By Alina Suchanski

Reading time: 12 minutes

Allotment gardening has been deeply rooted in Europe’s urban culture for over 200 years. The idea first germinated during the era of industrialisation, a time of mass migration of farmworkers from villages to cities. Allotment gardens not only provided a source of fresh food, they also created green spaces and opportunities for exercise.

I grew up in Szczecin, Poland, a city with a population of 300,000. Our family of five lived in a 40m² dwelling, one of 30 in a block of flats, in a street lined with identical three-storey buildings. As children, our playground was the street and a piece of dirt between the blocks of flats.

We found our refuge in an allotment garden, where the whole family would spend weekends. It was located in the town’s biggest park that stretches between the city centre and its fringes, before merging with the surrounding forest. A section of the park was set aside for allotments and its central location gave easy access to the gardens from different suburbs.

It was a half-hour walk from home to our allotment plot. In those days, all allotments were fully productive garden spaces, delineated by low fences and a small gate with the allotment number. My parents grew onions, carrots, beets, lettuces, radishes, peas, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and flowers. We had black and red currant bushes, gooseberries, and a few canes of raspberries. Our neighbour on one side had a cherry tree that overhung our garden, and on the other side grew a large apple tree.

A shed for storing garden tools and providing shelter was later replaced with a small brick hut.

While our parents worked in the garden, us kids played or explored the neighbourhood. I have a lot of happy memories from this period. We had the run of the whole allotment enclosure and freedom to wander through the maze of alleyways to check out what everyone else was growing. At the time of harvest, we helped our parents carry bags and baskets heavy with fresh produce back home, where Mum would bottle and preserve fruit and vegetables for winter.

What is an allotment garden and how did they come about?

An allotment is a plot of land made available for non-commercial gardening or growing of food plants and is located in an area away from user’s residence. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into small parcels of 200-600m² that are assigned to be cultivated individually, as opposed to collectively.

The oldest allotment gardens in Poland date back to 1897, when Doctor Jan Jalkowski established the Society of a Natural Way of Life in Grudziądz. The Society’s original goal was to give members the opportunity to take ‘solar baths’ in a specially arranged garden, where half-naked members exercised, sunbathed, or soaked in tubs filled with peat mud heated by the rays of the sun. The idea found some enthusiastic supporters, but it was also met with sneers, and some considered it highly immoral.

Nevertheless, as the Society grew, it acquired more land, some of which was divided into plots distributed amongst its members for cultivation. These became so popular that similar gardens began sprouting all over Poland in the early 20^th century, until World War II halted all such activities while the nation fought for survival.

During the communist regime, allotment gardens continued to thrive. They were a great way to supplement a family budget for the lower socio-economic group, which was the majority of the population. So, the demand for the gardens kept growing. Their popularity led to the emergence of the sub-culture of ‘działkowanie’ – spending time at one’s allotment garden with family and friends, working, relaxing and socialising, being able to share the fruits of one’s labour and exchange it with other gardeners.

After the fall of communism in 1990, the nature of allotment gardens changed. With supermarkets now full of produce, the need to ‘grow your own’ diminished and allotments became recreational spaces. Gone were the garden beds full of vegetables, in came lawns and ornamental evergreen plants. The huts became much bigger, equipped with modern conveniences, and suitable for long-term stay or even used as permanent dwellings.

 

As of 2018, there were 4,667 allotment gardens administered by the Polish Allotment Association, with 917,445 plots covering a total of over 40,000 hectares (Mokras-Grabowska, 2020).

During the Covid-19 pandemic, interest in allotment gardens skyrocketed in Poland, as lockdown restrictions did not apply to walking to one’s allotment, nor to the requirement to wear masks once there. In addition, with food shortages caused by interrupted deliveries alongside a budding organic movement, young people became more interested in growing their own vegetables.

In European countries and North America, the history of allotment gardens dates back to the late 19^th century and is strongly connected with the industrialisation of cities.

Gardening allowed city dwellers to grow much of their own food and avoid mass starvation. Several places claim to have the oldest allotment gardens in the world.

In the UK, the accolade for the earliest allotment site is reserved for Great Somerford Free Gardens in the Wiltshire village of Great Somerford. These were created in 1809 by King George III at the request of a bishop for the benefit of the poor of his parish.

The first allotment garden in Germany was created in 1864 in Leipzig. Similar gardens were later developed in Belgium, Denmark, France, Holland, and England. The Danish tradition for allotment gardens later spread to the other Nordic countries: first Sweden, then Norway and Finland.

In Russia, the precursors of allotments began to appear during the reign of Peter the Great. Initially, they were small estates in the country called dachas, which were given to loyal vassals by the Tsar (in Russian, ‘dacha’ is something that is given). After the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, most dachas were nationalised. Some were given to prominent communist party members; others were converted into vacation homes for the working class. After World War II, squatters began occupying unused plots of land near cities and towns, some building sheds, huts, and more prominent dwellings that served as dachas. In 1955, legislation was introduced to allow dacha ‘owners’ permanent use of land exclusively for agricultural purposes and giving them permission to connect to public electrical and water supply networks.

In other former communist bloc countries such as Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia, allotment gardens are also hugely popular.

The depression of the 1930s and World War II has contributed to huge interest in allotment gardens all over Europe. In the USA, this movement took on the form of community gardens. Rather than individuals or families having an allotment to themselves, in America, members of a community worked together on a plot allocated to them by the local authorities.

Today, most allotment gardens are owned by the local municipality which rents the land to an allotment association. The association in turn gives each member a plot. To preserve allotment gardens as something available for all kinds of people, the membership charge is set significantly below market price. Since allotments are often placed on attractive pieces of land, waiting lists for membership have grown hugely in many associations.

In Germany, there are now almost a million allotment gardens, operated by nearly five million plot users (BDG, 2021). The situation is similar in Great Britain. Denmark’s government, which supports the idea of allotment gardening, initiates the creation of many new gardens, and in Sweden, they are an important part of cultural heritage. In the USA, despite the fact that community gardening is much more popular, new allotment gardens are constantly created. In many countries, they are islands of peace and quiet, though still encouraging social contact and exchange of experiences. Allotment gardens are places where a variety of recreational activities occur and aim to improve the integration and recreation of people with special needs. In this way, urban gardening is becoming a form of therapy. However, it should be highlighted that allotment gardens are also under threat in many cities across the world due to pressure from residential and infrastructure development (Mokras-Grabowska, 2020).

In New Zealand, the situation is also changing. The traditional model of a family house on a quarter-acre section is being replaced with greater density of dwellings, and multi-storey apartment blocks are becoming an acceptable alternative. Community gardens are now sprouting in cities and towns. While being productive in terms of growing fruit and vegetables, they also fulfil a social and educational role.

A 2009 British movie, Grow Your Own, tells a story about an English community being put to the test when a family of refugees is granted a plot in an allotment garden to grow vegetables. Initially, the culture clash between the local allotment gardeners and the newcomers leads to animosity and misunderstandings, but with time, comes acceptance, understanding and inclusion.

In the contemporary world, cities are increasingly lacking green spaces so important to our mental health. Urban sprawl and, consequently, the shrinking areas of urban greenery, pose a serious threat. Allotment gardens are an important solution to the sustainable development of built-up areas, improvements in the living environment, promotion of healthy lifestyles, accessibility for all age and social groups, high biodiversity, as well as intergenerational and intercultural connections.

 

Sources: 1. Allotment Gardens, Wikipedia 2. Allotment Gardens ‘Kapiele Sloneczne’ 3. Allotment gardening in Poland – new practices and changes in recreational space, Sciendo 4. Bundesverband Deutscher Gartenfreunde E. V.

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