Some things, thankfully, not at all. The pleasure of working warm spring soil and seeing seeds sprout, grow and mature. The first rhubarb crumble of the season. The changing dinner plate as different crops are harvested. Anticipation of the asparagus harvest starting. Grateful neighbours to receive the surplus. And the constant battle to keep weeds under control. Other things have changed. Children have been born, grown and left home. One of them enjoyed “helping” for a few years. He watched Gardener’s World, then tried to recreate what Geoff Hamilton had been working on over the weekend. As the family grew and got hungrier, the plot increased from a half to a whole. When they left, we downsized back to the half.
We – that’s a change: for years it was me. Now it’s “us” with Susan sharing the digging, weeding and harvesting. Most of the plots are now joint efforts, equal contributions from men and women. This year’s Summer Reading Challenge, is inspired by the iconic children's title Beano, which celebrates its 80th anniversary. The challenge is open to children of 4-11, and starts on 14th July 2018. Children explore a map of Beanotown to find the mysterious buried treasure and become Back in the day it was nearly all men. Are the allotments a more sociable place these days? And is that a coincidence now that more ladies are involved ?
Our cropping is different. Some things have been put aside – potatoes (too much space taken for the rewards), cauliflowers (too prone to failure). Others have been tried once (e.g. salsify) and we now know why no-one else grows them! Welcome discoveries have been made – butternut squashes that keep all winter, and chilli peppers and aubergines that do ripen in open ground. The range of jams, pickles and wines has grown. Jostaberry wine has been popular, and chilli jam a great way to liven up sandwiches. I’ve seen some of the parables Jesus told in a new way. The story of sowing seed, with that which gets eaten by birds (or mice, or slugs), some that gets choked by weeds or scorched in drought, and thankfully the good seed that yields a harvest. Or the one about nurturing and fertilizing to give the best chance for fruitfulness.
As for the future, we hope for another 20 plus years of sowing and reaping. Hopefully the current cloud of doubt hanging over the allotments will blow over and we can all carry on tending our plots and enjoying their fruitfulness. Richard Bacon
