By Abi Garvey
It’s always been tricky to get an allotment, because people have this notion of living the good life. Then the allotment that they see in front of them is not what they want, because they’re usually completely overgrown! We’ve had a lot of people say 'that’s too much for me to take on' and that’s fair enough.
When I got my allotment, it was an overgrown mess and I thought, can I really do this? I said to myself, Ab, this doesn’t have to be done overnight. Even if you uncover one bed at a time. Broken furniture, rubbish bins. You’ve got to see past that, you’ve got to see the potential, it’s like buying a house and looking further on and realising how much joy this is going to bring in the long term.
When I got offered a plot on my site, I had a choice of two. One plot was underneath a tree canopy, thanks, but no thank you! That kind of plot will be hard to dig because of the roots, its going to take a lot of watering because the trees will take a lot of the moisture and you’d be constantly dealing with everything from the tree, even the seed casings. I made some suggestions to the people who run the allotments, why don’t you put some wildflower seeds down and convert some of these allotments into pollinator spaces?
You can walk onto your allotment and shut the gate and it opens a whole new world.
Abi
We’re very lucky, we’ve got access to water. Most allotments do, but a lot of sites don’t let you have hose connectors and hoses trailed from the taps to your plots.
You can fill up a watering can or pre-fill your water butts or containers. You can even get the cheap black bins with the lid. It can stand for a couple of weeks while you use it.
I’d always encourage people to harvest as much rainwater as they can. If you’re lucky enough your plot will come with an intermediate bulk container (IBC) tank. A guttering system can be easily hooked up to that.
We’re not allowed sheds on our allotment, probably one of the very few in the country which has this rule. We have a community shed and we just label our tools and pop them in the shed. I’ve also got a storage bench that can be left out in all weathers, that has a padlock function and a storage garden box.
If you’re on a budget, you can get a lot of stuff for free on social media market place sites. I look through the local list to see what’s free. I’ve got rakes, spades, a vintage lawnmower, beautiful terracotta pots, my pond, my pond liner, all sorts. Freecycle sites, Nextdoor and Shpock are great.
And make friends with the people on your allotment. “I’m the newbie on the plot, haven’t got a clue, have you got anything that you’re getting rid of?” More than likely you’ll be kitted out from your allotment community.
Try to stop yourself running away with ideas! Think about what you eat as a family regularly. What vegetables do you buy each week? I just think rather than buy it in the supermarket, I’ll grow it. We eat a lot of courgettes, tomatoes, cucumbers and purple sprouting broccoli. It is really expensive in the supermarkets and its one of the easiest things to grow, because it’s literally ‘cut and come again’. You can get four good plants in the ground, that’s your purple sprouting broccoli all over the winter!
The mental health benefits of the allotment are huge ... you get such a connection with the earth and with people.
Abi
For a newcomer if you think planting seeds looks tricky, go to your garden centre and buy the plug plants, that’s what they’re there for. For me, it’s about what you can achieve. I don’t care whether I’ve started from seed or a plug plant, you’ve still got to rear that plant and produce it to its full term.
Of course, if you’ve had a good 12 months of allotment gardening then you’re probably feeling more confident, so get sowing.
You don’t really need seed trays, if you’ve got some old yoghurt pots use them.
If you haven’t got a greenhouse, don’t worry. My set up is a flimsy greenhouse about 5 foot high with four shelves which is in the house by a sunny window. If you haven’t got one of those, save milk cartons and cut them in half and make them into mini greenhouses. The containers you get your grapes in? turn it upside down and you’ve got another mini greenhouse.
I do a lot of mulching which retains water in the soil. I put down a lot of dead leaves and use grass clippings, straw or hay around the plants to help stop water evaporation. That way you’re feeding your plants and helping to retain moisture.
I also do something called 'chop and drop'. If I’m pruning or cutting leaves, or harvesting rhubarb for example, I’ll use the big leaves to cover the soil, keeping in as much moisture as possible and preventing the weeds from growing.
I’ll be on my allotment more often with the longer days and more light – a couple of evenings after work and most of my weekend.
I think the best advice when you start is to set out your own framework of work you’re prepared to do and the goals you want to achieve. You can keep an allotment going on half an hour a day by making a list of little jobs; maybe just working on one bed. You can go back the next day and do another task, a bit of pruning maybe. Set small achievable goals for yourself.
Sometimes if you feel a bit lost, you think, ‘allotment, here I come’ and you get grounded again.
Abi
For me, it has to be Scarlet Kale, it’s incredible, it looked too good to eat!
Sweetcorn always amazes me. From that one tiny kernel you get 7 ft long sweet corn stakes with 4 or 5 ears of corn on each one. Its always a favourite.
Sprouts always make me happy.
Purple sprouting broccoli is amazing. I didn’t realise it was cut and come again and it blew my mind because when I harvested my first lot I thought that was it. A couple of weeks I went back and there was more! So that really works.
Asparagus is another one on my list.
There’s also a particular squash called Patty Pan. A beautiful yellow colour and like a UFO in shape. You can eat them raw – they melt in your mouth, its like butter.
Borlotti beans are great for storing and using in the winter for soups and stews.
I actually get a bit goosebumpy when I think about my allotment and what it’s given me. You can walk onto your allotment and shut the gate and it opens a whole new world.
The people are incredible, I’ve made some amazing friends and wonderful connections. It’s helped me become more involved in my community and I feel part of my village.
Obviously the mental health benefits of the allotment are huge, it’s been a massive part of my therapy and recovery of my childhood trauma. It’s amazing, you get such a connection with the earth and with people.
Sometimes if you feel a bit lost, you think, ‘allotment, here I come’ and you get grounded again. You only have to see one person down there and it’s ‘Good afternoon, how are you today? What are you growing?’ You’ve always got something to talk about, even if you don’t know that person, you know you make that connection and you don’t feel quite so lost anymore.