Many on allotment waiting lists have cited rising food prices as a reason to get their own patch. Photograph: Martin Jones/Corbis
"Buy land. They're not making any more of it." I've been thinking about this Mark Twain quote a lot in recent months amid all the talk about rising food prices. The price of good farm land has rocketed over the past few years as the price of wheat, corn and other staples have risen and, quite naturally, the price of land - the ultimate finite resource - has increased accordingly.
There has been a parallel rise in demand for allotments. But, to date, this has been largely driven by the voguish trend for growing your own fruit and vegetables. Young urbanites have been the principal force behind this fashion - it would probably require another blog to discuss the reasons why - but a story in a local newspaper this week made me wonder whether the profile of the average allotment holder might now be set to change once again.
Residents in the Cornish town of Lostwithiel have started to voice their frustrations over the fact that, despite a long waiting list, some allotment holders in the town are neglecting their plots. Those on the waiting list say that this is a waste of a precious resource and they should be given a chance to tend the plots instead. (It's probably not a coincidence that Lostwithiel is a Transition Town.)
There's nothing new in people waiting a long time - sometime many years - for an allotment to become available. Nor is there anything new in people becoming irritated at the way some allotment holders let their plot "return to the wild" through neglect. But what caught my eye about this story is the fact that those on the waiting list said they were desperate to get their hands on an allotment because of rising food prices.
"It is a ridiculous situation," said Jeff Penrose, a 55-year-old local mechanic, to the Cornish Guardian. "There is a huge demand for these plots as it is just getting too expensive to carry on relying on the supermarkets. Some of the plots are very overgrown and nothing is planted in them for long periods of time. They are stopping other people getting on with it."
An Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs select committee report in 2005 said that, of the 250,000 allotment holders in England and Wales, fewer than 20% used their allotment because it saved them money. I think we can assume that, three years on, this figure must now be significantly higher.
If this trend continues, it will surely raise some important questions about how allotments are allocated. For example, will those on the waiting list need to means tested to establish who really "needs" an allotment? Will there be much less tolerance for those who don't manage their plots to acceptable standards? What will those "acceptable standards" be, and who will be making and policing the rules?
It's hard not to draw parallels with the Dig for Victory campaign during the second world war, when public land was given over to communities to grow their own food. With growing talk about how nations need to be much more self-sufficient in food, and therefore less vulnerable to the vagaries of global food prices, are we now re-entering an age when land once again becomes a highly prized - and much-needed - resource for all members of the community?
And for those lucky enough to have an allotment, what tips would you give for getting the most from your land? If you only have limited space, what are the best crops to grow to help you save money?
