Hydro Allotments visit

Thomas, Julian and I went back to Blarney today to chat to Zwena McCullough at the Hydro Allotments.

Although we went along to the open day, Zwena was so busy we had no chance to get her to ourselves, so we cornered her today instead!

Anybody coming at allotments from the providers’ perspective should definitely talk to Zwena! Although she has had the allotments for 9 years now, she retired from farming this year and so leased out her land, apart from 1 hectare which she can keep for personal use. She knows many farmers in a similar position for whom she thinks allotments would be ideal.

She has been asked many times if “there is good money in it” but says really her earnings from the allotments are fairly minimal. She sees the benefits more in the form of lots of free fruit and veg and having lots of company. I could see this being a huge benefit to elderly farmers who may have no family in their area. Knowing that people will be dropping by everyday would offer huge peace of mind as anyone grows older.

Zwena’s pet hate is people who take allotments and don’t do anything with them. In her experience she has found that “reduced rates mean reduced interest” and she actually got less offers! In most cases she will rent 1 plot out and if the person is an avid gardener they can get a second plot at a reduced rate. At the same time, she is surprised by new allotments who say they need to charge more to cover set up costs. She said she felt the set up required was fairly minimal – she had the walled garden ploughed, sectioned off areas and ran a water line from the well the length of the garden and put taps along. She says this took about two days, and chicken-wiring the allotments (rabbits are a big problem) lasted til the end of the week. She mows the paths every ten days and that’s all the upkeep she needs to do.

We also met Peggy again who gave us so much information last time and found out she has a great blog at organicgrowingpains.blogspot.com – be sure to check it out!

To contact Zwena email happyzwena@hotmail.com