Fun Things to Do

The Sheer Satisfaction of Growing Your Own

By John Harrison

It's surprising how things change. Allotments used to be the province of retired men in cloth caps jealously guarding the secret potions hidden in tumbledown sheds that they fed their giant leeks with. Now the average allotment holder is as likely to be a woman as a man and the cloth cap is an endangered species

We're a Passionate Bunch

On our site we have IT managers and a Reiki healer, retired people and a sales manager, even consultant surgeons. Mums arrive with a flock of children and dads come to escape their kids. Quite a social mix! They all share the same addiction, though - growing their own vegetables.

Now it's hard to explain why perfectly rational people would spend hours of hard work each week in all weathers to end up taking home a bag of vegetables they could pick up in the supermarket for a few pounds, but I'll try.

Allotments provide plenty of physical exercise but you don't have to pay huge fees to join a gym, the average allotment costs about £20 a year and you certainly don't have to dress in lycra. Neither do you have to take instructions from someone who looks like a contender for Mr Universe.

Cultivating a Competitive Edge

Allotments don't just exercise your body, they exercise your mind as well. Planning what to grow and when to sow is more complex than you might think. The use of project management charts and spreadsheets is not encouraged, but back of envelopes are permitted in exceptional circumstance.

One of the best things about allotments is the friendly competition. Nobody is interested in your car, that brand new top of the range Mercedes won't get a second look, but the second hand rotovator, bought for £50 from an auction will be the talk of the site and you'll soon be surrounded by an admiring crowd.

It does get a bit serious at times, who has got the best looking plot? Who has the best cauliflower? Now before you think I've lost it completely, growing a cauliflower is not that easy.

The correct variety has to be chosen for the time of year, sown in the right mix and transplanted at the right point into a specially prepared bed. Then it has to be fertilised, defended from weeds, marauding pigeons and hungry caterpillars until, with luck, you end up the proud owner of a wonderful white cauliflower surrounded by dark green leaves and tasting better than any cauliflower you have eaten before.

It might not look any better than those sitting on the grocer's shelf and it might even have a bug or two hiding amongst the curds but you know exactly what has gone into growing it. No nasty pesticide residues to be absorbed or 'food miles' accumulated transporting it halfway around the world.

Extra Fresh Beans

By now you might begin to grasp the sheer satisfaction you can get from growing your own, but it doesn't stop there. You will suddenly discover how popular growing your own makes you. The first time you have a glut and donate some extra fresh beans or lettuce to a friend your fate is sealed. They'll be back round to see you in short order.

Unlike most hobbies that cost you, growing your own is profitable. Your own vegetables cost very little in comparison to the cost of buying vegetables.

I'd encourage anyone to grow their own but, even if you have a large garden, an allotment provides a change of scenery, an interesting bunch of people that you probably would never meet elsewhere and advice on tap.

All joking aside, it is one of the most rewarding hobbies you can have.

More Information

John Harrison is the author of "Growing Vegetables Month by Month" (published March 2008) and runs Allotment Vegetable Growing the most popular web site for allotment growers and the National Vegetable Society web site.