Transition Loughborough Community Allotment

Getting people growing local food is one of the main aims of Transition Town groups.  Not only does it provide local community members with the means to grow some of their own food but its also a small step on the path towards making communities more resilient by supporting local food production, reducing oil derived products in the garden and fostering increased community links.

Transition Loughborough has taken on three plots at the King George Road allotment site to form a “community allotment” where anyone in the local area is welcome to join us to help grow and harvest food. Here’s map showing where to find the Transition Loughborough Community Allotment.

We’re aiming to cover a variety of growing styles and needs.  These include:

• an area for “accessible growing” with raised planters for people who find it difficult to bend down to the ground to sow, plant and harvest,
• a plot with a traditional allotment rotation to grow the sorts of crops that allotment and back garden growers are used to (potatoes, carrots, peas, beans, onions, etc),
• a “Global Foods” area for members of the community that want to grow rather more exotic or non-traditional crops (eg Asian vegetables),
• A covered space for crops that need a bit of protection from the elements,
• Composting area, including plans for a composting toilet,
• A wildlife pond to encourage small predators to help control pests on the plots,
• A “nectar bar” to provide pollinators with a long season of suitable flowers to feed from,
• Beds for perennial vegetables (ones that come up year after year, rather than needing to be sown fresh each year),
• Soft fruit such as raspberries, black currants and gooseberries.

During the summer months we tend to meet regularly on Wednesday evenings between 5.30pm and 7pm, although other groups can use the plot at other times during the week. Come along to one of our Wednesday sessions, meet the other Transition users and get growing!