allotment chat

Had an interesting chat with Joe at the allotment today. He's had his plot for 36 years and has seen a few changes. He reckons that "most people aren't prepared to do the work these days. They'll take on a plot like this one, all neat and tidy, but not like the one next door. But how do they think it gets like that? It doesn't happen by itself! Folk are just too lazy these days." We talked a bit about sustainability and climate change and he was telling me that over the years the growing season has shortened - in years past he would have been able to grow right into September, however now, by August, everything stops growing. He feels that people should give growing a chance, even if they don't know where to begin "I was just the same when I started. You learn by your mistakes, when someone comes and says 'don't do it like that', you think - do you know better? We all have to learn and we do it through our mistakes, its trial and error..." He gave me some advice about enticing worms into my plot (there has been a worrying lack since I took on the plot three years ago) and also showed me the best way to dig. Thanks Joe :)