Page 14 - ALG Issue 4 2020

The Young Plotters Club
WATCH OUT FOR TOM’S TIPS IN ALG 1 2021
2021 will see the launch of our Young Plotters Club, a new initiative inspired by the enthusiasm and dedication
of the young people who entered
our National Allotments Week Video Competition. Every child who helps out with a NAS family member on a plot is automatically a member. Each quarterly issue we will be featuring tips from Thomas Wells, the video competition winner along with gardening challenges, activities and features on the young plotters who get in touch. There will also be a dedicated page on our website in the Growing Advice section.
INTRODUCING TOM WELLS
Hello, my name is Thomas Wells and I am 12 years old. I entered the National Allotment Society’s competition to show how much I love my allotment and all that I grow on it. Through the years on my plot, I have grown lovely scrumptious fruit and vegetables which help me understand where my food comes from. I have been fortunate to save ex-battery hens and now have over 20! I love animals and was so interested in how bees help our world, so last
year I went on a course and became
a beekeeper. I now have two hives in my own apiary in a corner of my plot. My plot is so special to me for lots of reasons. It’s a place I go to grow my food, care for my animals and to get out of doing my homework!
I really hope you like reading about my allotment and I hope to create something for you next time.
It’s a place I go to grow my food, care for my animals and to get out of doing my homework!
long can they grow? And recently he sent us a video update. We saw some great shots of pollen-laden bees on the self-seeded sunflowers
and sent a smiley sunflower face in his video update
Jasper is 6 years old and his plot in Oldham was once full of dock weeds but now is brimming with every sort of fruit and vegetable from potatoes, strawberries and herbs to a jungle of Jerusalem artichokes. Jasper also has fun in other ways on the
National Allotments Week Video Entries
All the videos were great to watch
and we had such a problem choosing but Daniel, Jasper and Noah were voted runners-up and, if you have
not seen them yet, the videos
can be watched on our National Allotments Week YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCiLV4aec7MGcdNcaSoaASgw/videos
Daniel is 11 years old and helps on his family plot in Birmingham; he also lends his grandad a hand with his plot on the same site. In the video Daniel tells us about his experiments with Jack o’Lanterns; just how high/
to say thank you for his seeds and activity book.
He harvested
an impressive array of fruit and vegetables and we loved the delighted smile on his face when he unearthed his potato crop. A huge pile
from just one supermarket potato – another successful experiment!
plot with nature study, construction and the author’s favourite – his
mud kitchen. What Jasper likes most about the plot is helping other people, watching plants grow and he was very impatient to start sampling the produce.
Noah is 8 years old and he really loves the allotment flowers. He appreciates how important they are to the plot and encourages solitary bees and other pollinators with a bug hotel. He also enjoys digging up the potatoes and eating the yummy carrots and strawberries. His scarecrow “Crash” helps to scare off the pigeons and he also enjoys
a game of hide and seek in the sunflowers.
14 Allotment and Leisure Gardener