Allotments

The allotments are situated at the top of the Howe Trust land and the Allotment Association share a strong belief in the importance of playing a role in conserving biodiversity and managing our plots sustainably.

We try to support each other and debate and share ideas about the best ways of growing crops. Allotment gardeners can choose to cultivate organically and avoid ingesting chemicals frequently present in commercially grown crops. We can also grow varieties not easily available from the shops.

The Association organises opportunities for the sharing of seeds but there is also a lot of informal swapping of plants and ideas about best varieties to grow on the Howe. The soil on the Howe is largely light and sandy, so easy to work but liable to leach nutrition and water rather easily – so providing a regular source of mulch is necessary. Allotment holders usually have their own composting area to recycle green and brown (e.g. cardboard) waste to provide a cheap source of plant nutrition. The Association also organises an annual delivery of manure.

Quarterly updates on current issues and future plans for the Howe and allotments will posted via blogs on this website – as well as topics of interest to growers and lovers of nature. If you join the mailing list via this website these can be delivered directly to your email inbox. There is also a Facebook Group Page for allotment holders to join and discuss topics relevant to growing with others from the community.