Category: Allotment Gardens

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Allotment and Community Gardens

Touch the Soil News #634 Earlier generations in the United Kingdom fought many battles to achieve a balance between the rich and poor. One of the victories of the poor was to get an acknowledgment from the government that they had an obligation to provide land for allotment gardening. It is the old battle between the land owners and the land workers. In the old days, when allotments were used to feed the family, plots were much larger than U.S. community garden plots. In the U.S., community garden plots usually average from 100 to 200 square feet. Allotment plots are much larger with standard plots around 2,700 square feet. In…

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Allotment Awareness – An Awakening Giant?

Touch the Soil News #457 The week of August 8 is National Allotments Week in the U.K. Allotment Gardens are primarily a European and U.K. phenomenon. An allotment is an area of land, leased either from a private or local authority, for the use of growing fruit and vegetables. In some nations, some allotments are protected by national law and obligations of governments to provide allotment gardens to the citizenry. U.K history is steeped in allotment garden rights and laws. The U.K is celebrating National Allotments Week this week. The National Allotment Society of the U.K. reports that there are approximately 330,000 allotment plots in the Kingdom. When you consider…

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Allotment Food Gardens – Under Pressure to Also Serve As Residence

Touch the Soil News #443 As the world continues to grow mega cities, it’s not particularly what people want. The need for open space and gardening cannot be erased with pavement. In economics, when millions of people compete for a limited space, the free market can push housing prices out of reach – pushing people away from the city. In Europe, gardening has had several centuries of evolution. The allotment garden – a legal obligation of government to provide gardening space to citizens – was historically a place to practice horticulture. In some European nations, like Denmark, there is an evolutionary trend to “colony gardens.” A colony garden is when…

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Do You Have a Yard to Raise Food? If So, Here is Why You Are Lucky

Touch the Soil News #374 Years ago in England, it was incumbent upon local governments to provide a place for the citizenry to raise food. Called an allotment garden, the need is still real. The city of Gloucester (population of 125,000) has recently been in the news about its allotment gardens. The city has 12 allotment garden providing 846 garden plots, but they have a waiting list of about 550 people waiting for a plot. The Gloucester Citizen (a local paper ) has reported on Local resident Graham Snelling (age 68). Snelling is a retired podiatrist who had to retire early after suffering three heart attacks. His own place is…

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