In praise of the allotment: ‘Dirt may be nature’s original stress buster’ - Kilkenny Live

On a cold, sunny day in February I found myself ankle deep in loose soil, with my hands full of garlic cloves.

Not a fever dream, but the start of this year’s journey on my allotment.

It was a leap of faith, planting garlic in February, when I knew other ‘allotmenteers’ had theirs in the soil since before Christmas. But such is the life of a budding allotmenteer who is learning ‘on the job.’

A weather forecast for frost, in February, was greeted by more joy than a teenage me would ever have believed she was capable of. But the forty-something me who has discovered the delight of growing my own may almost have cheered that forecast. Why? Because garlic grows best if it can experience a ‘dormancy’ period of colder weather that lasts four to eight weeks. At least that’s the advice I’ve gleaned online.

In the year since I first took on my little allotment, searching for information about growing vegetables online has almost become a secondary hobby to the actual growing itself.  If I do it right, then it’s a balance of healthy digging and harvesting in the fresh air, and hours of scrolling through websites while sitting on my couch.

I first took on my little allotment last spring, after a year or two of growing potatoes in pots in my garden and tomatoes in a mini-greenhouse. A little success made me ambitious. 

So I bought a spade and fork, some wellies, and signed up as a member of Westcourt Community Growers.

For hundreds of years a walled garden has stood at Westcourt in Callan.  It was once a place to grow vegetables for the residents of the now-demolished Westcourt House but now, thanks to the efforts of a new generation, the garden is again embracing the spirit of cultivation and growing. 

My patch, a two metre by nine metre plot, quickly became home to potatoes, kale, cauliflowers, brussel sprouts and broad beans. Kept company by the rhubarb plant I’d inherited mid-plot and the robins that did come and catch worms beside me as I dug. It’s an idyllic scene I had to see to believe.

I had mixed success. In potato harvest terms I was rich; broad beans, not so much. 

But most of all the whole experience is just really enjoyable. The physical work is a counterpoint to a week sitting in front of a computer. You can’t help but feel proud that you have produced food to eat.

This won’t come as any surprise to the scientific community who have already published many papers on the benefits of gardening. 

According to the Royal Horticultural Society growing plants and vegetables boosts mental and physical health.

The Gardening Know How website explains further, that there’s a natural antidepressant in soil, called mycobacterium vaccae. It’s a substance that has been found to mirror the effect on neurons that drugs like Prozac provide. 

The bacterium is found in soil and may stimulate serotonin production, which makes you relaxed and happier.

The boffins at the  University of Colorado, Boulder, put it even clearer: “Dirt may be nature’s original stress buster.”

More studies have shown that we get a ‘harvest high’ from the release of dopamine in our brains when we successfully harvest our veggies.

It’s hard to argue against an hour on an allotment when it seems the benefits are so many.

Long a hobby in the UK, allotments are a relatively new hobby in most parts of Ireland. But it’s a trend supported by Kilkenny County Council. Allotments with a community garden were opened in the city in 2018.  There are also private lands with allotments. If you have the opportunity to take one on, I definitely recommend it.

This year I have peas, turnips, some fancy red broad beans, multicoloured onions,  purple carrots and beetroot to plant in my allotment. I’ll have to make space for potatoes as well, of course.  A little more success has made me a lot more ambitious.

Again, I’ll probably be turning to the internet for advice (as well as the lovely people who have allotments alongside mine and are a friendly, helpful bunch). Crop rotation is this year’s subject to learn about, now I’ve my first semi-successful growing season over me. (What can I plant where I had the spuds last year?)

But first up, this week, my early potatoes are going in the ground. I’ve missed the traditional St Patrick’s Day planting date, but I won’t tell the chitted spuds sitting in an egg box in a dark room in my house if you don’t!