It’s been a whole year since the last National Allotment Week, a week to promote the awareness and availability of allotments and to show the public and the local authorities the strength of support and interest for the heritage of allotment culture. This year, the week runs from the 11th to the 17th of August, and many allotments across the UK will be hosting events and throwing open their gates to the public to experience just what allotment life is all about. To find out about an event near you, have a look at these four pages.

If you are planning to get your hands on an allotment, or turn part of your garden into a food garden, here are some useful bits and bobs to get you started.

Rocket Garden “Instant” Vegetable Garden
Perfect for would-be allotmenteers lacking in time. This quick-fix instant garden will have your patch looking tops in no time at all. The large “instant” vegetable garden (small available too) contains everything you need to fill a patch the size of 20 sq-m, a total of 268 young plants, all grown in biodegradable pots and hardened-off, so their ready to plant out as soon as you get them. If you’d still like to plant them this season, you’ll have to hurry, mid August is the cut-off time to get them in for a harvest this autumn. But you can plan ahead and buy a voucher for delivery of your “instant” garden next April if you prefer.

Fair Trade Recycled Tin Watering Can
As stylish as it is sustainable. This watering can is probably not big enough for watering your allotment, but it’s perfect for potted herbs on the patio.

Slug Stoppa
Stop slugs eating your precious produce without harming wildlife. Slug Stoppa is made of English clay, and does what it says on the box.

Paper Potter
Recycle your old newpapers into biodegradable plant pots, perfect for starting off your seedlings. The newspaper rots away once you’ve planted the seedling out, making it easy to transplant without harming the roots.

Photo credit: Jon’s pics