City Dripper

Project elements:

• Irrigation set-up (water butt, solar-powered pump, seepy hose)
• Apple and plum tree orcharding
• Forest garden
• Improving soil health
• Regenerative land-use practices

In 2024 I was thinking about leaving London. However, after seven years on the list I got an email saying my name was finally at the top, and I should come and pick my allotment.

As shared in another post, my friend and I always planned a forest garden if we were to get another plot (we used to grow vegetables at another site). So when the choice of a small plot with six apple trees and a plum tree came up it felt like fate.

I had one three year-old and my friend had two children. I had hardly any spare time without my child so we set the intention to commit just one afternoon a month, when the kids could come too. This is a lot less than the average allotment demands.

The site looked like this:

It was quite intimidating as we got the plot in May and the grass and neetles were immediately out of control.

We had a few months of feeling overwhelemed by the grass before we put our heads together and made a plan. The best decision we made was to not plant anything that first summer. Instead we covered over the grass and started building beds, pruning the trees and getting the site set-up for the kids to have fun too.

We have now done over two years. We set-up irrigation and my friend put a lot of effort into building up the soil health using no dig methods (layers of cardboard and compost, with mulch).

Now it looks like this, and is the most relaxing place to go in the hot London summer.