Plotholders unite for Dunblane conference
Dunblane is the place plotholders and aspiring plotholders should be on Saturday 17 June. The characterful Victoria Halls (opposite the railway station) is the venue for this year’s Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society conference called “Growing for Success” (www.sags.org.uk).
George Anderson, well-known as a presenter for the Beechgrove Garden TV show, is also an allotment plotholder. He’ll be telling delegates about 40 years on his plot. I thought I’d had a plot for a long time but he beats me by more than a decade.
Andrew and Margaret Lear are authorities on growing fruit trees and other edible perennial plants.
Hans Steenbergen from the Seed Co-op will talk about the art of saving seeds, particularly from carrots and cabbages. Delegates should come armed with questions as there will be ample opportunities to ask these experts for advice.
New legislation about allotments has thrust some additional burdens on existing sites and some of the onus for setting up new sites to people on waiting lists. Some of the conference programme has been given over to hearing how others have successfully navigated the bureaucracy.
It’s true that local authorities are obliged to find land for allotments if enough people want them, but it is becoming clear that they are not going to manage them for plotholders in the same way as has been done in the past in the big cities.
Mark Thirgood from Killandean Allotments in Livingston is running a workshop session on how devolved management systems for allotments can work painlessly by spreading the
Thereisasessionforthose aspiring plotholders on waiting lists
administrative burdens. There is an essential session for those aspiring plotholders languishing on waiting lists. Ian Welsh, SAGS President, will be discussing the pros and cons of different ways of establishing a new site.
One of the best parts of the day is meeting plotholders from throughout Scotland and sharing experiences over the locally-sourced sandwich lunch. They’ll include success stories as well as efforts to outwit marauding pigeons, ravenous rabbits, and even deer. I love visiting other allotment sites and I am often surprised by their diversity. I need reminding that there are so many different ways of making the most of a plot of ground. Quirky huts and interesting layouts all make their contributions. At the end of the day, some of us will saunter out for a meal to continue swapping allotment stories about what we grow and why we’re so passionate about allotment gardening. n