There can be few more satisfying times for an allotment holder than Christmas when the Dinner table is adorned with all the festive favourites including a host of vegetables grown on your own plot.
Yes you can buy sprouts, parsnips and carrots at the supermarket but why settle for the varieties that are grown for the benefit of the supermarkets profits when you can have varieties that are grown for flavour rather than uniformity and yield.
You can also be satisfied knowing that only the trip to your plot need be counted in the food miles added and if you decide to grow organically, then you will know that your veg is free from any unwanted residues and pesticides.
Of course having an allotment does require dedication and hard work but even the smallest crop grown is money saved from the supermarket.
Come the New Year when the Christmas excesses sit uncomfortably around your middle, you can rest easy knowing that all that hard work you will expend on your plot for next years meal will also save you money on gym membership.
There is a social side to having an allotment too that has become much more apparent in the last 20 years with many allotment associations actively promoting and encouraging their members to join together to share tips and stories from their plots.
Middridge Allotments currently have plots available for new plotholders looking to provide vegetables for their Christmas meal in 2016. Plots of different sizes are on offer so if a full plot is too daunting, or you just don’t have the time to commit, then smaller plots are also available from as little as £15 per year.
Middridge Allotments is a small friendly allotment association that organises an annual social event in August open to all plotholders and their families. For more information please contact Kathy Booth on 01325 319638.