My Little Piece of England

After all the miserable wet and windy weather which greeted the end of September and beginning of October, we thought it would be good to bring a little bit of sunshine through the website. Earlier in the year we caught up with Liz Sutton who kindly agreed to pen an article for the website. These are Liz's thoughts.



My Little Bit Of England.

It all started back in 2005 when my son, Simon, who was not working at the time, volunteered to assist on the MIND allotment at Melbourne Park. He used to cycle there and enjoyed helping the other members tending the plants, digging, weeding, planting and clearing. He had become quite involved and went every week, and on one occasion returned home and told me all about it. Next time he visited I decided to see what they were all up to and was surprised and delighted to see what was growing on their plot. The friendship and fun they all had was great and I thought I could grow a few vegetables............

I applied for a half plot from Chelmsford Borough Council and was surprised that it was not an expensive undertaking........especially if you are over 60-. The plot was rotavated and then I covered it with membrane to keep out the weeds. I then decided that I could only cope with cultivating a little piece of the plot at a time so uncovered a small amount of membrane at a time when I was ready to tend the ground.



My grandfather, uncle and cousin were all farmers so this is my LITTLE BIT OF ENGLAND, following in the family tradition........... A patch I can grow whatever I like. I now have a large patch of raspberries and, strawberries: and this year I am also growing tomato plants, runner beans, garlic, cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.



When I have used, frozen, or given away the produce on my patch, the bare patch is covered again with the membrane to lock in the goodness and let it rest..........or am I just a lazy gardener????

People at the site are really helpful and if you want advice other allotment holders are happy to assist. There is a great feeling of family there and often a swapping of produce takes place.

What happened during lock down? I didn’t go near my site for the first 8 weeks and concentrated on decluttering at home and tidying the garden........ (I’ve done my bit there too with a log pile, small pond and a wild flower patch),

When I returned you could have easily mistaken my allotment site for a flower meadow, lovely, but not useful at all. The pretty grasses over shadowed the raspberries and nettles grew with great vigour. My daughter, a nutrition consultant, had a lot of spare time, unable to work because of Covid virus volunteered to assist. With the problem of a torn tendon on my right shoulder some of the work involved on the plot was very painful to do and she was a tremendous help with assisting. We set a plan in motion...........a little bit at a time........... the grasses were cleared, the edges were cut, and soon there was room to plant and sow. I cannot believe what we have achieved in a few short sessions and weeks.......... now the tomato plants have flowers and the runner beans have baby beans forming.........it’s an exciting time now.

And what is more exciting is Amber has gone home with some blue pots given by John and is making a small vegetable gardens in them. She has a tomato plant, carrots, lettuce as well as lots of herbs I have given her. She was off the other day to get some soil from B &Q so I think she is hooked. I am so delighted; there are so many benefits from gardening as well as some lovely produce.



Some things I have learnt while having the plot
1 I have been called “Half Hour Liz”........as that is the maximum amount of time I used to spend on the plot at a time.......... don’t overdo it........you won’t want to go back another time, but to go regularly.
2. Always work out before you get there what the plan is for the day.........stick to it and don’t digress otherwise it could be a lot harder to do it next time.
3, Clear the rubbish as you go...............
4. I don’t have a shed and take the tools from home that I need for each visit
5 I also grow my seedlings at home and take them to the allotment when they are sturdy enough to cope. (It can get very windy on the site).
6. Keep watering...............


Happy Allotmenting!!!

A big thank you to Liz and daughter Amber for sharing their article, 'My Little Piece of England'. Don't forget if you would like to share an article with the Association, get in touch with Ray or Karen or through the website.