National Allotments Week 2024

My brother and I would always spend time with my Dad on his allotment, when we were little - sowing seeds in drills, eating peas and tomatoes straight from the plants, and collecting eggs from our hens. We just enjoyed being outdoors. keeping busy and reaping the rewards of our watering and nurturing.

When I found out that there were allotments not two minutes walk from where I'd moved to, in Darlington, I was keen to rekindle the love for 'grow your own' and keeping a few hens of my own. Produce grown using rainwater, less than two hundred metres away is surely a climate friendly way of bringing tasty food to the table.

I had my name on a waiting list for a while, but used that time to try my hand at growing anything I could in the little space I had at home - it's surprising how much produce you can get from a few cheap or recycled containers in a yard. You don't need a large garden or plot to give it a go.

Though I knew some of the basics of sowing and growing, working at Darlington Libraries meant I was already aware of the vast amount of books full of tried and tested methods for growing crops at home. Best of all, these books are free for everyone to borrow and this is where most of my knowledge has come from over the years.

I have now been growing veg on my own allotment in Cockerton for around 15 years. There's an annual tenancy fee, but it doesn't cost a lot. Some people plot share and work on it together. There's even a communal allotment where people can pay a small fee to use a raised bed for the year to try it out before taking on a larger plot.

There is a great community of plot holders. We can chat, share experience and advice and swap plants. We help each other out or have a friendly competition to see who can grow the longest, largest or wonkiest fruits or vegetables.

I'm all for doing things as cheaply or as affordable as possible in the garden. I think being frugal and creative is what allotments are all about. I try to spend as little as possible by doing things like reusing old timber and growing my own rods for plant supports. Sourcing second hand tools for little money or sometimes for free on sites like Freecycle Darlington. Our allotments' community hub will even allow plot holders to borrow or buy donated tools for a small monetary contribution to the allotment association - This is great for bigger pieces of equipment that might be quite expensive to buy for yourself for just a few uses.

One of my favourite parts of the allotment is the compost heap, knowing that I can create nutrient rich mulch for absolutely nothing, just by collecting my garden and kitchen waste. And that will feed my soil and the important microbes living in it, so that I can grow healthy food all over again.

Because we started a seed swap collection at Darlington Library this year, I'm realising that it's also possible to save money when it comes to starting plants from seed. You can group together with other growers to buy and share seeds. Or, better still, I'm learning how to save seeds from the plants I grow, so I can sow them again next year - in the hope to grow plants that become more accustomed to our local conditions. I'll be adding some of those to the free Darlington Library seed swap where anyone can pick up seeds that they don't have and they can donate any others they have to spare.

We recently had hives of honeybees introduced to our site, on an apiary created by some of our amazing plot holders. Seeing the bees in action, I'm learning the importance of diversity in what I'm growing. I have used seeds kindly donated to the Library seed swap to grow bee and pollinator attracting flowers to my vegetable garden. Not only should this feed the insects, but it should mean more of them will be attracted to my plants to help pollination for a more successful harvest.

There can be a lot of hard work and planning involved to keep on top of the growing seasons and maintenance, but I would still recommend anyone to give it a go and start small with a container or two and pick up a few books from the Library. It's an old cliché, but it really is true that there's nothing better than the taste of home grown food. That, to me, is just a bonus. It comes with the benefits of supporting my physical health. But what I find is most important for me is, often during Spring and Summer, I can quite happily just wander around the plot and do very little work at all. It's rewarding and it's good to get out of any negative headspace. It goes a long way to helping to improve mental wellbeing. There's a sense of achievement when things are thriving and nature is literally buzzing around you.