Early morning, looking across the allotments and the Derwent valley
...to some of us, an all consuming passion. There is a great deal of satisfaction for mind body and soul in working your own patch of land to produce something that will end up on your (or someone else's) plate. The simple act of putting a seed in some compost is a pact with the future...'if I care for and nuture this something will grow'.
This page details my own journey on a plot I took over in 2012. Since retiring I have also assisted others on their plots and for two people in particular; Tim and Imran, I have been spending a portion of my time getting their plots up and running with them.
Located in Derby, above the river Derwent, I try to cultivate and manage the plot in an 'eco friendly' way, avoiding the use of pesticides and peat based compost and encouraging beneficial wildlife where possible. It's a 'standard' size rectangular plot (250 sq metres) on fairly flat ground, divided into 14 planting plots, separated by grass paths.
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I've known Tim for some time and prior to retiring, knew that he had a plot on St. Anne's Allotments Nottingham, one of the oldest allotments in the country and Grade II listed. A fascinating place (more in the journal) and well worth exploring.
I started assisting Tim on a regular basis once I retired and it's been an interesting journey at times!
Imran is a friend of Tim's and had seen our progress on Tim's plot and decided to get his own plot - in another part of Nottingham - coincidentally next to where I first lived when I came to Nottingham in the late 70's. We only got started in late Summer 2020 and there are challenges ahead but hopefully I can help get Imran started on allotmenteering.
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