A couple of years ago, after being on a waiting list for years, my friend acquired an allotment, ‘Lindy’s Lot’. Since then I have been helping to tend it whenever I can. I grew up knowing about growing plants, from digging and pulling weeds, along with some ‘not weeds’, with my granddad.
Lindy’s lot came with a mini orchard of old apple and pear trees, which have the makings of an abundant crop in a few months time.

Tonight I’ve been watering, I must have carried a hundred watering cans the length of the plot. A standard allotment measures ten rods, and the tap is out on the grass path. My arms and shoulders ache but the strawberries make it worth it.
There are many to come.

I watered potatoes, onions, beetroot, cabbage, courgettes etc.

My favourite crop last year was the blackcurrants, they made fabulous blackcurrant jelly.

The raspberries have a long way to go.

But the blueberries are looking very good.

“The first supermarket supposedly appeared on the American landscape in 1946. That is not very long ago. Until then, where was all the food? Dear folks, the food was in homes, gardens, local fields, and forests. It was near kitchens, near tables, near bedsides. It was in the pantry, the cellar, the backyard.”
― Joel Salatin

This post was inspired by Tish, who has a very productive allotment and has Obsessive Compulsive Compost Disorder, and Rachel’s Facebook photos of her glorious veggie patch!