Organic Allotment

Allotments Are Really Good Because...

This isn't the first time I've used my blog to say how great I think allotments are... Yesterday when I headed up to my plot in the afternoon I went into the greenhouse to discover that my neighbour, Brian, had left this beautiful bunch of gladioli for me in my watering can. Brian's a really nice man, but come to think of it so are most of the other plot holders at my allotments -  they're always ready to give advice on growing, to swap seeds and seedlings and to share out their produce when they've got a glut that they can't keep up with. I'm a great believer that allotments are one of the few places in modern towns and cities where a real sense of community still prevails and this belief has, on the whole, been proved true in my years as a plot holder.

I live just around the corner from my allotment and having the plot means that I now know loads of like minded people in my local community who I would have never got to know without the allotment as a starting point. I also love the way that allotments are essentially public spaces and it's great to see how this kind of resource can really change the dynamic of a community. It's no surprise then to see that allotment waiting lists all over the country are now so long with people wanting to get their hands on plots that many groups are now lobbying local councils to set up more sites because current provision goes nowhere near meeting current demand. The Channel 4 Landshare website has been a perfect illustration of how great the desire is for people to get out into the fresh air and get growing. But the site also illustrates that there is a much greater demand for land to grow on than can currently be met.

So you've tried all avenues and still can't get your hands on a little plot of your own? Why not try getting together a group of like minded people and lobby your local council? If you can prove that there is local demand that isn't being met by current provision councils have a legal obligation to try and meet your needs, or at least come up with a very good excuse why they can't... There's no guarantee this route will lead to success but it's worth a try (my friend in Warwickshire got allotments set up in her community this way) and even if you aren't successful it's really important that people keep reminding the local powers that be that "We want more spaces to grow on and we want them now!"

Unexpected Discovery

Last night I was walking home from my Spanish class and I saw something so exciting that I had to get my camera out right away and take a picture so that I could share it with you. Can you spot what I'm talking about?

Look in the right hand side of the picture and you'll see a healthy little tomato plant growing right out of the pavement in front of this office building in the centre of Manchester. It's a pretty busy street with lots of passers by so I'm amazed it has lasted this long - rather irritatingly it looks in much better condition than some of the more pampered specimens that I've got in my own greenhouse at the plot! I'm really intrigued to see if it will produce any tomatoes so, as it's just behind where I work, I'm going to keep popping out to see how it's getting on. I'll keep you posted...

Starting From Scratch

There are many hard core veg growers out there who don't leave space for any flowers on their plot. It's  a kind of old fashioned and macho way of thinking to say that a plot has to be purely productive and that any space taken up by pretty things is a waste. Some of these horticultural despots may find space for a couple of rows of dahlias but apart from that it's function, function, function all the way. I mean, these lot are so strict that they only grow veg in straight lines - can you imagine?

I love growing veg and agree that a plot should have some degree of function so that you can make it as productive as possible but I love growing flowers and think that anyone who doesn't find space for them is really missing out. Aside from many flowers playing an essential part as companion plants keeping pests at bay as they try to attack your other crops there's nothing better than a veg plot that looks as delicious as the veg it produces tastes!

Take these cosmos for example. They're easy as anything to grow from seed and will keep on looking great all summer long if you're sure to keep dead heading them. They'll even produce enough flowers for you to liberate at least a few to take home and make your house look beautiful. You may not be able to eat them but I'd say lovely flowers like this should be an essential part of any veg plot. It's the first time I've grown cosmos from seed this year but I'll certainly be planting plenty more next time.

Twice A Day and Counting

In hot weather like we've been having lately our allotment gets at least two visits a day. We pop up in the morning before work to open the greenhouse, then back after work to water and get on with some jobs. The routine is pretty much the same at weekends although the morning trip is almost inevitably extended by that "I'd much rather stay here than go anywhere else" feeling that is almost inevitable when I pop to the plot on a warm summer's morning. During the week it is often a real struggle to drag myself away from the long list of jobs that I could be getting on with on the allotment and head out to work.

Take this morning for example - this is how the plot looked at half seven when I popped up there, and I would have been quite happy to hang around all day. There are black currants and gooseberries to be picked, the empty bed you can see to the left is to be planted with carrots and I've got trays of chard, swede and turnips ready to be planted out, to name but a few of the things that I could have got on with.

Of course, it's always a shame to leave the plot behind in the morning, but one of the great benefits is that it's something great to look forward to at the end of a busy day at work. And on long sunny days like we're having at the moment there's still a whole evening stretching out in front of you just waiting to be filled with projects in the garden. Does anybody else care to admit to seasonal clock watching in the countdown to get out of the office and enjoy the summer sun in the great outdoors?

It Isn't All Good News You Know...

Sometimes looking at this blog and others that cover similar ground you could be fooled into believing that nothing ever goes wrong on allotments and gardens all over the country. I'd like to be able to say this was true but have to confess that I as much as the next blogger could be accused of missing out the gory bits, and only sharing my successes with the outside world. Okay, so I have shared with you snippets of information on the pests and diseases that I have encountered but, on the whole, the news has tended to be mainly good...

Well now, it's time to get a bit nasty and I want to share with you the brutal truth of this evening's visit to the plot. Firstly the resident rabbit has been munching his or her way through my parsnips seedlings that, until this point were doing pretty well. I wouldn't be so offended if he actually ate the leaves but the fact that he chews them up then spits them out really infuriates me. Then my squash plants that I promised myself would pick up when the weather got better still look dull and depressed, and the celery that I was so proud of a matter of weeks ago looks like it's giving up the ghost. Finally, and most annoyingly, I spotted the first signs of blight on my precious tomatoes in the greenhouse. I have pulled out the offending plants and hope that I've got in there early enough but I'm not holding up much hope because blight tends to be so persistent once it rears its ugly head.

I'm sure that all you growers out there can relate to the feeling of the visit to your plot when it feels like it's just one bad thing after the other. Fortunately my flower bed is thriving in the heat so I was able to pick this glorious little posy of flowers to console myself in the face of so much bad news. Lovely aren't they?