Did you know that around 6000 people in Birmingham – more if you include family and friends – rent allotment plots on one of 100 plus allotment sites spread around the city mainly to grow fresh food for their families? If you’re not one of these, you may wonder where all this is going on because the sites aren’t at all obvious. Mostly they are tucked away in housing estates and behind shops and factories, unseen to the general public and that’s a shame when it’s such a positive thing that everyone should know about.
At the end of last year a survey of plotholders in Birmingham discovered that the harvest from an average plot is around 100 kg a year – typically four fifths vegetables and the rest fruit such as strawberries, raspberries and rhubarb. This means that possibly around 630 tonnes of food is being harvested in the city each year.
This year has not been so good with ‘challenging weather’ to deal with. But it’s still been possible to grow lots of fresh, organic fruit and veg as well as flowers on our allotments. To give you a personal example, on our two plots in Ward End, in 2024 we’ve harvested 15 kg of apples and pears, 35 kg of currants, berries and other fruit, 17 kg of tomatoes and 77 kg of vegetables – and that’s despite health problems and other calls on our time. It may have taken us some years to establish a plot, but we’re now reaping the benefits. What we grow is tastier than what’s in the shops and we’re saving money on the more expensive items too.
We’re not experts by any means, but we give it a go and know from experience that anyone who really tries can quickly learn how to make the most of a plot to give them the sort of fresh food that nowadays costs a lot in the supermarkets
In Ward End, our Association has nearly 200 plots available in total and with 5 sites ranging from 22 to 52 plots on each, you’re spoilt for choice of location and site size. Obviously a lot of these are occupied, but we have vacancies on every site and we’re keen to recruit new people with enthusiasm and energy who are keen to become allotment tenants.
There’s no barriers to becoming an ‘allotmenteer’ – except that only over 18’s can sign the legal agreement involved. People come from all walks of life and backgrounds and some who’ve done well never had a garden before, never mind a piece of land of around 250 square metres to cultivate. The only things which determine whether it’s going to work is whether you are prepared to put in time and energy over a long period. You can only know that if you try. Also you have to be willing to learn new skills and knowledge to make a success of your investment, as it’s not cheap at the start if you’ve never had an allotment before.
Abdul with his dahlias Northleigh Road 
Young pea plants nearly ready to plant out 
Raja & pumpkins Lime Tree Road 
Meena with a young gardener 
Harvest on the College plot, Blackpit Lane 
Chris with his potato harvest 
Rasa in her 1st year on the plot, Blackpit Lane 
Lime Tree Road, preparing beds 
Abdel & fig plants 
Mick chilling out, Blackpit Lane 
Mid-season growth 
Noor at St Margarets Road 
Crown Prince pumpkins 
Cyril and cauliflower, Lime Tree Road 
Beds and greenhouse 
Learning where food comes from 
Shane – Fairholme Road 
Mohammed at Lime Tree Road 
St Margarets Road – weeding the crops 
Potato harvesting Northleigh Road
One of the things we know is that most people have busy lives, and some people have disabilities or face extra barriers to getting involved with an activity needing on-going commitment. So we have small and mini-plots available if a standard plot is too much to manage. Another option is to join our Gardening Club at the smallest site St Margarets Road to ‘learn the ropes’ and see whether you enjoy gardening before you sign up. At this site and at Northleigh Road, there are raised beds which enable people with mobility problems to undertake gardening, and we have ways to provide advice and tips for new people unsure about how to look after their crops.
Just another point worth mentioning is that having an allotment can be a wonderful tonic – lots of us find that a trip to our plot helps us unwind, chill out and get all our problems in perspective. Just being outside and doing the digging, weeding and other tasks is a welcome relief from the ‘pressures of modern life’. Gardening doesn’t work for everyone, but if you enjoy it, having an allotment could transform your life! This applies to people at work or with caring responsibilities, or people who’ve newly retired and looking for a new challenge, or single people living on their own and people with large families. Anyone, in fact.
So why not explore the options this autumn so you can get stuck into your first growing season in 2025? Check out the locations of our five sites and see which ones are most convenient from where you live or work. Then get in touch and we can show you what’s available right now.