oskana moved from Perm (Ural region in Russia) to Wellesbourne in 2013. getting plot 36a in 2020, she is a new plot holder here but had an allotment in russia.
‘ In Russia people need to grow their own food on an allotment- is more a necessity. plots there are usually much bigger than here in the UK. Some families even have separate plots just for potatoes.
Many Russians grow a lot of vegetables & keep them stored in cellars over winter. most families completely rely on their allotment so they don't need to buy & veg/fruit from super markets. Some Russians though do it just for fun/for kids, like me here in the UK.
‘we wanted a plot here in the uk to grow our own vegetables (especially beets & cucumbers) - I think they are not that nice when we buy them in supermarkets.
homeland varieties - ‘On our plot we grow pretty much the same crops as I would in Russia. growing methods are the same except for tomatoes- they only grow in the greenhouse in Perm as summer is too short.
In Russia people just use some of last year’s potatoes for planting the next season, so my mum was surprised when I told her we are buying seed potatoes from the garden centre.’
