Is it a fad?

[TonyF]

Sorry, some generalisations in what follows but it's not my PhD so can't make it too detailed.

I really hope it's not a fad but think that much of it may be. It seems to be fuelled by the instant gardener programmes on the tele, Joe Swift style started by Alan Titchmarsh and continued by many of the major garden material retailers - instant gardeners who but stuff from B&Q, Homebase, places like that - for their instant makeover gardens.

And not the news media, especially UK tele are regularly featuring pieces on GYOers which is good at one level but misleading at another. And as I keep saying to people in their 'I planted 2/3/5/8/12 days ago thredas and nothing's appeared' one of the major factors in gardening is PATIENCE, it isn't an instant thing if you want to do it properly.

I've been gardening for 40 years and have even done the job professionally, reinstating original garden schemes in old alms houses across London where I had 200 gardeners working for me. That was in the early 80s, which I think was the end of the WW2 attitude to gardening. Then it sort of went into decline except for people who read mags like Garden News and watched Gardeners World.

Then in the late 90s there was this mini explosion, revamped Gardeners World, new Mags, more trendy and the birth of the instant garden, places like B&Q realised that instant gardening was the way forward, more tools became available to the general public and that was the birth of the 'new gardening'.

That coincided with the baby boomers who can remember Grandad and Grannie gardening, the real old fashioned way, having more time for themselves and as somebody has said elsewhere on the allotment thread, the old time allotmenteers fading away and making way for us new oldies.

There is an interest in the UK in GYO and it's much needed. It seems to follow on from a mixture of economic necessity and social trend but I'm sort of uncomfortable with it longer term. Will people still want to do the back-aching work when they've got a few more punds back in their pockets? Hopefully they will or they'll drop off the scene and hopefully come back to it when they have more time on their hands later in life, when the kids are off hand and they can grow for enjoyment too.

For me it's a way of life. I grow because I enjoy growing, my qualifications are in social sciences, not earth sciences so growing anything from seed, cuttings, plantlets to me is still a wonder. The fact that the garden we have here is what it is is one of the joys of my life and now I have a chum's garden with seriously superb soil to play in is even better.

We grow our food the way that we do as a matter of conviction - our committment to the organic movement started well over 20 years ago and despite having 'people' jobs in academia and the government/charity fields, we've always been committed to an alternative lifestyle outside of work. When the chickens and bees finally arrive, the chickens will be free range because we have both the time and energy - and the space - to allow that to happen.

I hope it's not a fad but a trend - and to me, if only 5% of people who take on allotments keep them on and use the experience to grow their way of life and approach to things - like air miles for food, the environment in general - along with their food, then it will be 5% more than looked at it before.

[Stacey Steve]

To me, my allotments are as much an investment for the future. Certainly it allows me space for my mind to forget the troubles of normal life but it has had it monitary cost.

It has not been cheap setting my 3 plots up as I want it and lord only knows when I will even reach the break even point if you are looking at "cheap" food.

I am fast approaching the end of my working life and as I know I will not have a reasonable pension to fall back on, I will be reliant on the plots to go a way to feeding us. So this is definitely my investment for the future.

[Gryfon]

I think like most things if the fad converts a few people to carry on then that can only be a good thing

[bluemoon]

For us it's a way of life, but over the past couple of years I've definitely seen plots taken on by people for whom it is the latest 'in' thing. And these plots are usually rapidly abandoned. Then there are those who are just starting out, thinking about their family's food and where it came from and the impact it is having on the environment and these plots tend to be taken in hand and worked well.....if not always in a way that meets the approval of the old boys. The T.V. has a lot to answer for too with their perfect soil and apparent lack of effort. What worries me is that waiting lists are so ridiculously long that genuine people are being put off from even applying, whilst the fad gardeners hog a plot for a year having done nothing except pay the rent and dig over a square metre or two before deciding it's too much like hard work.

[daleclarke]

the majority of new tenants last about 2 months,

This is where I think there needs to be a change in attitude from some Allotments in that new users should have some training or a learning experience with another allotmenteer. Locally an allotment society has set up a training course with the local council and the 'drop outs' from that group of allotmenteers has been zero. I think that explains it all.

I have heard it here as well as else where, that people call newbies that don't last as time wasters etc. My attitude is that some allotments are too inflexible and in doing so make it hard for newbies to participate.

Half plots and nursery plots or even plot holder mentoring is the way forward, making sure that people understand the allotment and gently introduce the finer arts of straining your back!

[Headfry]

We let out 10 or so new plots last year, only 4 being worked now and only 1 of those 4 looks like a worked/loved plot at the moment.

[FionaH]

I hope its a fad for many, then I may get a lottie before I die

[Flummery]

In our village it's certainly not a fad. We only have 12 allotments, I have half and since my pal and I got the one between us last March there are 3 more on the waiting list. It's a farming village and people seem to know what they are about. Most of the current plot-holders are 'vintage' like me and have grown food for years. It's a 'dead-men's-shoes' job waiting for a plot in places like this.

However, the media do suggest to people that you just put a few seeds in and go away and come back in 3 months and eat the pristine crops. We all know how good THAT advice is! Have a look at our members list. There are those who joined in a fit of GYO fervour, some didn't even post before disappearing, some introduced themselves as 'newbies' then evaporated, but a very few of us are still regulars here - and on our plots/gardens/tubs and buckets.

It's harder work than people think - but you can't beat the satisfaction.

[Nicos]

I've known a few peeps give up their plots because it was harder work than they expected- or too time consuming. Not too many though.
A fad??? nope- I agree with the others- but for some peeps the reality may be more demanding than they expected.

[di]

It's hard to tell really...quite obviously there are those that giveup when they realise either the hard work or amount of time they need to put into it.But then there's also plenty,like us,that take on GYO & get totally hooked!
Dale,I think the mentoring idea is a great one!I still feel quite overwhelmed at the start of growing season when faced with a huge space & where to put the first row of veg....once my spuds & onions are in it becomes clearer & I have a rough idea where things can't go(re rotation).But I imagine for someone starting out new it probably can be really daunting.

[OverWyreGrower]

There are several people at work who have expressed an interest in GYO, but only on a small scale. I've lent them some of my books etc, and a couple of them have bought their own copies and started veg patches in their gardens etc.

However some people can't get over the fact that it takes TIME for these things to grow etc and you have to wait weeks for things like potatoes, or a year or so for asparagus.

I do think that for people on allotment sites (rather than veg patches in their garden) a mentoring idea is brilliant!

I did join our local gardening club, but left after a few weeks. I was the only person under 60 there (and I'm not yet 30) and the club wouldn't countenance anything to do with vegetables/fruit. They only 'did' flowers!

I even entered some fruit and veg in our local agricultural shows last year (and won/got placed quite a bit!). I was astounded when the show secretary at one of them said that I was the first 'new' entrant in 3 or 4 years. No-one new had entered their produce for that long!! What a sad state of affarirs if we can't be proud of what we grow!

[RedThorn]

I would love a lottie, however I know that I do not have the time required to devote to it! I can however pop in and out of the back garden ad lib to accomplish what I need to do. usually in lots of small time slices. This is why I have not put my name down on the list. Later when my time constraints are less, I will then re-consider my decision.... I feel that it is not fair to take 1 of a limited number of plots if I cannot do it justice

[pigletwillie]

We have 160 plots on our site. In an average year 30 plots become available. These are let to newbies. The following year, about 40% of the newbies renew, 60% give up.

In essence, in an average year 10% of our established plot holders let their plots go, 60% of newbies let their plot go.

Of the established members giving up, mostly it is because of a change in circumstances, illness or old age. With the newbies its, well it looked good on TV but it requires more work than I am prepared to do.

For some its a life choice, for most its a fad that looks good on the surface but isnt for them. The newbies that do stay tend to stay for ever. And as Tony says every one that does stay, is a benefit to us all.

[Growem]

Of the 80% all too many let it grow weeds and get warned about failure to cultivate, but by then they've told all their friends "We've got an allotment." so they cut the weeds and do a few yards before tiring of it again......

Are you sure you aren't talking about me? This describes my plot! But along with the enormous amount of weeds, I do get quite a few crops out of the the thing, thank you very much. All the allotments are surrounded by grass, so it's not the grass that's growing on my plot that causes anyone else a problem.
If people expect a perfect plot, with no weeds, tended 6-7 days out of the week, there would be all of 2 plots in use where I am. It's especially a lot to expect of someone new to gardening. So what if there are weeds? If they keep working at it, eventually they will win the weed battle and better someone there part of the time than an empty plot going to waste.

[maytreefrannie]

All I can say is, if it's a fad, it's better than some others. In any case, if people give it a go, they might find they like it and will stick to it.

For most people, growing our own is something that grows on us, the longer we do it, the more we're hooked.