I did it my way

One of the exciting things about allotment life on Ward End Gardeners Association sites at the moment is the different ways our new tenants are tackling the challenge of taking on a plot.

At our Lime Tree Road site, two-thirds of the tenants there are new to gardening or allotments or both.  It’s not such a high proportion on other sites, nevertheless of the 67 people who’ve been with us for 2 years of less (or two in every five tenants), 51 are keen to give it a go without the benefit of experience.  Only at Northleigh Road are newcomers (under 1 year) outnumbered by people who have been there for over two years.

Not everyone has the time or energy to succeed straight away, but it’s amazing what is possible when people set their minds to the task.

When I started looking around and talking to people for this post, I was just going to do one, but there’s so many stories, it’s expanded to three!   So this first one will be about the new-ish plotholders who joined us over a year ago:  they are still newcomers compared to oldtimers who’ve been at it for 10 years up to 30 years plus, but they have been through the tough stuff of starting a plot and have started to make gains now.  So it’s very useful experience to pass on to people who are just starting and perhaps wondering if it’s going to be worth all the effort.

Ashiq at Northleigh Road

Ashiq rented a plot which hadn’t long been given up so it was in a reasonable state compared to the ones that have been vacant for years.  All the same, it doesn’t take long for nature to take over so there was lots of work to do.  It’s on our largest site in 2020, and he turned up there after being persuaded to give it a go by his friend Iftikhar who already had a plot there.  It was a bold move after having major cancer surgery at the age of 64, and he decided to take on an allotment without any gardening experience to recover his health and get some regular exercise.   At home, his wife looks after the garden, not him, but he has happy memories of watching his parents growing crops to eat – he vividly recalls his mum sowing seeds at their home in a village near Islamabad, and seeing what were probably courgette plants climbing up the tree! 

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Not long after taking the plot, Ashiq’s childhood friend Mohammed Jawaid (now brother-in-law) came along to keep him company and watch, only to be drawn in to the regular jobs of digging, weeding, planting and harvesting.  Both men now come sometimes daily, but at least several days a week,  enjoy each others’ company as well the peace and quiet on the site, fresh air and exercise, including walking the road round the site. 

Getting their tips from Iftikhar and other plotholders, Ashiq and Jawaid grow a variety of mainly vegetables: Potatoes, onions, garlic, spinach, saag, beetroot, lettuce, coriander, tomatoes, runner beans, 3 types of courgette, and also strawberries.     They value having organic, freshly grown produce to take home for their daily meals.

Challenges include dealing with unpredictable weather and growing conditions – they can’t grow some crops all the year round which is what they remember in the hot climate of their youth, and some of the crops that will grow in Pakistan won’t grow in the UK climate.

What would they say to new starters on a site?   Says Ashiq,

• Give time, that’s more important than anything else.   And take it slowly, slowly
• Try and come 3-4 times a week, to keep on top of things especially weeding. 

Ishfark at Lime Tree Road 

A keen gardener but first time plotholder, Ish took on a long neglected plot on the Lime Tree Road site in October 2019.   With the confidence that came from being close to the earth as a child watching his father grow vegetables and getting tips from him, he decided to try the site nearest to his home where there were already people from his local community that he’d known for years.  

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At the start, he had a huge challenge as the plot he chose had been abandoned and needed an entire makeover.  His initial plan was to dig and dig and weed out everything, but he also put some garlic in to over-winter.   Then he realised if he tried to tackle the whole plot at once, it would de-motivate him so he concentrated on a patch at a time.   

His plot is now transformed from a wilderness of couch grass to an all-round allotment plot brimming with crops – currently courgettes, pumpkins, onions, varieties of radishes, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, sweet corn, chickpeas, spinach, flowers such as marigolds and some herbal remedies such as fenugreek and others – health benefits are as important to him as his fascination with growing.  He’s also planted perennials which will take time to get established – roses, various berries, currants, vines, dwarf fruit and nut trees.   His plot is next to the railway line fence so part of the plan is for plants to grow along and up the fence.  

Ish is a firm believer in learning and using tips to get the best out of his hobby and the plot.  This means using lots of different sources: he believes that effective communication with other plotholders is the key, especially asking experienced plotholders in the Association and applying their solutions.   As well as this, he communicates with other plotholders around the world via Instagram, Facebook and YouTube – the videos have been ‘of awesome help’.  

What has he discovered and found most useful?  Equipment-wise, he says “To start with, I invested in a pair of wellies, a fork and spade and with time, I ended up  with hand tools such as a rake, spade, forks, tiller, pick axe, shears, bamboo sticks, bug hotels, wires, cable ties, a rubbish bin, water butt, and the list goes on, as the more you want out of this hobby, the more you will seek solutions.”    

He’s nurtured plants in pots as well as in the ground to give them a good start. He’s used plastic polythene sheeting to inhibit weeds from growing in areas where he wasn’t working on, allowing him to focus on the areas where he is planting, and he’s planning to put his growing knowledge of composting into practice going forward.  

He’s also given a lot of attention to the problem of unpredictable weather and water conservation.  He says “Weather conditions can be a nightmare and to tackle this issue I’ve had to plan ahead and watch the weather updates beforehand to prepare in protecting my crops. For example, if the weather forecast is heavy rain, then I have deliberately not done any watering (from standpipe/butt) in order to save water and allow the natural rainfall to benefit my crops. Over watering is a waste of water and obviously can damage your crops.     When the weather predicts ice or snow, I have prepared a suitable covering to protect the plants from suffering.”   He’s also trying various ways to ensure his plants thrive by using mulches of chippings to keep the moisture in the soil and getting water to the roots with cut-down plastic bottles pushed into the soil next to the plants.      

Reflecting on the past couple of years he says:  “I didn’t realise that my fridge and freezer will be constantly full for a start.  I also realised later on how it helps the body mind and soul with positivity all round.”   

He thinks it’s important to try your best to keep the plot weed-free and tidy to avoid attracting vermin, to double check with the Allotment Rules if you’re unsure of what can be done, and to make allotment work easier by gaining knowledge from other plotholders and reading or watching videos to see what you can learn and apply.   

 

But it’s not all been plain sailing:  his plots, like several others on the site, had infestations of invasive weeds including horsetail, bindweed, couch grass, docks and brambles.    Using weed suppressant coverings and hard work, he’s mostly on top of these except the horsetail, which seems indestructible, but he keeps hoeing it off in the hope that he is at least weakening it.

Tips he would pass on to other new people  

• “Give it a go! 
• If like me you take on a plot that hasn’t been cultivated for many years, don’t try and clear it all at once, instead break it down into small sections and when you have cleared one get growing something, it doesn’t matter what, before you move onto clearing the next section
  This will encourage you to keep coming down to the plot and you will hopefully be reaping your rewards sooner 
• Starting seeds in modular trays first and planting out when strong seems to help, as does netting to keep the birds off for the first couple of weeks after planting 
• Also plant a range of flowers to attract bees and insects, as not only is this good for the planet, it really helps with pollination of your crops!”

Pauline at Fairholme Road

Fairholme Road is a small site with just 27 plots tucked behind houses and a care home off the Bromford Lane – ideal for Bromford estate residents on the doorstep, including Pauline who came along in 2020 just before the Covid 19 lockdown started to find out if there were plots available.  With good experience of growing vegetables in raised beds and growbags, she and her children Lou and Demi decided it was time to upgrade from growing in the garden to renting an allotment plot.   They found the site via a Google search and were excited by the idea of taking on a new challenge as a family.   Says Pauline: “We love how it’s a small site with a friendly community,” and they’ve had support and help from other plotholders and the Association. The plot they took on was in a bad state as it had not been cultivated for a long time, so clearing rubbish and weeding was needed.  Using black plastic sheeting to suppress weeds on half of the plot was their first move because initially they didn’t have an overall plan, 

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But over time they’ve become clear their priority is to grow what they all enjoy eating as well as growing, and the things they buy most regularly from supermarkets – veggies like sweetcorn, cucumber, tomatoes, courgettes, broad beans, mangetout, snowpeas, runner beans, potatoes, carrots, onions, sprouts, broccoli, kale and cabbage.   They’ve also planted strawberries. 

Pauline ordered seeds and seed potatoes through the WEGA seed ordering scheme with Kings Seeds in November 2020 – the ‘Early starter vegetable collection’ for £9.25 (no.92024) is a good choice for someone new to allotment gardening and includes beetroot, broad beans, runner beans, French beans, peas, carrots, beetroot, radishes, lettuce, spring onions and tomatoes.  She also chose a variety of vegetables to meet their eating preferences  and bought some mint, lavender and snapdragon flower seeds as well.  With the 40% discount, these ranged from 70p a packet to £1.60 a packet.  Her choice of Vivaldi potatoes came after buying these from a supermarket and liking the taste, then finding that Kings did this variety (along with many others). 

Having a limited budget has made them think carefully about what tools and equipment to buy: the basics – shovels, forks, rakes, hand tools such as trowels, as well as watering cans and bamboo canes.  She’s also invested in netting for a big cage to protect crops from pests.

With no previous experience of having an allotment, they’ve learned by a mixture of trial and error and researching when needed, using books and online.  Lou started studying the RHS Level 2 Diploma in Horticulture a year before they got the allotment and they’ve found that the information from the course has definitely been useful on the plot e.g learning about things like pest life cycles and disorders/diseases has been really helpful when trying to diagnose specific problems with the crops. Since starting, it has been a steady and gradual progression although it was hard going the first few months, and for the first year, they just concentrated on half the plot.   Says Pauline “We took our time and did things at a pace which suits us and works around our individual schedules rather than allowing ourselves to feel overwhelmed with the amount of work and jobs needed doing”.    One thing which really worked for them was splitting the plot into sections, and peeling back the black plastic bit by bit when doing the initial cultivation.  And they also found  “How simple and useful it is to maintain and produce compost using a compost heap. We started this using from the beginning and have a good amount of healthy compost we will be adding to the raised beds in Autumn.

What tips would they give other people new to allotments?

• “Don’t give up and stick with it! 
• Enjoy everything and try to not see any part as a chore 
• Don’t try to attack a huge area at once, split it into different sections and work on an area at a time. 
• Take loads of progress photos!!”

Noor at St Margarets Road 

Noor is also a first time plotholder, but has experience of growing vegetables and flowers with his elder brother in Afghanistan before he moved to the UK.  He heard about the St Margarets Road from a friend in 2020, and decided it was just the thing to grow vegetables to cook and eat.   He took on a plot which hadn’t been let for some years, so there was lots of work involved in getting the ground ready for planting.

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His plot now includes flowers growing happily alongside the spinach, beans, onions, cucumbers, sweetcorn, courgettes and other staples.   The colourful flowers on his plot are a source of admiration for everyone who visits the site.   

He’s still not keen on cities so being on the plot every day makes him happy and able to cope with being apart from his family back in Afghanistan.   He’s made new friends and has been able to work on his English while he’s doing citizenship course. 

On the site, Noor has played a vital role in its revival – at one point it was down to 5 individual plotholders all over 60 – as he’s helped with all the work needed to make it easier to let vacant plots.   At the same time, he’s been able to benefit from the resources of longstanding plotholders with tools, equipment or plants to spare, and advice to give. 

Now his plot is overflowing with plants including a full greenhouse and polytunnel, after failing last year with some of his planting.     He’s already passing on his experience to the next wave of newbies on the site.

His tips for people starting from scratch?

• “Get to know people on the site, get along with them and communicate – we’re all different but we need to work together
• Learn from your experience and plant things at the right time
• Work hard and focus on why you’re there.  Don’t be lazy or talk too much!!”

So there we have it, five plotholders all from different backgrounds, but all new to allotments.  Working on different sites, they have interestingly come to often similar conclusions about how to make the best of having an allotment:

• Don’t try and tackle it all at once – clear and plant the plot section by section
• Talk to other people on the site to get tips and advice, and any other sources you find useful
• Learn from your own experience
• Involve other people (family, friends) if they’re willing
• Enjoy the experience, including all the benefits of fresh air and exercise etc
• Put the time in, don’t expect quick fixes, keep at it and don’t give up

NEXT POST:  the next post will be about people who signed up to a WEGA plot at the start of this allotment year – October 2020, and how they’ve managed to develop their plots despite lockdowns and all the other problems we’ve experienced in recent months.

Then for the third post, it will focus on even newer plotholders who haven’t had the benefit of the winter of 2020/21 to prepare their plot for cultivation.

If you would like to talk about your experience and think it could help other plotholders, new or old, please contact me, WEGA Secretary on 07812 248447 or email: hester_blewitt@hotmail.com

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WEBSITE:   would you like to write a post or send photos we could use on the website?  Contributors welcome on any topic relevant to allotments or gardening on allotments.

Ideas on how best to grow particular crops, or deal with pests or diseases, how to save water, involve your family in maintaining your plot – anything which could be of interest to other people.