Getting my first allotment plot was quite literally life changing for me. Not only has it meant I have a dedicated outdoor space for growing my own food, but it has become a lifesaver for my mental health. Just being outdoors regularly and nurturing plants to life has had a really positive effect on how I feel about myself and life in general.
Allotments are community orientated places. Full of likeminded people, they harbour a real community spirit full of kindness and an eagerness to share advice and produce. I have a London allotment plot and our site is full of people from all different cultures and walks of life, but all with the shared interest of growing and gardening.
HOW I ENDED UP WITH AN ALLOTMENT
It was 2019 and my contracted job had just ended with no scope for renewal. It had taken me a long time to find work that fitted around my two children and my husbands demanding work schedule so finding another one quickly felt impossible. We had also just bought our first house and though we were ok financially thanks to my husbands job, it had all left me feeling a bit deflated.
My children were still very young but had jut started school full time so I was at a bit of a loss in the days. I felt like I wanted to do something, but I just didn’t know what. And then, out of the blue, my nan died.
My world had been shattered in so many ways and I needed an escape. I felt drawn to nature, being outside. I would walk to the park every day just to get some fresh air, and that’s when I noticed the elusive gates to the allotments.
After pestering the council for a couple of months, they finally handed me the keys to my first, very overgrown allotment plot. Every day after dropping my children at school I would trek down there to clear, build and grow my first real garden.
And then… Covid happened. We were locked down, the kids were home all the time and I felt slightly overwhelmed again. As we all I did I think!
As an outlet, I began taking my camera down to the plot, filming what I was doing and uploading it to YouTube. The pandemic made gardening popular and my channel grew. As did my allotment.
Now, 5 years later, I have two plots and a bigger online audience than I could have dreamed of.
HOW MY ALLOTMENT CHANGED MY LIFE
My allotment has changed my life. Thanks to my persistence with my online sharing, it has become my main source of income. I’ve been on front covers of gardening magazines, I’ve filmed for Gardener’s World Magazine and had numerous exciting opportunities.
But it’s done so much more than just helped my career.
My allotment has changed the way I see life. Being outside so often, at all times of the year, really makes me appreciate life and nature and how beautiful it can all be. I don’t just watch the seasons change, I feel them!
As a born and bred Londoner, it can be very tempting to stay indoors when the weather gets colder. Having an allotment plot gives me a purpose to get my butt outside in all weathers and seasons and this has worked wonders for my mental and physical health.
DOWNSIDES OF AN ALLOTMENT
Of course it’s not all fun and games owning an allotment plot. It’s actually a lot of work and requires commitment and dedication every single year to keep on top of it. I’ve never received a dreaded notice of cultivation but I can imagine how devastating it would feel to get one. The only way to avoid it is to stay committed and continue to work on your plot to keep weeds down.
Sometimes the year is just tough. 2024 has been a particularly tough year for all gardeners. We had a really cold spring followed by a cloudy and cooler summer and now, a very cold Autumn. This meant the slugs were out in their thousands (I’ve never had as much slug damage as I have this year) and crops that would normally do well, just didn’t.
Pumpkins were a fail thanks to the lack of sun and heat and a lot of my warmer loving crops also did pretty badly. However, there are always winners in every year and peas and beans did particularly well. It can be pretty disheartening when you’d put so much work into your allotment only to find things not working thanks to powers out of your control.
You have to learn to be very patient and resilient when you have an allotment plot. It can feel like the easy option to just give up your plot when things get tough or don’t work out but the real test is whether you can hang on in there and keep going. Believe that the next year will be better.
Have I convinced you to get an allotment plot yet? Let me know in the comments.
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