For years allotments were out of favour. No-one wanted them, and patches of mud with a shed at one end and weeds everywhere else went to waste. Then suddenly gardening became the new rock and roll, and everyone who didn't want to dig up their lawn wanted their own council-run patch of mud. The waiting lists grew faster than the cabbages. Now, after more than three years on a waiting list, Neil Shaw has been given his own patch of green and pleasant land.

Monday, 26 April 2010

Square roots

Our eldest was six last week and as a present from a friend she got some child-sized gardening tools, so this weekend was a perfect opportunity to try them out.

Right next to the potatoes is half a bed cleared and dug over, but waiting for seeds, so she soon took care of that with her new trowel and rake.

We measured out three rows together then she helped hoe, rake and dig them before sprinkling in a lot of carrot seeds.

She took the colourful plant markers she had been given and carefully wrote "carrots" on each one, along with the date, and stuck them at each end of the row.

A little soil, plenty of water and now we wait to see what will happen.

Part of our desire for an allotment has been to have somewhere for our children to learn plenty of life lessons, and there are few better than growing your own food and just enjoying being out with nature.

They also enjoying hunting and spotting minibeasts, visiting our neighbours chickens, identifying plants (including roobababab) and sketching what they can see around them as well as playing I spy.

Throw in the literacy (writing carrot signs and reading instructions) and numeracy (measuring and creating straight lines) and a few hours on the plot competes well with a few hours at school (plus the sprouts are MUCH better).

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