Coton Hill Allotments – Lots of Plots

11 Mar

The day arrived when the ground was prepared, rotovated and marked out for 33 plots. Prospective allotment holders were invited along to the Woodman pub to find out more and sign up for a plot on Saturday 18th February 2012.

I went along and had a chat with most of the people there, and heard about their different plans for planting and growing. Afterwards we had a wander along to the site. There was a genuine sense of excitement. Some folk, like Ron and Phil have played a huge part in preparing the site so far, and I can see that the other committee members and various friends and colleagues have put in a lot of hard work. Other folk were just keen to take part in growing for themselves and there was a mixture of enthusiasm and trepidation from the less experienced, and some general concern about how to combat the large rabbit population on and around the site.

I guess for an allotment site in current times, this is a relatively unique opportunity for a community to take ownership of a project and start out on it together. So the sense of community can develop from the start. For me starting out on an already established allotment at Castlefields, there was not such an immediate sense of belonging, although Julie and I have since got to know all our neighbours and various other folk on the site. Sharing of ideas, tips, spare seedlings and produce is part and parcel of allotment life, and there was much conversation on the subject already.