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Ruth Binney has been cultivating allotments for more than 25 years. Her latest plot is in Dorchester at the Alington Road Allotments on Alington Avenue.

As well as keeping her green fingers busy growing fruit and vegetables, she also has a long career in publishing and has written several books about gardening. Her latest is about living off the land.

Alington Road Allotments is one of four large sites in Dorchester and as Ruth explains allotments are in great demand right across the county.

She says: "Waiting lists are getting longer and councils are becoming quite strict - if you don't pay up on time for your allotment, you're off the list and that's that!"

Getting stuck in on her plot

You are what you eat

So why are allotments so popular?

Ruth believes it's about knowing where your food comes from.

She says: "I enjoy cooking, so it's great to grow what I'm going to cook and it's even better knowing that what I grow hasn't been doused in chemicals."

According to Ruth, growing organically also means what you produce tastes much better, especially fruit.

She says: "The flavour from the raspberries and strawberries I grow is just amazing - so much better than the shop bought varieties."

The Good Life?

Living The Good Life, like Tom and Barbara in the 70s sitcom, certainly isn't a new concept, but in the current economic downturn is it cost effective?

Ruth says: "It's definitely worth the money particularly if you grow things like asparagus, which are very expensive if you buy them in the supermarket."

Fellow allotment owner, Robin, disagrees.

He says: "If you were to put a price on the time you were here, per hour, plus seeds and the rental, you'd be paying a lot more for your food than if you went to the shops."

A purple cauliflower ready to pick

A growing success?

"Growing your own" certainly doesn't come without its problems, as Robin explains.

He says: "I've had some disasters recently with onions and leeks. For years they've been no problem at all, but over the last two years they've got some sort of blight in them and they've been ruined."

Ruth adds: "The soil here in Dorchester is very chalky and it drains unbelievably quickly, so you have to dig in loads of manure."

Mike is a member of four local horticultural societies at Wyke Regis, Dorchester, West Stafford & Bockhamton, and Upwey & Broadwey. The only thing he has difficulty growing at Allington Road Allotments is carrots.

He says: "We get the carrot root fly and that eats them, so I don't bother with them anymore, it's a waste of time."

Spring-time daffodils in Dorset

Blooming

As well as fruit and veg, plot owner David grows local prize-winning daffodils.

He says: "I was introduced to growing them 12 years ago when my wife died. It was a good hobby to have at that time. It kept me busy and was a great help to me, and I've just carried it on.

"It's not nuclear science to grow daffodils, but to grow prize ones you've got to have decent bulbs and you have to get them from a catalogue. It's no use getting them from a shop, because they're just garden daffodils and they're not big enough.

"The most I've ever spent on a bulb is about 拢15."

Put your name down

If you fancy having your own allotment, Ruth's advice is to contact your local council and get your name on the waiting list - and quick.

She says: "Once you manage to get one, the most important thing is simply grow what you like to eat - that's the best way to get the most pleasure from your allotment!"

Mike's advice is slightly different, however.

He says: "Everyone needs an allotment, because everyone needs a bolthole - somewhere they can bolt out the other half and the kids. My allotment will always be my bolthole. I couldn't do without it!"