Page 14 - ALG Issue 1 2020
P. 14

book reviews
  Thank heaven for the allotment!
When my husband Clive retired, I started to keep a diary for my own amusement. I wanted a record of
how we both coped with the period of transition as we found a new way to live together. I am still working and I work from home, so suddenly he was there all the time, in my space. All I can say is, thank heaven for the allotment!
We have had a plot here in Northamptonshire for about ten
years. It was a newly ploughed field when we took it over; a clean slate other than the tenacious brambles that we still occasionally have to do battle with. The plot is very much Clive’s domain however, although I am allowed to do the odd stint of weeding and picking.
It has been to the benefit of both of us that he has had somewhere to escape to – and I have had somewhere to send him – when domestic life has been less than harmonious.
Retirement isn’t always an easy adjustment to make, even when it has been a choice, as it was for Clive. A few days into it, he checked his phone and laughed, saying: “My calendar says I’m on the early shift this week. I don’t think so!” He then set off to the allotment, saying something about planting courgettes. He came back after several hours, muttering darkly about slugs. A couple of days later though, he told me: “It just feels like I’m on holiday at the moment,” followed minutes later by, “Oh heck. What have I done?”
The mood, then, has risen and fallen, but the one constant has been the veg plot and the turning of the year. Even though the weather has of late been
a little erratic, to say the least, there’s always been the comfort of working with the soil in the peace and quiet, thinking, planning and coming to terms with the ‘new normal’. The allotment has become a place of refuge.
For instance, on 5th July when we
were in the middle of a hot, dry spell, I recorded: “The heatwave continues, but Clive keeps plodding up to the allotment at the top and tail ends of the day. This morning, he declares that the leeks
just can’t wait any longer and sets off
to plant them. After a couple of hours’ graft, Clive decides he needs a bit of a
rest in the shade. The sun is
overhead by now, so the only sanctuary is in the shed, where he settles himself down on a pile of cardboard, has a drink, then closes his eyes, just for
a moment. He wakes up an hour
later, temporarily bewildered by his surroundings.”
Not everything on the plot was a success during the diary year; the wasps savaged the sweetcorn crop,
for instance. We did, though, fill our freezer with beans, made gallons of sauce from tomatoes and courgettes, puréed tonnes of squash, and pickled anything and everything. Gluts of plums and currants were made good use of
in Clive’s other retirement obsession, making his own wine, a messy process that nevertheless produces some very tasty results. He brews beer too, which has made him very popular with our friends.
Clive’s involvement with the allotment has taken on new meaning recently as he is now Chairman of the Kettering Allotment Society. When our son learnt of this, he suggested there should be a Turnip Tax, some sort of feudal system in which other gardeners should proffer a vegetable-based offering to secure their tenancy. I don’t think this will catch on.
In conclusion, then, if you are retiring soon or your partner is contemplating it, please keep up your allotment subscription. It could just save your relationship!
Julia Thorley
The book of this diary, A Sparge Bag on the Washing Line by Julia Thorley, is published by 3P Publishing.
  Love Your Allotment, Love Your Food
By Bournemouth East Allotment Society (BEAS Ltd)
£8.95
Paperback, 152 pages
ISBN: 9781789726749
This cook book is about
sharing easy to follow
recipes from our allotment
community with you. They
use ingredients that can
be home-grown, either in
your allotment or in your
back garden. With hints,
tips and seasonal thoughts on what
to grow, you can have the pleasure of saying ‘I grew that’ as you put something wonderful on the table. Happy planting, growing & eating. All proceeds from cook book sales going to BEAS. beas.cookbook@outlook.com www.bournemoutheastallotmentsociety.com
Butterfly Gardening
By Jenny Steel Brambleby Books, £9.99 Paperback, 80 pages, colour images throughout ISBN: 9781908241436
Most of us would love to
enjoy more butterflies around
our own little plot of land. With a well-established layout and planting scheme, this may not seem an attainable goal, but Jenny Steel’s book provides some practical suggestions.
Working in harmony with the local environment and doing your own research is the essence
of this book. It takes you through some steps
to establish which species are most likely to visit your patch and which food plants will be required. The tables of nectar plants and larval food plants are a useful guide to developing a successful programme.
There are ideas for introducing these new plants into your garden without the need to destroy
an existing border. Having established them,
the management necessary to ensure that
the butterfly’s life cycle is completed is clearly explained.
This is a concise, practical guide to adding the extra dimension of beautiful butterflies to your own garden. It’s a book I will keep coming back to for guidance.
    14 Allotment and Leisure Gardener













































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