Best Allotment 2024

Congratulations to Alan Wellstead on Spital who won the best allotment award for the 2024 season.

Site Supervisors make nominations for best allotment for their site to the judges, who then make the final decision.

This year the judges were not only impressed by the good order of Alan's plot, but also to his long-standing commitment to biodiversity with a range of flowers for pollinators and small pond which is home for newts and frogs.

Best Small Plot was awarded to Lucy Everett on Fairground and Best Newcomer was awarded to Myra Buckley on Clewer Park. Congratulations to both.

Take on the challenge!

Allotments are usually judged in July/August so there's plenty of time to get your plot in shape. Judges expect to see a well maintained plot but in addition are looking for imaginative planting schemes, environment- friendly cultivation and innovative ideas that are well executed.

So whether you are into edible landscaping,  no-dig gardening, vertical gardening, water-conservation projects, companion planting or pots and herb gardening, do it well...

and bring it to your site supervisors notice!

Save your soil!

According to the UN the world has just 60 harvests left because soil is being degraded. Across the allotments we see plots with great soil and those that have been depleted. Regenerative horticulture includes just a handful of practices that restore soil health, such as not tilling, not using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, rotating crops, leaving the ground covered with plants at all times, and growing many different plants alongside each other. Read more here.