From an allotment in Bristol

By John Polatch

"I’m always looking for evidence-based sources to help make decisions about ways of gardening for sustainability – though it does feel like the balance of carbon impact, human health and biodiversity is such a complex picture that to some extent it will always be emotionally guided…"

Thank you for last week’s webinar on the production capacity of the urban environment – it was really thought provoking. For me as a gardener, it’s really interesting to know that there is academic interest in allotments, and is somewhat reassuring as the cultural and political crossfire over horticulture (and more so agriculture) can feel a bit overwhelming. The idea of sitting to collect data feels as peaceful as hoeing on a sunny day (though unfortunately my partner didn’t feel he could commit to weighing all the beans so we weren’t able to join the study).

Allotment plots or wilderness?

Our allotment in south Bristol was an impenetrable strip of brambles when we took it on ten years ago. Most of the plot didn’t appear to have been worked for some time, and was the wonderful clay that transforms from sticky glue to solid concrete over a few precious days in spring. From looking at old maps of the area it looks as though the site was farmland until at least 1946 so may not have enjoyed long vegetable cultivation in the best case.

The plots either side of us remain a wilderness – although there is apparently a waiting list of 51 people for our site. I did e-mail the council to ask why this was, but someone told me that the allotment team is just a single person, so I can’t expect an answer. The plot three over has reverted to woodland with mature trees taller than the surrounding houses – according to the former site manager a result of a member of university staff using it to grow tree specimens for lab use!

Our site is located between an area in the bottom 10% in the indices of multiple deprivation and one about median. From visiting other sites in areas higher and lower in this index, my anecdotal experience is that, while there is clearly a variation in the vitality of sites and the way they are used, ours does seem to be singularly neglected. I suspect a lot has to do with the community infrastructure a site is part of and its visibility to passers by from roads and public spaces.

My background in gardening

I come from a family of gardeners and have progressed from a childhood of reluctant weeding to an adulthood of reluctant weeding, although I feel no compulsion to keep my rows of parsnips as straight as my grandfather. I know for my Mum, growing was very much motivated by the desire for better quality food, for our health and for the enjoyment of eating. I remember as a child being aware of safety issues around food – the salmonella and BSE outbreaks and the fear of genetic modification. We also lived next to a chicken battery unit which filled the village with flies. I think my outlook is strongly influenced by these inter-generational experiences.

The other thing I have inherited is a way of growing - digging in compost and manure, managing a vague crop rotation and moving through various waves of despair over pests and diseases. There is another plotholder who is reclaiming an adjacent wilderness with a no-dig method, which I wasn’t aware of when I started, and I think makes sense – although he does have a friend who works at a stable. If you had to buy that much manure from B&Q in bags it would cost a fortune and generate a mound of plastic waste – although that may be a drop in the ocean, in more ways than one. Charles Dowding is his inspiration.

Perennial vs annual crops

With work, family commitments and the horticultural enemy of holidays we don’t achieve as much with the plot as we could – but clearly enough not to be evicted. For this reason, half of the plot is given over to perennial crops which require less attention – we have a bed of strawberries, a huge rhubarb plant, a fruit cage with blackcurrants, red currants (loved by the blackbirds), gooseberries and blueberries, a small patch of raspberries, and dwarf plum and apple trees. We also have three hens in a coop at the top of the site where trees from the adjacent old railway overhang.

That leaves three beds for annual crops. I think the best discovery we have made is borlotti beans. Unlike many other beans which need regular picking to stop them going stringy or starchy, we simply leave these to flourish and then die – harvesting them when the pods are crisp, drying them and then using them in casseroles throughout the winter. Neglect resilient and they taste lush! On the other hand, the greatest disaster was cauliflower which produced eruptions of tiny florets like purple sprouting.

Home growing and sustainability

Together, this meets a significant part of our consumption during the summer and autumn – and meets our annual requirements of soft fruit, eggs, jam and chutney. Our potatoes and onions usually run out about Christmas. One challenge with home growing is that is precludes being part of veg box schemes – as these are seasonally led and give us what we already have rather than filling in the gaps.

In terms of sustainability, I am aware that we are probably getting through more layers pellets for the chickens than may be used in a commercial system, and we do buy in bagged manure for the veg beds. Last year I got a hotbin as a Christmas present which has done away with the fetid council bin containing only the bones and cheese rinds that can’t go on the compost heap – and means we get to keep the nitrogen and phosphorous for ourselves. We now have a furnace of microbial activity at the bottom of the garden which generates a modest supply of compost. I’m always looking for evidence-based sources to help make decisions about ways of gardening for sustainability – though it does feel like the balance of carbon impact, human health and biodiversity is such a complex picture that to some extent it will always be emotionally guided…

During this pandemic year, the allotment has had far more of our attention – in fact the whole site looked transformed by mid-summer. It’s the first time we have seen enough of the other plot holders to begin to get to know them - sharing produce and chatting about the issue of badgers destroying the sweetcorn. As far as I’m aware, the only other form a community building activity was the ‘allotment days’ for working on shared infrastructure, wilderness clearance, &c.. It is nice to meet other gardeners as my general experience is there aren’t many out there!

I look forward to finding out more from the SHEFF-Yield team. Many thanks!

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