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An appreciation of allotments

An appreciation of allotments

We love an allotment at the Clarion. They are places where produce is grown, plants are swapped, friendships cemented, children entertained and weeds cursed. Trees (and perennial weeds) are passed from generation to generation, vegetables grown, seeds saved. In a world where we are encouraged to think about food miles, could allotments be the future? We were delighted to hear from Louise Thomas, a plot-holder at Marston Ferry, who wished to share her love of the plot and encourage those who might be considering it.

A recent piece in the Times reported former NFU President Baroness Batter’s campaign for all new housing developments to include allotments. It quoted 20-year waiting lists for allotments in London, and some 175,000 people in Britain hoping to have an allotment one day. If only they lived in Oxford…

The joy of the plot is something to share, be that surplus rhubarb in spring, spare tomato seedlings or the inevitable courgette glut. And so, to those who might be considering growing their own food, I'm sharing my story here via the Clarion.

The starter plot, with a haircut, and dug over

A year ago this week, I spotted a card in a shop window announcing allotments to rent. After arranging to see a ‘starter plot’ with the allotment society’s secretary Lucy, I spent a couple of hours debating with my friend and soon-to-be collaborator, Caroline, whether this was a sensible idea for someone like me who worked, had teenage children and took on far too much at the best of times. How much digging would it involve? Could we just adopt a no-dig approach? What equipment would I need to find or borrow? Could we just put up a polytunnel and drink hot chocolate there in the winter? What if nothing grew and I was asked to leave? 

All of these proved unfounded concerns as my starter plot was 5m x 5m. We dug it easily in two hours, peeling back the weed-covering sheet as excited new ‘allotmenteers’.

Over the coming weeks and despite starting a bit late in the growing season, the plot came to life. It soon became evident that nature’s ecosystem at allotments is a far cry from domestic gardens, where slugs are the dominant species with plenty of well-established places to hide. On the allotment, the hierarchy of predators is far healthier, so I began rescuing plants from my garden to recuperate there. 

Newly planted, then spring and things are growing, and finally in midsummer, the plot is thriving.

Occasional badger, deer and rabbit droppings and paw prints across the weed covering were a reminder of different potential predators after my peas or sweetcorn – but that added to the feeling that nature was very much in control, including the weather. By the end of the summer, the allotment had proved a great idea, with different family members (including teenagers) helping to collect water from the wells, strim the grass paths around the plot, pick vegetables and enjoy the change of scenery. The plot produced lots of delicious sweetcorn, peas, mangetout, flowers, carrots, radishes and two self-planted pumpkins that became the centrepiece of Hallowe’en.  

Since then I have graduated to a bigger plot, 5m x 25m, which has kept us busy while a great array of birds sing loudly from the boundary trees at dusk. The storms last September meant that the nearby water levels rose and so we waited for spring to start work in earnest on the new plot, happy that the soil had been well watered!

In the meantime, we have met so many people, all keen to welcome newcomers and offer advice if asked, but with a mission to get things planted while the weather is good. Having joined the allotment committee, I am keen to tell more people about allotment life and encourage others to take up the vacant plots available locally. My parents have taken on my old starter plot – I suspect that we will be giving potatoes away in bucket loads soon – but others are available, all at different sizes. 

If you are wondering whether this is for you, get in touch with Marston Ferry Allotment Society (chair@mfas.org.uk).

The 1908 Small Holdings and Allotments Act made it mandatory for all local authorities to provide allotment provision for the consumption of fruit or vegetable crops by the occupier. But allotment sites have shrunk over the years. In the 1930s a huge site covered a chunk of East Oxford – the complete area bounded by Cricket Road from the Boundary Brook, beside Florence Park to Howard Street, thence up to Iffley Road, along to the Boundary Brook and so back to Cricket Road.

The East Oxford allotments in the 1950s. (Ordnance Survey map via National Library of Scotland, CC-BY.)

Most of this is now housing, built on in the 1970s. (A stub of the old allotment still remains in East Ward.) But times change and allotments are becoming fashionable again, which may be why developers include them (or ‘community gardens’) in developments such as Heyford Park.

There are 35 allotment sites across Oxford and many more across the county, from the tiny (Town Furze) to the giant Cripley Meadow, laid out on an ancient flood meadow and in place since 1891. Elder Stubbs in East Oxford works with Restore and the Porch, and even has a resident artist. Find an allotment near you with this list:

And if you would like to read more about local allotments, the ever wonderful Morris Oxford has two stories on the subject here and here.