Allotments part of a growing trend in Shropshire

Such has been its rise in popularity the past time once solely associated with pensioners is now attracting a wider clientele.

The BBC has even gone as far as running a series based entirely on how amateur gardeners tend to their flowers and vegetable patches.

The Big Allotment Challenge, hosted by Fern Britton, could be what The Great British Bake-Off, The Great British Sewing Bee and The Great Interior Design Challenge were to their respective industries and activities, which were also once considered old fashioned and dated.

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But are allotments in Shropshire anything like those depicted on the big screen – and is there really huge interest in growing your fruit and vegetables these days?

A trip down to Woodside Allotments and Leisure Gardeners Association in Telford revealed community spirit is running high amongst the gardeners, who are rightly proud of their fresh produce.

It can even bring families together by removing them from the goggle box and lap tops and pushing them into the fresh air.

Steve Haggart, 56, from Woodside, is manager at the allotment who also works for Aga full time.

He said: "My role up is help with maintenance but it's all run on a voluntary basis by people who use the allotment all chip in. No one gets paid.

"This year we had a grant of £9,600 from the National Lottery to get the roof redone on the tea room and shop, as well as installing new gates.

"We've got about 120 plots down here and the rate is very low, just £23 for the year, which covers electricity, water rates and other bits."

Engineer Vinny Shayler, 33, his wife Emma, 31, daughter Kacey, 10, and son Dominic, seven, from Woodside, have spent many days planting and growing their own food.

But they have spent this week giving away all their materials because soon they will be emigrating to Sydney, in Australia.

"It's a completely different world once you pass in through the gates of the allotment," said Vinny, who says he will desperately miss his time pottering around his plot.

"You can come with a picnic and sandwiches with the kids. It's always great down here."

He added:"My wife has always been a keen gardener but we have been given so much support since we came.

"There is a show during the summer and also a shop.

"We were given a former burning plot, which was used to burn any waste, and were told we might struggle to grow anything on it.

"But we managed to grow loads and the only reason we're giving it up is because we are emigrating.

"We had to dig up the entire patch ourselves but since then we've been given loads of praise.

"Bringing the kids down also helps with their education and they've really got stuck into it."

Kevin Windsor, 45, from Horsehay, has had his allotment for four years after being shown the tricks of the trade by his uncle, Alan, 72, who has been growing his own fruit and veg for more than 30 years.

Kevin said: "It's always relaxing growing your own food and we do grow prettymuch anything.

"I come down most weekends and everyone always helps each other."

Graham Hughes, 71, from Woodside, has seen his number of plots rise from one to three over the last 15 years.

He is ably supported by his wife, Kathleen, who began taking a keen interest in her allotment after retiring last year.

Graham said: "We always loved gardening but never had the space.

"It took me two years to get one because of the waiting list. My wife retired last year so we took on three together."

He added: "She has always loved gardening and has also got a greenhouse.

"You make friends and form relationships down here. We come here every day in the summer. Each person asks different things but we are all still learning."

Norman Carter, 64, of Aqueduct, likes to keep himself busy, which he says fits in well with owning an allotment.

"It's hard work, especially as I'm training for the London to Paris cycling challenge at the moment," he said.

"I also do karate, photography and I'm renovating a house up north, so I'm often up before the birds.

"I'm a few weeks behind this year but it shouldn't take long to get going.

"You can't beat the taste of something that you've grown fresh. I like my pumpkins and I've grown one over 100 kilos.

"The asparagus is so fresh and there's nothing better than poaching an egg from one of my chickens at home and having it with the asparagus.

"Growing your own fruit and veg also makes you become a better cook. I don't care what they say in the supermarkets, the only organic food you get is from places like this."

Diana Pringle and her husband, Kevin McGrath, from Madeley. said the soil in their own back yard was too poor to grown anything.

So they got an allotment four years ago, which they tend to with their neighbours, sharing all the different produce they grow.

Diana said: "There is a layer of top soil in our own garden but then it's just rubble and rock.

"You can grow shrubs and trees but not much else. We've now made arrangements with two of our neighbours, one of whom is Iranian and grows coriander and other wonderful, exotic herbs.

"We share the produce between us and it's very enjoyable being down here."

Malcolm Firth, from Shirlett, near Broseley, added: "There's a great community feeling and this must be the best site in Telford.

"It's completely different to normal life on the other side of the gates."

There is plenty of demand for plots on allotments across Shropshire and Mid Wales.

And nationally there is pressure on the green spaces, especially in bigger cities where land is at a premium.

About 3,000 plots, two per cent of the national total, have been destroyed since 2010, according to official figures, with the final decision being taken by Whitehall in each case.

And Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, has rejected just two out of 83 applications by councils to sell sites for development.

The number of plots in England has fallen from a peak of 1.4?million in 1949 to around 150,000 today.

In 1996 there were four people waiting for every 100 plots, but that has risen to 57 today, as the economic downturn and television programmes such as Gardeners' World and The Big Allotment Challenge have encouraged people to try self-sufficiency. Dave Morgan, chairman of the Woodside allotment association, said there is a renewed interest in growing-your-own, both because of a higher profile on television but also because the recession has encouraged people to find ways to cut the grocery bill.

He said: "It's about leisure and enjoyment of the outside in all weathers at times, but also the joy of growing your own vegetables together with exercise at your own pace.

"It's certainly not competitive in the nature of The Big Allotment Challenge, although it really does have some great characters, which of course comes with great friendly banter and the occasional friendlier advice.

"We're also a member of the National Allotment Association too, which offers great support and advice."

Everyone involved in the Woodside allotments admit to being fans of the new BBC show, which is filmed in a Victorian walled garden on the Mapledurham Estate in Oxfordshire.

The show involves nine pairs of keen gardeners who have spent months planning, planting and nurturing.

Given their own greenhouses, they were handed particular vegetables, fruit and flowers to grow, as well as facing a number of additional weekly challenges including flower arranging and chutney-making, judged by floral arrangement expert Jonathan Moseley and preserves specialist Thane Price.

The series, presented by Fern Britton, was filmed last year from early spring until late summer, when award-winning gardening legend Jim Buttress then judged the produce, from blemish-free radishes to perfect sweet peas.

Mr Buttress admits that beneath the gentle exterior of the most placid allotment there is a fierce competitive spirit among allotment holders – even in the rolling hills of Shropshire and Mid Wales.

The Big Allotment Challenge simply turns that rivalry into an official competition and Mr Buttress says he attempts in the show to be as constructive as he can.

"I was once nicknamed Judge Dread," he said. "But you don't have to be hard, as long as you're fair and consistent in what you do. You don't have to hurt people but you can tell them, 'This ain't good enough'.

"Just be fair, be honest and give people advice as to why they didn't win or they could have done better."

Much of the advice he gives in the series is about the weather-related problems faced by competitors, because last spring was particularly cold.

He added: "The most difficult thing is the timing. People who grow stuff in the garden generally don't have a deadline.

"Each week we set them a task, whether vegetables or flowers, and if they didn't have them ready then they didn't have an exhibit. Luckily they'd grown twice as much as they needed to guarantee they had something.

"Anyone with an allotment soon realise there is real magic in running your own plot. Even growing in the garden is great – we hope the show reflects that and inspires others."