APRIL 2008 UPDATED - MAY 2007 VIDEO UPLOADED
                                             

Our names are Tim Wright and Luke Raddy. We are two ordinary chaps who decided to take on an allotment in January 2006. Having spent all of 2006 taking care of our plot we also created this website for our own personal record and to
hopefully encourage others who may have taken on a plot of
their own.

Neither of us knew how to get an allotment, let alone how to
grow vegetables. Encouraged by the likes of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Grow Your Own magazine we got hold of a number for my local allotment site, made an appointment and chose a plot from the ones available.
The plot we chose was covered in brambles and hadn't been                    
cultivated in ten years. There were other plots, of course, but what was the point in getting a plot that was ready and waiting when you could get a buzz from making a plot your own from scratch? The cost was £3.40 per perch per year (around 12.5 square metres), which won't break the bank. We got a 10 perch plot and expanded to 20 perches halfway through the year.

It took us around two months to clear the brambles and dig the ground so that we could cultivate it. By the time we did the spring had kicked in and we were ready to start sowing seeds and growing vegetables. To see things growing from seed to fully-fledged plants was an absolute delight. Tim and I had such good fun going up to the allotment every Saturday, watering, weeding, digging, sowing and just generally encouraging the plants to grow which encouraged us to be there. We had successes and we had failures but we've learnt from all of our experiences.

We have made lots of friends as well. It's such as close-knit community of like-minded people that we were able to talk to just about anyone. We all have a chat and swap seeds and advice. It's an absolute pleasure to be there and the perfect antidote for working the daily grind during the week. Fresh air, exercise and good food are all the produce of working on an allotment. We might also have two or three tea breaks in a day if our flask permits.
                                             
Only after a year of growing your own vegetables can you really realise what your plate has been missing. The taste in comparison to supermarket veg is sublime. We were surprised what a difference it makes in terms of flavour. You realise that fresh organic food is not merely a scheme to make you part with more of your hard-earned cash but to open you up to the true flavour of the food you could be eating.

We have found that a photographic record, the amount of fruit and veg we have grown (having never done this before) and also the like-minded people on the allotment have all contributed to our enthusiasm. We hope that by posting video clips of what we have done demonstrates that not only is our hard work every Saturday rewarded but also demonstrates just how much fun we have simply by growing veg.
                                             
 
Luke celebrates as the greenhouse is finally put together
  
Tim stands beside his prize willow tree trunk
                             
1 May, 2006