Original post by Garden Organic:
Join us to celebrate National Allotments Week 2021 from 9th – 15th August.
We’re excited to celebrate allotments and ‘Plotting for the Future’. This year we’re celebrating the contribution that allotments make to a sustainable future. From growing your own organic veg to encouraging wildlife into your surroundings we cover a range of advice, tips, and things to do to help build a healthy and sustainable future and would love for you to get involved.
Having an organic allotment means that not only do you feel a boost of positivity knowing that your plot will be free from toxic chemicals but you gain the satisfaction of growing your own organic produce, that will be fresh, from plot to the plate all year round.
Homegrown food reduces your carbon footprint and reduces the use of single-use plastics, and an organic plot is a happy plot. By continuing to grow organically you are creating a natural balance of ecosystems that encourage and sustain our rich biodiversity. By adding pesticides to your plot you, not only harm bees and other wildlife you pose a risk to your own health.
This week we are here to support you whether you are an experienced allotmenteer or a newbie. We offer advice, tips and projects from starting with healthy soil, encouraging wildlife into your surroundings, all the way to organically managing those pesky pests.
We’ve given you a head start with the following guidance…
- Your first allotment
- Super soil health
- The Hungry gap – growing all year round
- Managing pests and diseases
- Encouraging wildlife into your plot
- The No Dig method
- Compost – how to make your own perfect organic blend
This year we want to help you plot for the future and we know that often organic and non-organic neighbours cultivate land next door to each other in allotment sites. This can be a great opportunity for organic growers to share their passion for a sustainable future.
Here are some key arguments in favour of the organic way:
- Chemical weed killers are toxic. They are often created as a mix of glyphosate and toxic surfactants which attack the plant and can create a residue in the soil. They are skin and eye irritants, and some research has shown them to be potentially carcinogenic. Spraying can travel in the wind, which leaves a residue on neighbouring growth. As well as being poisonous to the weed, glyphosate formulations in the soil can inhibit the root uptake of nutrients – causing a crop to struggle more. For further information see the Glyphosate debate
- Pesticides will kill indiscriminately. Although sprays are aimed at aphids or other pests, they also kill other harmless insects. Worse than that, many of these insects are of great use to the grower. Ladybirds and hoverflies, for instance, will not only eat the aphids but also help bees and butterflies as pollinators. Pesticides can also create a health hazard for birds or frogs.
- Tempting though it is to scatter pellets around the baby lettuce plants, there are other ways to deter slugs and snails. Did you know that the No 1 cause of fatal poisonings in children is from slug pellets which contain metaldehyde? So please don’t use them.
Throughout the week we’ll be sharing advice and interesting tips on our social media channels Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Please feel free to share your own allotment stories. We love to read how you are plotting for a sustainable future as well as your updates if you were new to the allotment life last year. Please share pictures from your growing experiences.
