Why is it when you get an allotment you start becoming a bit of a Womble?
Things I might once not considered using will now take on a whole new life, down on the allotment.
Our shelter was constructed of pallets, the small greenhouse thrown away by someone else and the table given to us by someone else on the allotment, who had found in on a skip!
Bricks no longer of use to anyone else become borders…
A broken spade takes on a new life, helping us out with the watering…..
Even my water butt was courtesy of a fellow allotmenteer who works as a gardener and had a client for whom it was surplus to requirement.
In these times when people are looking to lead a more sustainable life it’s good to see that less is being thrown away and more things put to a new, if not different use.
When we arrived on the allotment we were given the choice of two sheds which were already in place. One was a small metal construction with a bent and twisted door. The other, concrete, slightly larger and with a good roof on it. The floor was rotten and moves when you walk upon it and there was no door – but it had a wee window! I requested the latter and then asked Freecycle if there was any chance someone might possibly be throwing out a shed door. By the power of the internet (not Greyskull) a kind gentleman answered and a couple of days later we drove over to collect a new door for the shed. He had even pinned the hinges and screws to the door – perfect!
In times when the internet and the news scares us with tales of how awful the world is and everything that is bad, it’s hard to see the good. But, when you look, you will start to see it everywhere, shining through, sometimes in the most unlikely of places.
It is more satisfying to help someone else and know you have created happiness, than to do anything which would upset or annoy others. Again, something we see all the time down on the allotment. Like minded people, from various walks of life, all trying to make the most of their plots and their time, but also taking time out to help each other out.
Such help maybe an offer to water plants when others are on holibobs, an excess of seedlings, strawberry runners or even the fruits of their hard work. It might be help to make the site itself a nicer place to spend time, doing up the shelter, clearing away any rubbish which may have built up over the years or clearing the brook from weeds and silt to help it run more freely. It is this sense of community which I think many of it miss in a world that often moves all too quickly.
We are at that time of year when the courgettes are coming through thick and fast, if not picked quickly enough them soon become marrows. Because they are such an easy and delicious vegetable to grow, almost everyone on the allotment will have plenty of their own, so no market for any extras there. When I have the inclination I will make either courgette cake or courgette chutney, but at the moment it is simply to hot to slave away in the kitchen for longer than necessary!
Fortunately I have family and friends who are always willing to take any extras, now with all the lovely people I train with at dragon boating this pool of people has been extended out. In one evening I managed for find takers for an entire trug full of courgettes/marrows. It’s always good to be able to share the love…… and the vegetables!
