TRIUMPH OVER adversity

Sally Clifford meets a community of growers and showers at one of the country's oldest allotments societies in West Yorkshire

- Sally Clifford

When it comes to flooding you could say they have faced adversity on a biblical scale. Yet this tenacious community of gardeners have kept on growing and showing.

The resilience of Mirfield Allotments and Gardens Society - one of the oldest in the country - is a lengthy tradition. During the war years growing your own was, and still is, an affordable way of feeding the family. It maintained produce on plates at a time when choice and quantity was restricted by rationing. Those were the boom times - plots were plentiful but demand for 'growing your own' has changed over the years.

Subsequent revivals have led to allotment waiting lists – such is our consciousness of the production of the produce we consume, food miles and the impact of climate change on our planet. Spending time with a community of growers certainly gives you food for thought. For those I met, growing your own is caring about the environment – and for yourself.

Much has been said about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and the effect on mental health. Allotments are a sanctuary for many growers, and during lockdown they could focus their minds on tending their plots. Having time on our hands also introduced a new generation to growing.

Single mum, Katie Allerton, bought a pop-up greenhouse for her garden during lockdown. Katie was shielding due to her elder son having kidney problems. Seven-year-old Jensen is also autistic. Learning to grow with his five-year-old brother, Lincoln, is a life skill and keeps the pair occupied.