It was in the summer of 2006 I think.
We were having a barbecue with some friends and the topic of taking on an allotment cropped up. It appealed to both my friend Jeff and myself. We were both interested in growing our own and our respective children, aged between 10 and 7 at the time, seemed to be at a good age to get involved too. Then, as now, allotments were quite hard to come by with a 2 year waiting list for a plot at our nearest one. So we drank our beers into the evening, and forgot about it.
Then around 9 months later we learned that some wasteland was being turned over to allotments in an area a short drive away. Without hesitation, we took a look, paid our £30 rent up front and we were now officially allotment plot holders!
As you can see below, I use the term 'plot' loosely. We were one of the first to take up the challenge.
Where to start. The landlords had put some markers in the ground so we knew roughly the plot dimensions but the grass was 2-3 feet high so the first job was to scythe (yes an old fashioned one) down the long grass so we could see what we'd taken on and then to start digging...and digging...and digging.
Now when people picture allotments full of 'older' men pottering around drinking coffee, exchanging stories and generally passing the time of day, well I'm not going to deny some of that happens. But I'm also going to tell you its bloomin' hard work! No wonder it is currently defined by the government as an allowable exercise...because....it is!
And remember I said at the beginning it would be a great project to get the kids involved in? Well, for a month or so it was!
On a Saturday morning Jeff and his two kids (Andrew and Jen...and sometimes their dog Toby) and me and my two (Tom and Emily) would clear away grass, dig, cover, and move clumps of ground (you couldn't call it soil yet) and construct some 'compost' bins out of pallets (kindly donated by a friend via his work) so we had somewhere to 'chuck' the grass/weeds we were unearthing.
And to start with, no word of a lie, the kids were great. I wouldn't say they enjoyed it (below!) but there were moments of helpful activity before they escaped to Andrew and Jen's Grandma and Grampa whose house overlooked the plot (it was them that had put us on to the availability of the land in the first place) and whose kitchen full of cakes, ice cream and fizzy drinks was far more enticing than the graft of working the land.
But we started to get there...
Slowly some 'beds' stated to emerge, a dividing path was laid down and bit by bit it started looking like somewhere you might grow some veg.
In fact, we put in potatoes that first year. They say potatoes are a good first crop to break up soil. Well a JCB wouldn't break up our clay to begin with...and what we also didn't necessarily know is that if you put potatoes in where grassland previously was, you'll get wire worm and their associated holes in your potatoes for around 5 years...and its true - we did.
Eventually, though, it was just Jeff and I. I do smile to myself every time I see a new 'family' take on a plot now with the dream of helpful compliant kids growing veg. Kids like it when its 'new' but very quickly the novelty wears off. Soon, the girls would be playing with the dog, giving each other wheelbarrow rides or looking for wildlife before heading off for the nearby park or a walk. And the boys would only come if we were going to have a bonfire...
That was all 14 years ago. Jeff moved out of the area around 5 or 6 years ago at which point I took over the plot single-handedly. Tom, Andrew and Jen are also now living their lives away from home. But I am pleased to say that Emily, pictured above with that gardeners friend the earth worm, and below, helping out a couple of weeks ago, is now completing her university degree (in lockdown at home) but loves the green way of life and is taking more than a passing interest in what I do on the plot regularly helping me out when she can. So maybe a 25% success rate isn't too shabby.
Anyway, although this blog has been a bit self-indulgent, I thought it would be interesting to show you what we started with. It certainly makes me appreciate just how far we've come!
Until then, its bye from me and the 2007 allotment crew!
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