October 2024
Autumn is coming, and Steve Meek is looking back on a successful year at Bridport Community Allotment.
Despite some challenging weather conditions in the spring and summer, the enthusiastic team of gardeners there have harvested beans, salad leaves, beetroot, turnips, courgettes, cucumbers, potatoes, garlic, onions, sweetcorn, tomatoes, melons, blackcurrants and more. The list is a foodie’s dream.
Steve, the allotment’s coordinator, is a retired doctor and former clinical lead at Dorset County Hospital’s A&E department. He now teaches gardening skills at ‘Learn to Grow Food’, the weekly training session held on Thursday afternoons.
“We’re teaching beginners how to grow food,” says Steve. “Often people who are starting out don’t know what to do, and they can end up wasting their land and their own energy as a result. Our sessions cover all the basics – how and when to plant, different soils and composts, dealing with pests – and are particularly useful for anyone waiting for an allotment of their own, as they get a chance to practise.”
‘Growing your own’ is very popular, and while many Bridport homes have a suitable garden, some don’t, and this is where an allotment can be the answer. The supply/demand balance inevitably varies from place to place: in Bristol, for example, there is a 15-year wait, while in Burton Bradstock, where Steve lives, allotments are available much more quickly. In Bridport there are about 100 people on the waiting list for the town council’s allotments at various sites around the town and in Walditch and Bradpole. Steve’s sessions are the perfect way for them to brush up their skills while they wait.
The community allotment is attached to the community orchard just off South Street behind St Mary’s Church. In the past it has been financially dependent on the orchard but is now self-sufficient thanks to a rent reduction by Bridport Town Council and the proceeds of the popular annual plant sale held during Mayfest. The council has also made a grant for the construction of a shelter, while Bradfords has donated materials and Palmers has given some benches and a picnic table.
Steve has had an allotment of his own for 30 years and is evangelical about the joys of gardening. “Humans are part of nature, and gardening reinforces that connection,” he says. “There’s an element of magic, too – seeds and compost are both magical. I follow the ‘no dig’ method, which is great for weedy allotments, as long as you remove any big spiky weeds first. Digging disturbs the soil structure – particularly the mycorrhizal fungi around roots – and destroys the relationship between plants and the soil. And digging is dispiriting! Try no-dig for 12 months and your weeds will be down 90% the following year.”
As well as picking up growing tips, some people come along to Steve’s sessions for the social side, too, and he is keen to promote the mental-health benefits of gardening in a group. “Getting your hands in the soil, growing stuff, even just watching – there’s no pressure. It can be really helpful for people of all ages who have anxiety: Bridport’s great mental health charity, Harmony, have their own plot on this site, where they hold a weekly drop-in gardening session. And we’ve been speaking to the social prescribing team about working together.”
Steve would love to expand the Learn to Grow Food scheme, offering sessions on more days and covering more topics such as propagation and seed saving. As well as encouraging new gardeners to come along, he’s also looking for additional experienced volunteers to lead and teach. “People need more support, especially when they’re getting started. In our community there is so much experience of growing things – we can do this as a town.”
Learn to Grow Food is on Thursdays, 1–2pm. To get involved (either to learn or as a potential teacher) email bridportcommunityallotment@gmail.com or search Bridport Community Allotment on Facebook. Information about the council allotments in Bridport is available online at www.bridport-tc.gov.uk/services/allotments