OUR TOP PLOTTERS

Last summer we launched a competition to find our Top Plotters, with the top three winning some great prizes and the chance to be featured in Kitchen Garden magazine this year. Here we meet our second-placed pair

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OUR TOP PLOTTERS (2)

STEVE AND LISA BATES FROM DORSET

Steve and Lisa share the work on their allotment and grow a wide range of vegetables and flowers, including sunflowers that annually remind them of their wedding day. Do you tend your plot on your own? I work on the plot with my wife, Lisa. It's a team effort in all tasks but she's better at planning and keeping a tidy seed box.

Do you have an allotment or veg plot in your garden (and approximate size)?

We have an allotment and are lucky enough to be able to grow some things in the garden too. This is very handy as we always plant more than we can fit in the ground and can never bring ourselves to throw seedlings away! The allotment plot is a typical half plot size - roughly 100 square metres at a guess.

How long have you been growing veg?

I got my first plot in 2015 and was very happy to win Best Newcomer that year. As a quirky fact we moved house and got a plot on a different site and subsequently won another Best Newcomer award! We've never gone on to win Best Plot and I think that's unlikely with the very high standard of plots around us.

Do you grow any veg in containers?