We’re coming to the end of the season and I thought it would be a nice idea to interview the other people on the allotments as well as friends and family who also grow veg to get a picture of their experiences.
Name: Nick
Age: 63
Family: Wife Bunty and three grown-up children
Job: Retired toolmaker
Lives: Stoke Gabriel, Devon
How long have you been growing your own vegetables?
A long time – about 45 years. I’ve had an allotment for about 11 years and this is the second season on this plot.
What got you started?
My Dad got us working in the garden when we were children and I’ve been interested in growing veg since then.
What are your mainstay crops?
Potatoes, onions, leeks and runner beans.
What are your favourite varieties?
Potato: an early called Foremost
Onion: Kelsae for showing and Sturon for eating
Runner bean: Enorma
Pea: Hurst Greenshaft
Broadbean: Aquadulce
What’s the most exotic thing you’ve grown?
Melons but they weren’t very successful.
What have been your successes and failures of the season?
My Kelsae onions grew to an enormous size and the runner beans have been especially good this year. The spring and summer cabbages were destroyed by pigeons and caterpillars.
Where do you buy your seeds?
I get most of my seeds from Tuckers in Ashburton and show seeds I buy from Robinsons on the internet.
Do you buy plug plants?
No
What do you put on the soil/plants to help them grow?
Manure, Growmore and blood, fish and bone.
What do you do about slugs, birds, butterflies and badgers?
I might use a small amount of slug pellets and net to keep the birds and cabbage white butterflies off. There’s not much you can do about badgers as they’re so strong.
Do you grow things at home?
Yes, flowers in the garden, runner beans, and tomatoes and cucumbers in the greenhouse.
What’s in your shed?
Tools, rotavator, strimmer and a gas stove to make coffee.
What do you wear to work on the allotment?
Jeans and an old sweater. Shoes if it’s dry, wellies if it’s wet.
Who do you go to the allotment with?
On my own.
What activity do you find the most satisfying?
Hoeing.
What’s your favourite tool?
My hoe and my rake.
Do you sing or whistle while you work?
Whistle.
What’s your favourite time of year on the allotment?
Spring and early summer. It’s beautiful then and everything’s growing.
What’s the best thing about having an allotment?
Companionship with like-minded people.
Did you enter the village horticultural show?
I got a second for my courgettes and onions.
What's the best freebie you use on the allotment?
My big petrol strimmer.
Do you have a gardening hero?
Geoff Hamilton was a great down to earth presenter on Gardener’s World. He could make something out of nothing and he spoke our language.
Who cooks the food you grow?
Mainly my wife Bunty.
What’s your favourite meal?
I like a nice roast dinner with roast potatoes, carrots, cabbage or broadbeans – whatever’s in season.
Which of your produce to you eat the most of?
Potatoes.
What do your friends and family think of your allotmenteering?
They wouldn’t say but I think they’re impressed.
Tell me a funny story.
About 27 years ago Bunty wanted some potatoes for dinner and although they weren’t ready she dug them up anyway. So I wouldn’t find out she stuck the plant back in the ground. I noticed immediately of course as the plant wilted.
Tea or coffee? Coffee
Strawberries or raspberries? Strawberries
Raised beds or traditional? Traditional
New or main crop potatoes? New
Runner beans or French beans? Runner beans
Onions or shallots? Onions
Dig or no dig? Dig
If you could give one piece of advice to a new veg grower what would it be?
Just perservere.
Nick's allotment today
Nick's shed with an important piece of equipment - the gas stove!