Like many readers of this blog, I grew up in the confines of the city.
There was no garden at our house. Well, actually, that’s not strictly true. There was a ‘back garden’, if you could call it that. Our back garden consisted of a narrow strip of patio stone which led to several feet of less than well maintained honeysuckle brush. The honeysuckle served a critical role as DMZ between our two-up two-down and the back neighbours’ version of the same.
One thing is certain, there was no space for gardening or anything else remotely related to to cultivation of food.
The year was 1984 and one day, my father had an idea. In His infinite wisdom, we, as a family, were going to bond (and grow vegetables) around a small plot of land that we would rent on the outskirts of town called an ‘allotment’. His vision for our future consisted of weekly trips not to the grocery store, but to our aforementioned parcel of land, to carry away the fruits of our collective family labour as mother nature had always intended.
I was intrigued and excited. My dad is a genius, a visionary! I have to admit though, the thought and concept of an ‘allotment’ initially confused me. Being 10 years old at the time - my only previous experience with small plots of land on the outskirts of town was attained by the attending of my grandmother’s funeral. That particular plot of land, and others of its ilk, seemed an odd place to bond and grow vegetables. But hey, whatever. All I knew is that it was definitely going was an excuse to run and muck about, so I was heavily onboard with the idea from the beginning. Others, like my mother & 15 year old sister, were less enthusiastic. Bonnie, our dog, seemed unsure as well.
I suppose, looking back, the project’s demise was predictable. Nary a single tomato was sown from that land. Like many allotment garden owners, we never got going on the potential of our land. In fact I remember only two, maybe three, visits. And I’m reasonably sure I was there every time our family went. The only real legacy from that fateful day in 1984 is the fact my own personal love affair with allotment gardening began with my father’s dream.
It grew, if you will.
For those that need a little background on this particular phenomenon, allotment gardens are a concentration in one place of a few up to several hundred land parcels that are assigned to individual families. As with our local, they are usually located on the outskirts of towns and cities.
The individual size of a parcel ranges between 200 and 400 square meters, and often the plots include a shed for tools and shelter. The individual gardeners are organised in an allotment association which leases the land from the owner who may be a public, provided that it is only used for gardening (i.e. growing vegetables, fruits and flowers), but not for residential purposes. The gardeners have to pay a small membership fee to the association, and have to abide with the corresponding constitution and by-laws.
It seems with the economy down and the continual ‘greening’ of our lifestyle, people are getting ‘back to basics’ with allotment gardens and gardening in general. The number of allotment gardens in the UK dropped from a high of 1.5 million plots in the early 1900s to a low of 245,000 plots today due to the increase in development and urban density.
Now in 2009, demand is back. In a big way. In fact there are some 100,000 names on the waiting list across the country due to space constraints. To help counteract this, a few official projects on the matter have come to the forefront in the local food/allotment movement in the UK, such as British Waterways’ (which controls 2200 miles of waterways/canals) plan to open up unused areas of waterfront properties to vegetable allotments. Even using retired canal workboats as floating gardens has been considered. Another project is the National Trust’s push to develop 1000 new allotments in the next three years on Trust Land, allowing communities to participate in the adventure of growing some of their own food.
If you want to get started, there is a plethora of information online. One great website to visit is the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners, where you will be put onto your nearest local allotment area, and some of the do’s and don’ts of the craft.
You will be amazed at the results even a gardening novice can produce. If, like me, you feel the need to get back in touch with mother nature - head to some of these websites to learn more:
http://www.allotment.org.uk/ - Allotment Growing
http://www.theallotmentgarden.co.uk/ - Organic Allotment Gardening
http://www.farmgarden.org.uk/ - Federation of City Farms & Community Gardens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allotment_(gardening) – Wikipedia
http://uktv.co.uk/gardens/item/aid/503494 - UKTV Gardening Page
SOURCE: UKTV | Wikipedia | NSALG.org
