Page 51 - ALG Issue 4 2020

Sandridge Road Allotments, St Albans
Every year life at the Sandridge Road allotment site in St Albans brings new challenges. We have endured storms from the west, blizzards from the east, the rainiest September day on record and even contaminated compost from one of our suppliers! Nevertheless, plots have continued to be tended
and our vegetables and flowers have thankfully grown. Then this spring brought a new challenge. As shops closed and social distancing became the norm, it seemed that our annual plant sales could not go ahead as planned. Seedlings were already being nurtured and so we needed to rethink the format. Fortunately, some of our Association committee are tech-savvy as well as being green fingered and
in a remarkably short time devised an online plant sale.
Once the website had been set up, details of stock numbers, varieties, prices and photos were all painstakingly entered so that members had maximum choice. A top tip to other allotment committees considering this option is to note that two thirds of the visitors to our site did so using a mobile phone or tablet; keep this in mind when choosing your website layout, text
size and so forth. Putting the orders together ready for collection was also time consuming but it was a bonus not to have to count up all the monies after the sale. We arranged collection
from our communal plot, overseen
at a safe distance by our committee members. From sowing seeds, potting on and watering plants to overseeing their distribution and dealing with the odd hiccup along the way, it was very much a collaborative effort, with a special shout-out to Massimo, Joy and Christine for their commitment and time.
Despite our apprehension, this proved to be our best plant sale ever and we were able to sell most of the plants to our fellow allotmenteers. Plants that were left did not go to waste: some went to neighbourhood schools and a local food charity, and others were distributed to members whose plots had suffered damage after a shed fire. Profits from our plant sales help to fund community events and improvements to our facilities and amenities. Consequently, we were extremely pleased with a
total raised of over £700. The sale also boosted our membership numbers. Going online has allowed us to track our best sellers too, our top five this year being sweetcorn, strawberries, purple sprouting broccoli, leeks and kale.
We also offered mixed packets of wildflower seeds from Pictorial Meadows to all members who paid their subscriptions promptly. This not only resulted in stunning wildflower patches buzzing with pollinating insects across the site, but also made the treasurer’s job easier this year! With the UK insect population in serious decline and allotments considered to be biodiverse hotspots, it is imperative that we build upon their potential. Two years ago,
we gave away 100 flowering pollinator plants at our plant sale, and were glad to raise further awareness this year with our free packets of flower seeds.
Profits from our plant sales help to fund community events
We’ve been able to keep a record of
our site during these strange times, thanks to Robin, who has been taking some remarkable aerial photographs with his drone. Allotments undoubtedly have an aesthetic as well as utilitarian appeal and it has been interesting to view the site from this new perspective. So, while 2020 has brought new challenges, we have learnt that, like nature, we can adapt and survive and are indeed approaching the end of the year more resilient than before. Our community is definitely stronger and we have discovered that information technology is rather surprisingly perfect ‘companion planting’ for our plots!
Tricia Gibbons
Aerial photos by Robin Hamman Wildflower photos by Richard Marriott
Allotment and Leisure Gardener 51