Join the allotment community

The UK is going crazy for allotments and the traditional allotment demographic is widening to encompass young and old alike with an increasing number of women and young families getting involved. Successful business people have been known to give up their day job to spend their time keeping a plot or ‘allotmenteering’.

We probably wouldn’t advise going to these lengths but in a time of increasing food prices and worries about the ‘carbon footprint’, growing fruit and vegetables in a garden or allotment is becoming ever more attractive, popular and economical.

And as it’s currently National Allotments Week there’s never been a better time to start. We’ve brought together a few helpful resources and some allotment facts to help you get involved with the allotment crowd.

Did you know?

• By law all councils in England & Wales (with the exception of inner London) have to provide allotments. As long as you are over 18 and on the electoral roll you can request an allotment plot from your local council.

• Allotments in the UK date back to the 18th century, reaching a peak in 1918 with 1.5 million allotments. There are now around 300,000 allotments in the UK.

• The rent for British allotments is traditionally due on St Michaelmas Day, the 29th September and is usually between £30-£50 per year.

• Allotments are measured in rods. On rod equals 25.3 square meters. Traditionally, the average allotment plot is around 10 rods, so 250 square meters. This was based on the estimate that a family of four could live from the produce and be self-sufficient.

Find an allotment

Dobbies are so keen to see more people growing their own fruit and veg, we’ve made plans to offer allotments right next door to our garden centres, starting with Dobbies Garden World Southport.

But if you can’t wait to get started, most local authorities or councils have a department dedicated to allotment growers and shared allotments normally come under the conservation, recreation, leisure or parks services. Try your local authority website to find an allotment near you.

Depending on the area you live in, finding an allotment is not always easy. In areas such as inner London demand for allotments is high due to lack of garden space and other factors. This has been an area that local government have tried to target. Sharing information on allotments in London such as availability and advice has become a priority in recent years and there are a number of helpful resources out there.

If you live in London you can find an allotment near you by visiting www.london.gov.uk/allotments/map/ and typing in your postcode.

The National Trust is another place to try for allotment plots. The good news is that the Trust will be creating 1,000 new allotment plots in Trust land over the next three years. Check the website for more information at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-global/w-news/w-latest_news/

If you’re struggling to find an allotment then help may be just around the corner. In response to growing concern about healthy lifestyle and a lack of growing space, the UK wide initiative Landshare launched by Channel 4 aims to help people find and share land for growing.

Landowners and growers alike can sign up at http://landshare.channel4.com

UK wide community

Allotment gardeners seem to be a very altruistic breed, ‘in it together’ for the greater good of growing. There are so many resources and blogs out there allowing allotment keepers and growers to share their experiences and exchange tips. This growing community has greatly increased the publicity surrounding allotment growing and various initiatives and campaigns have been set up to help improve our urban spaces around the UK and increase organic growing.

As the biggest UK allotment body, The National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners (NSALG) is probably the first port of call to find out about what is involved in renting an allotment and allotment applications to local authorities.

You can become a member by visiting their website at www.nsalg.org.uk.

The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens (FCFCG) set up The Allotments Regeneration Initiative (ARI) in 2002 to help increase the profile of allotment keeping in the UK.

The initiative is still going strong and their website allows allotment keepers to share their success stories and provides information on how allotment regeneration has worked. They even offer an allotment mentor service providing support and advice in your area and frequently recruit volunteers to take up such positions.

Join in by visiting www.farmgarden.org.uk/ari/

Conscientious growers

If your concern with allotments or growing is a more individual venture, you can do your bit just by cultivating the right sort of fruit and veg.

A very topical area of concern for allotment gardeners and organic growers is biodiversity in the food we grow and eat. Since the industrial revolution some of the UK’s vegetables such as bean, cabbage, onion and cauliflower variants have disappeared due to various factors such as climate change and the growth in alien species. In an effort to help build healthy eco-systems and save obscure vegetables the organic growing charity, Garden Organic has set up an appeal to save endangered seeds.

Visit www.gardenorganic.org.uk/support_us/appeal_vegseed.php for more information and to make a donation.

If you’re not sure which seeds to grow you can add your name to a list to have endangered seeds sent out to you by visiting www.gardenorganic.org.uk/hsl/index.php