Property News · September 3, 2011

Garden sharing: growing your own vegetables on someone else's patch


Allotment waiting lists are getting longer, but if you want to save cash by growing your own veg there is another wayHave rising food prices given you an appetite for growing your own fruit and veg? You’re not alone. According to a recent Which? report, a quarter of us now grow our own food – and the main motivator is to save money on shopping bills. But what if you want to join the grow-your-own brigade but don’t have a garden? It’s not easy to create a thriving vegetable patch if you live in a small city-centre flat. In addition, the old standby of taking an allotment is no longer an option for many. More than 86,000 people are on allotment waiting lists in the UK, according to recent figures from the National Society of Allotment & Leisure Gardeners.These factors are enticing more of us to sign up for one of the free schemes around the country that allow would-be growers to share someone else’s garden. Initiatives such as Landshare, which was set up by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, are reporting a surge in interest – the nationwide scheme has more than 63,000 members. There are also many locally run schemes in cities and rural areas that are helping growers connect with nearby garden owners. And it’s not just the growers who stand to benefit from the arrangement – both can gain from sharing experience, knowledge and tools. Many garden owners who join are either too elderly or too busy to manage their own plots, and by sharing their garden they don’t have to watch it turn into a jungle of weeds. While no money changes hands in garden sharing, those involved often have an agreement to divide up the fruit and veg produced. September is as good a time as any to join as it allows you to get digging and planning for next year’s crop. Continue reading…

Source : theguardian.com
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