Derry’s growing band of allotment enthusiasts

The number of allotments sprouting up around Derry is proving that the ‘grow your own’ philosophy to healthy living is flourishing in the city.. Newly-opened allotments behind the Ballymagowan housing development in Creggan, at the Playtrail on Racecourse Road and in Ballymagroarty and Hazelbank are proof that today’s generations have been attracted to gardening. The Ballymagowan allotments in Creggan were developed alongside the housing estate. The allotment site includes a polytunnel, tool shed, classroom and planting beds for disabled use, which are now being used by people from the local community. Rory McIntyre is a gardener who looks after the Ballymagowan allotments and provides guidance for plot owners. He said that people with plots in Creggan are not ‘your stereotypical gardeners’. There are of course retirees with plots, as it is an enjoyable way to keep active and a popular pastime amongst the older generation. Community groups look after plots, as well as people from different professions such as teachers and joiners. Rory said: “A lot of the allotment owners up here are middle-aged and younger even and it’s great to get the children involved in it so they can see exactly what goes in to producing the food they’re eating. “It would predominantly be people from around the area and that’s what we were aiming for, to engage with people from the immediate community and Creggan Heights. “Then we tried to push it out to the further Triax area, in the Bogside and Brandywell. “The allotments are all full, and there’s a mixture of community groups with plots. The Rainbow Project have one, the Old Library Trust (OLT) and Surestart. The allotments act as a great way of engaging everybody. “There are hanging basket workshops 2 or 3 times throughout the year where we would engage members of the community as well as workshops pertinent to the month in question. “The quality of food you get out of it is fantastic, it’s ten times what you’ll get in the supermarket and 100% organic. “I’d be here roughly about three times a week, but more often than not five times a week so I can be here to help out the allotment owners and to make sure there are no glaring problems that need dealt with. “And we want to encourage people here to share and swap produce with one another. If you have 60 radishes, there’s only so many you can eat. So it’s about being efficient and learning to grow only what you need, but that comes with time and experience,” added Rory. Development at Ballymagowan hasn’t stopped with plans of planting an orchard at the front and housing a wildlife meadow in the near future. St. Columb’s Park allotments are the oldest in Derry. In the 1930’s they lay closer to the River Foyle, before they were repositioned higher up in the park. There is believed to be a waiting list of over five years to get a plot there. Brian McLaughlin is 80-years-old and a retired teacher who represents what could be considered the ‘old guard’ of allotmenteers. He has owned an allotment at St. Columb’s Park for 30 years He said: “The allotments here, the present ones, were opened in the early 1980’s and I personally applied for one. “I had an interest because my father was a gardener. From hearsay I believe that this area was earmarked for tennis courts, then the decision came that allotments were to be built here because there had been ones down there previously. “Most people that come here, they work them, but some are put off, they come and think it’s a nice idea and then realise there’s an awful lot of work in it. “I come here every couple of days, now in winter time I wouldn’t come as often. I come out for a bit of exercise.”