig some land” rather than just a pot, she put her name on the waiting list for an allotment.
Two years later, she was given a disused plot on Highcliffe Allotments in Winchester that was “overgrown and the ground was rock hard”. But now, she and her husband Mike, 42, and daughters Charlotte, 8, and Emma, 4, grow most of their vegetables there. They are self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables during the summer months.
“I really wanted the children to be outdoors and to see soil,” she said. “It’s very good for the children. They like catching woodlice and slowworms, and they are definitely more into vegetables because they have dug them up.
“There are a lot of children on the allotments and they just enjoy being outdoors and helping with growing.
“For me, it’s a way of life. We grow vegetables for lunch boxes, but they often don’t make it home, because the children eat them on the way.
“We are incredibly lucky. We have the dream lifestyle. But, you don’t need an allotment to grow a few things and make a difference to what you’re eating.”
Although 90,000 people are on waiting lists for allotments, according the National Allotment Society, waiting times “vary nationwide”.
“I live in Bristol,” said Di Appleyard, “and the waiting list there is four years. But the worst I’ve heard of is in London, where there’s a claim that there are 40 year waiting lists.”
But waiting lists were, she said, “going down” as “allotment authorities got better at managing lists.”