On questioning a friend about her mud stained trousers she replied that she had they had spent the day working on an allotment on the outskirts of town. The first thing that came to mind were glimpses through train windows of dog-on-a-string types drinking special brew, circled around compost heaps and bonfires by the railway sidings.
This reaction must have been apparent as I was promptly informed that allotment spaces actually served to provide viable spaces for farming in an urban environment.
As it happened the reasons for the introduction of allotments resembled things I had heard discussed in the local organic greengrocers: Seasonal vegetables, organic produce, transport costs and the carbon footprint.
It seems that during the Second World War, as a result of the food deficit created by the halt on imported goods, people began to lookfor alternative, local food sources. It became commonplace for gardens and shared green spaces to be transformed into small subsistence farms.The techniques that began to be shared around these allotments, of organic cultivation and the recycling of materials, grew out of the genuine requisite of healthy foods.
Although we are far removed from the days of rationing, and the produce available to us is greater and more varied than it has ever been, there seems to be a growing aspiration to return to the types of diet which local seasonal produce has to offer. Of course the problem most of us have with buying organic and local is the price. Without direct access to local farms, their produce is only available to us through a handful of local greengrocers whose prices cant compare with those of the major supermarkets.
In London's St James' Park, as part of the Dig For Victory: War On Waste exhibition, a few dedicated gardeners have tried to bring the publics attention to a historically tested solution to this problem. A working allotment, in the style of a those present in wartime England, has been opened to the public to promote awareness of this understated British tradition.
The allotment itself offers a physical message to those who visit it. With its two organic plots side by side, one complete with the typical wartime fare, the other with a more varied contemporary display of produce, the visitor is offered an example of the type of food that has been grown on allotments for half a century and can still be grown today, as well as the possibilities for improving the diversity of crops.
If its visitors have ever stood in the aisle of a busy supermarket puzzling over whether to buy ethically or to spend less, the exhibition offers an alternative solution. Grab your shovel and a pair of gloves and get thee to an allotment; the benefits to your well being, your bank account and your conscience may prove indispensable.
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This post was written by Edward Harkness on May 29, 2008