Demand for allotments has shot up in Frome with many new applications during the Covid lockdown. Only a few plots have become available as people have enjoyed the benefit of an allotment. It’s a five-year wait for a plot.
ALISTAIR
“I don’t dig but I’m not a no-dig gardener,” says Alistair Wood. He thinks about it for a few seconds as he ponders the apparent contradiction. “I think no dig is fine if you are on a farm and have a ready supply of compost, enough for two-inch layers. But if you’re not, then you have to source it, ship it, shovel it on, as well as paying for it. It strikes me as a very expensive way of gardening.”
Alistair is the site manager at Welshmill allotments. He’s had a plot there for 14 years. His dahlias and veg were often found next to the First Prize card in the horticultural marquees at Frome Cheese Show and throughout the South West. If plot holders on the site have a gardening question and the answer is uncertain, the advice always is to “ask Alistair”.
So, if he doesn’t dig, what does he do instead? “I harvest the crops such as potatoes, then weed the ground by hand, break down the surface with a fork and ease in some well-rotted compost.”
This story is from the February 2021 edition of Kitchen Garden.
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This story is from the February 2021 edition of Kitchen Garden.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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