Thousands are growing their own

And young, often professional, men and women are the fastest-growing group of allotment gardeners.

Deborah Burn, development officer of the Allotments Regeneration Initiative, said: "The traditional image of the male allotment holder who might be older is starting to change. Younger women are getting involved. Black and minority ethnic groups are also getting involved, as well as community groups and schools, and people with physical and mental health needs.

"For them, gardening is an excellent way to get involved in the community, learn some gardening skills, and get out in the fresh air."

Geoff Stokes, national secretary of the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners, agrees that there is an allotment renaissance going on.

"There seems to be a marked increase in the number of people wanting them," he said.

"We're seeing a change in the type of people taking allotments. It was always thought of as land for the labouring poor, but that's changed. Now, it's more clerical and managerial types, and more women are becoming involved - often people whose children have gone to school and who have extra time on their hands."

Mr Stokes said there are many reasons why allotment gardening is so popular. "They include wanting to be out in the fresh air, exercise, being close to nature, growing fresh organic produce, and knowing what's gone into what you're eating," he said.

The benefits of allotment gardening have not escaped the government. Ms Burn added: "The message has gone out that allotments are a sustainable facet of urban life, and that's been picked up by the government, the NHS and regional trusts as a way of promoting healthy living. So the future is very bright for allotments."

Harpers Lane Allotment Society secretary Shaun Kershaw, aged 43, is in the middle of the age range of society members.

And his grand-daughter, Charlotte Willis-Kershaw, aged six and who has her own strawberry bed on her grandfather's plot, is not the youngest.

"There is a four-year-old boy who works on his own little plot with his dad," said Mr Kershaw.

At the other end of the age range, there are a number of members who are well into their 80s.

"Our newest members are some students who are just preparing their plot," added Mr Kershaw. "We've got all ages and all types here."

Mr Kershaw has had his plot - for which he pays £36 a year - for five years. A former nurseryman, growing things seems to be in his blood. "I only have to look at a seed and it grows," he said. "Renting an allotment is many things to many people. For me, it is an escape. You will find me down here, either working on the land or in my hut, every weekend through the year."

And his "hut" is kitted out with a cooker, heater, kettle and comfy chair it is a real home-from-home.

Mr Kershaw also has a sizeable garden at home. "But the garden belongs to the family - this is just mine," he said.

Many society members grow food for themselves and their families, and achieve considerable savings over the year. Mr Kershaw's family and friends are provided for but he is just as likely to give away much of what he grows.

"I have some fruit trees, I grow mainly vegetables and some bedding plants, but the end product is secondary. I give away most of what I grow, even to strangers walking their dogs. It is the work and the growing that really interest me - and the social side. We're a great big family.

"We often have a barbecue in the summer, and we have a good time, but you should see the Italians just across the way.

"When they have a barbecue it lasts all day and we're all invited over. No work gets done on that day!"

The idea that allotments are becoming fashionable is a difficult one for Mr Kershaw to understand.

"A long waiting list and people who spend half their lives down here means, as far as I can see, that allotments have always been fashionable," he said.

FACTFILE

Allotments, under that name, have been recorded in this country since the Elizabethan period. An allotment was a small area of land "allotted" to a serf where he or she could grow vegetables and perhaps keep a few chickens. An entirely arbitrary affair, some would be "by grace and favour" (free) while others would take a small rent.

In 1867, a survey said that there were 2,119 acres of public allotments in the country.

One of the first acts of Parliament dealing with the subject was The Allotments Extension Act in 1882, which made provision for parishioners to be allotted charity land as allotments, provided the revenue from them was "not used for apprenticeships, ecclesiastical or educational purposes".

By 1894, a survey showed that the total number of allotment tenants in the UK was just 5,536.

Allotments as we know them today are a result of the Smallholdings and Allotments Act 1908 which placed a duty on local councils to provide sufficient allotments according to demand.