Life has other plans for me this year and I can no longer prioritise time on the allotment.
I’m sad to give it up, but I’m proud of the work I’ve done on the plot and grateful that I was able to have such a brilliant adventure over these past 4 years.
I started this monthly photo round up back in September 2020 to:
have a visual record of the allotment that I could look back on
show a few friends and family what I was getting up to during the dark days of the pandemic
On the first point, this is my 46th monthly update. Looking back at previous months from time to time has already been good fun, and helped to remind me how quickly things change. And now I have a record of those years that I can look at whenever I fancy it.
On the second point, I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my progress with people. It was a nice surprise when other people on the internet found it and followed along too. Plus, knowing I’d shared an update every month was good motivation for getting the next one done.
Having an allotment is the ultimate in low risk, high reward activities. My 150 square metres of land:
gave me direction and purpose
was a calm place that got me through some tough times
helped me learn how to grow things
provided great-tasting, healthy organic food for my family
was enough space to grow most of the vegetables we ate for most of the year
supports a diverse range of life above and below the ground
meant I met some great people and became part of a community
All for less than £100 a year. (Reduced rates are also available.)
But access to land for growing food remains hugely problematic. There are 38 people waiting for a spot on my allotment (about 60 plots). My council’s website says “we have temporarily closed the waiting lists for all our allotment sites … the situation will be reviewed every few months.” This is just one example, but it’s a similar story (and worse) everywhere you go.
The number of allotment sites continues to decline each year, lost to new developments of various kinds. And yet space to grow food is not a consideration when new homes and housing estates are designed.
As a country we used to be good at civic infrastructure. We could be again.
As things stand, allotments are run on shoestring budgets by local councils, and kept going by dedicated people who give their time and energy for free. Thank you to those people.
And thank you to the people who helped keep me going these past 4 years.
This is the end of the monthly email newsletter, at least for now.
If you stay subscribed then who knows, you may see me pop up somewhere else sometime in the future.
If you want to go back to the start, you can see what I got up to during my first month on plot 10 back in September 2020.
And if you’d like to, then do sign up for occasional photos of compost heaps.
To close, here’s an extra-long set of pictures from plot 10 in early summer 2024.
Thanks for watching.
x
Thank you for the monthly posts. Your beautiful visuals have been one of my favourite newsletters, and I am sorry to see it go. You also inspired me to try to illuminate my own writing with better quality images. Sometimes I remember sometimes I forget, but the much welcomed monthly arrival of your updates have always inspired me to do better. I have signed up for the compost heaps, and look forward to seeing what that turns in to.