Reflections on Allotment Gardening in Sheffield

By Vivien Farrand
(Student Wellbeing Adviser for the Faculty of Science at the University of Sheffield)

"It is important to me that wildlife can thrive in the allotment. This means not using pesticides or herbicides and trying to re-use and recycle wherever possible."

About me

I began growing indoor plants at a young age encouraged by my Grandfather who was an allotment holder, keen botanist and gardener. One of the biggest inspirations which fuelled this passion was receiving a gift - 'The Pip Book' by Keith Mossman which states the question: “I wonder if it will grow?” and I suppose I have been guided by that question ever since. This started my fascination in propagation and plant reproduction. It is hard to explain but the fulfilment of growing and reproducing plants from a tiny seed or cutting is endlessly satisfying. (I rarely buy fully-grown plants). I graduated in Botany and I carried this passion for growing plants into a teaching career where I tried to ignite a curiosity and love of nature into the pupils I taught.

I share the allotment with my partner and we started with our first allotment when we did not have a garden. However, work commitments and a young family meant that we felt we were not able to dedicate enough time to it. Several years later, we have a garden, more time, the children are older, and we decided to take on another allotment to expand into and take up the surplus of my propagating endeavours. We have had our second allotment for about six years.

Although having a background in Botany might seem helpful for an allotment holder I think the best experience has been the trial and error approach of a lifetime of wondering if it will grow and trying it out and marvelling at just how varied and wonderful plants and plant growth is. We are fortunate we have an unheated green house (recycled) at home and can start our crops slightly earlier. Clearly part of having an allotment is a passion for gardening but also an important factor for myself is the sense of wellbeing and calm that spending time outside in nature brings.

View looking up from the bottom part of the allotment showing raised beds and the magnificent rhubarb. Based in Sheffield we are in the “Yorkshire Rhubarb Triangle”.

Making the most of what we have

We learned from our previous allotment experience, and wanted to ensure that we could fit in having an allotment around our other time commitments and started out with the aim of it being “low maintenance”. We realised we did not want to take something on that would feel unmanageable and recognised there is a long-term and regular time requirement. By focussing on one part of the allotment at a time and covering the weeds with membrane has meant, for most of the year the allotment is low maintenance. This seems to be working generally, and has shaped our approach to what we choose to grow with low upkeep soft fruit bushes and fruit trees making up a large proportion of the plot.

Wildlife in the allotment

It is important to me that wildlife can thrive in the allotment. This means not using pesticides or herbicides and trying to re-use and recycle wherever possible. We try to improve opportunities for wildlife, ensuring hedgehogs can pass through our site by leaving accessibility points in the fence and have made a hedgehog safe pond. Our garden at home has a pond, is a haven for newts and frogs, and has a visiting badger and fox. Unfortunately having badgers means hedgehogs usually will not live in the same area as badgers can harm or kill them. With this in mind, I wanted to encourage hedgehogs, which are unfortunately declining in the UK to the allotment. I remember them as a common garden visitor in my childhood but rarely see them now and I am still looking for signs that we may have them at the allotment.

We were fortunate that the allotment we inherited although abandoned and overgrown had some original remaining structure and several mature fruit trees. It is also on a steep slope and we decided to tackle it in stages. We chose this as it was our second allotment offer (the first one was too overgrown for us to tackle) and Sheffield City Council allow applicants to turn down three allotment offers if they feel unsuitable.

Making it manageable due to work and family commitments

Firstly, we decided to focus on the parts that already had some structure so we cleared, weeded, nourished the soil in the raised beds that already existed and went through the exciting process of discovering existing perennial plants, which had been lost to weeds. We found a large number of neglected and overgrown fruit bushes: gooseberries, black currants, redcurrants, and raspberries that needed clearing and cutting back to reinvigorate. We also went through the process of making an area for compost and leaf litter using recycled wooden pallets so we could start to return some of the goodness back to the soil.

We focussed initially at the bottom of the slope closest to the entrance, as it is more level. We repaired, cleared and manured the existing raised beds and use this area for traditional allotment vegetables such as runner beans, courgettes, kale, chard, cabbage, broccoli, onions, leeks and sprouts. This process has taken time and we have been slowly working our way up the hill, which was much more overgrown and neglected. We prepared the weed-infested areas by covering in membrane for two years or so and then marking out sites for new beds and preparing them for planting. Ensuring when they are uncovered they are weed free, well-dug and nutrient rich. This gradual approach has made the process much more manageable.

The sloping part of the allotment, which we have reclaimed from the weeds and have beds of raspberries (hardwood cuttings), blackcurrants and gooseberries (softwood cuttings).

Top allotment tips

Cuttings from blackcurrants, gooseberries and raspberries are so easy to make. Just buy one plant and use this as the “mother plant”. We have multiplied all our fruit bushes in this way. The most successful approach for blackcurrants was to either take soft woodcuttings (when they still have leaves) and root them in water, pot them up and plant them in the spring or with raspberries, take hard woodcuttings when pruning. This involved pruning the large stems in the Autumn at the base once all the leaves have died back. Cutting them into 30cm sticks. Planting them into a prepared bed (checking they are the right way up!) and leaving them for the remainder of the winter and watching them shoot the following Spring. We have had a 90% success rate with these methods. The 'New Kitchen Garden' by Anna Pavord (Dorian Kinsley Books) which we bought in a library sale for £1 has great advice on soft fruit tree maintenance and propagation.

Using the help that is already out there

Another revelation this year has been to start to use a website, which takes a lot of the thinking and planning out of the process. We noticed over the last few years we were very good at sowing the seeds and planting out but tended to miss the vital part of the process of harvesting! We often missed harvest dates (which is likely as we had less time in the summer where family holidays meant we often lost track of what was happening.) This garden planner has been fantastic where you simply enter the crops you wish to plant and it will come up with a calendar of sowing, planting and even crop rotation which is something we have tried to implement but lost track of what has been planted where. If you need help like that, it might be worth looking at YOUR VEG CALENDAR on the Garden Focused website and create your own fruit and vegetable growing calendar.

Battling with the weeds

I am not a fan of membrane but it has reduced the amount of weeding we have had to do to a manageable amount and means we do not have to resort to herbicides. We did initially cover paths with wood chippings which looked (and smelt) lovely but turned into a fantastic weed supporting soil so all our paths became horribly overgrown. We have cleared this and resorted to membrane and old carpet tiles for our paths. (Less attractive but much easier to manage.) We tend to keep the membrane that initially covered the overgrown areas on the newly prepared plots and cut holes and plant through them as given any opportunity, the weeds will return, especially bindweed which is rife. Eventually we would like to uncover the membrane and plant or turf those areas but it might need several years for the stubborn, persistent and most invasive weeds to die out.

A view of next doors abandoned allotment and what ours would be like without the membrane!

Recycling

We have used old plastic bottles as bird defence and propagators, which were great for our new seedlings in the recent hailstorms.

The start of this year’s rhubarb wine and hopefully champagne!

Enjoying the fruits of the harvest

Even though as I mentioned we have had disappointing harvests of vegetables especially leeks, potatoes and purple sprouting broccoli. Not because they did not grow but because we left them in the ground too long. We seem to be better at remembering to pick beans, courgettes, kale, strawberries and raspberries. With the rhubarb, apples, plums and damsons although yields vary my partner annually makes cider and wine. It is currently the season to harvest and make rhubarb wine and on the picture you can see a concoction being prepared for fermentation. And here is a link to a rhubarb wine recipe.

A rewarding experience

Although having an allotment can feel like a big commitment, it can provide so many other positive outcomes, and although it takes time, I think we have the balance that's right for us now.

In my experience, having an allotment is an endlessly fascinating and rewarding experience and can be one that will fit into a busy work, academic or family commitment. The rewards are many and multifaceted and for me, spending time outside in nature, tuning into the sounds of the birdsong (or being followed around by our resident robin) and getting lost in digging, planting or tidying has helped keep me grounded and feeling good in this strange and turbulent year.

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