Encourage the kids to pick a pot and plant a crop
Iremember my excitement when I got a phone call to tell me that a plot had fallen vacant on our allotments and I was top of the waiting list. It momentarily crossed my mind that tending a plot and four small children was going to be hard work, but then I worried that it could be many years before I reached the top of the list again.
So I jumped at it. I don’t suppose my experience is in any way unique.
It wasn’t long before I realised that not only had I got a piece of ground, albeit rather weedy, on which to grow fruit and vegetables, but I had also joined a flourishing community.
I remember my early neighbours on the plot with fondness. On one side there was Willie, a retired train driver, who was keen to give me more cabbage plants than I could possibly use.
On the other side was Jim, best remembered for his generous gifts of bunches of asparagus.
As time went on, I realised that plotholders are always keen to share their surplus plants and produce.
We are in the middle of Plant and Share Month which is a celebration of growing your own and sharing it with your communities.
Under the Soil Association’s Food for Life Get Togethers umbrella there are a number of initiatives to inspire us to get involved such as encouraging children to plant seeds in an upcycled container like a baked bean tin or a yogurt pot – always remembering to make a hole or two in the bottom for drainage.
Large seeds such as sunflowers, pumpkins, peas and beans are easy for small fingers to handle and almost guaranteed to grow.
They suggest giving new life to worn out wellies by planting them up with a strawberry plant or two.
I know I can find some strawberry runners to hand on to anyone wanting to give it a go.
The website’s Plant and Share toolkit has some useful tips and checklists for getting started.
Now is the moment to let your imagination go wild as there’s a prize for the most unusual growing container.
So pick a pot, plant the crop and send a photograph or a short video to the website by the deadline of May 19.
Local Horticultural Society Plant Sales are another excellent way of sharing surpluses you end up with on the allotment.
I’m pleased to see that some of these are starting to take place now lockdown restrictions are finally relaxing.
Plotholders are always keen to share their surplus plants