Nuthurst Community Allotment by Sally White (first published in West Sussex County Times 6th May
Nuthurst Community Allotment by Sally White
One of the better things that happened in 2020 was that Jonathan van der Borgh turned up on Angus White’s doorstep. He brought with him the brilliant idea to create a new community allotment in Nuthurst. That idea is now becoming a reality.
As soon as we spread the word via the December issue of our local Parish Mag, The Link, we quickly gathered an extremely enthusiastic team of Nuthurst-ers! With seven pairs of hands on board, we cleared the ground of the old Architectural Plants’ site which has now moved to Pulborough. We weeded, shovelled soil, ploughed, rotavated, spruced up the glasshouses, chitted spuds, amassed loads of seeds and sowed.
We did another ‘shouting-about-how-great-we-are’ routine in The Link and on Social Media. These shout-outs have been very well received; we have had a flood of interest from local residents and also from local businesses who are keen to contribute much needed materials and equipment. Have a look at our website for details of how to get involved and for a list of the businesses who have been kind enough to donate to the allotment.
We have LOTS of signs of life springing up through the soil and we’re pretty darn excited about it. We have planned our first planting schedule, both inside the glasshouse and in the outside beds to incorporate all of our favourite veg and to also take advantage of the type of soil and orientation of the raised beds.
We have published our Constitution and membership details – with an application form, so we feel quite serious now! The initial team of seven allotmenteers has more than doubled and the children at Nuthurst’s St. Andrew’s Primary School are desperate to get their hands in the soil of their very own dedicated veg beds, one inside and one outside.
Our plans for the future are fairly extensive; the on-site field kitchen is one that we are particularly excited about. The Kitchen will work alongside the veg boxes that the allotmenteers will take home in exchange for their enthusiastic veg tending. It’ll be a brilliant way to raise funds to plough back into the allotment and to generally raise awareness of what the earth can produce. It will help reduce food miles and teach seasonal eating, increase bio-diversity, be insect-friendly, produce healthy soil -oh- and grow delicious organic food!
So, please watch our website for news of our exciting planting weekend on May 15/16th and see when we’re open for visits.
Come along to admire our growing allotment and to chat about ways in which you can be involved. There’ll be tea and coffee…..and biscuits.
www.nuthurstcommunityallotment.co.uk
Instagram & Facebook: @nuthurstcommunityallotment
