Horwich Community Allotment is marking National Allotment Week in the best possible way, celebrating the rewards of months of hard work, home-grown produce and a strong sense of community.
The group, which has been nurturing its thriving allotment since January 2003, has spent another summer tending crops, sharing skills and supporting one another, culminating in a vibrant showcase of everything allotment life has to offer.
As National Allotment Week shines a spotlight on the benefits of growing your own food, the Horwich group is demonstrating how allotments can bring people together, promote wellbeing and create lasting friendships, all while producing an impressive harvest.
Trish Calderbank said she joined the group after moving away from a house where she had land of her own to tend to with plants and animals.
Following a bereavement, she explained how engaging in the community allotment helped her both mentally and physically.
"It’s really good for your mental health.
"I came back after a bereavement and it was the saving of me."
She also mentioned how coming to the plot helps maintain her physical health as she gets stuck into weeding and seeding in her retirement.
Group leader Linda Haslehurst explained each of the plants in detail and showed off the impressive array of fruit and vegetables the allotment had produced despite the months of extremely hot weather.
"Everything we grow here is organic; we don’t use pesticides on anything."
The group have beds, greenhouses, and even an orchard which are all cared for and cultivated all year round, rain or shine.
Mrs Haslehurst explained: "The most popular things people grow are courgettes, beans and potatoes."
She said the sunshine and warm temperatures had worked wonders for some crops, with chillies thriving in the greenhouse and producing a particularly vibrant harvest. However, other produce, including the ever-popular courgettes, had struggled to cope with this year's spells of extreme weather.
Although this summer’s heat had brought its own challenges, the group emphasised how they come to the allotment and keep it maintained all year round.
"That’s the thing about coming out even in the winter when you need two anoraks on, it’s all worth it, and it gets you up and out of the house."
Their latest addition is a flourishing orchard, home to a variety of apple and pear trees. Nestled in a more sheltered corner at the rear of the plot, the orchard's branches are now laden with fruit, adding a new dimension to the allotment and providing a promising harvest for years to come.
As well as the vast range of produce grown in the allotment, the group also leaves plants for insects to enjoy and bees to come and pollinate.
Explaining that they don’t even put slug pellets down on the plot, Mrs Calderbank joked that she had considered coming down with a torch in the middle of the night to protect the crops.
British Garden Centres has published a guide on how to get growing this August.
Julian Palphramand, Head of Plants at British Garden Centres, which has a branch on Wigan Road, Bolton, said: "This year's National Allotments Week theme, 'Grow to Learn', ties in nicely with our ‘Make it Bloom’ campaign where you learn a little more with every season.
"You don't need years of experience to get something out of growing your own as crops like spinach, kale and spring onions are perfect for beginners, and there's real joy in picking something you've grown yourself."
The organisation aims to get people growing and encourages beginners to take the garden and see what they can do.
They suggest planting vegetables such as late potatoes, baby carrots, winter cabbage and turnips this August with many of these ready for Christmas dinner if planted during the summer months.
With waiting lists for allotments at an increasingly high level, Horwich Community Allotment emphasised that they were always open to new members and learning new things as people come and go.
Mrs Calderbank in particular emphasised her interest in finding out what people from different backgrounds and experiences are growing as temperatures continue to rise.
A huge fig tree at the front of the plot boasted huge ripening figs, and strawberries, raspberries and blackberries grow around the allotment with different varieties and colours blooming throughout.
The group even have grapevines in one of their greenhouses.
As a community of around ten members, the group has volunteers who do what they can when they can.
"It’s never about ‘well you’ve only done two shifts so you can only have two beans’, we all do what we can and nobody takes too much."
The group runs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, and anybody interested in joining can get in touch with Linda on 01204697223.
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