The Big Allotment

Since it started five years ago, Burscough Community Farm has strived to bring people together to grow organic food. We have done this through our veg box scheme, but now we think it’s time to dedicate a space specifically for a community allotment.

Why a ‘Community Allotment’ rather than individual allotments?

The market garden we’ve developed over the last five growing seasons has worked like one large allotment, it made us realise that working as a group can be very productive. It’ll give people the opportunity to grow crops that we wouldn’t grow commercially and the experience of growing food for themselves. At the same time, growers will have the support and friendship of others, plus the backing, equipment and guidance from five years Market Gardening on the farm.

Community Spirit

Working your own allotment can be a bit intimidating and a lot of hard work. This comes as a surprise to many people who try it for the first time. The great thing about a community allotment is that you can go on holiday or have a weekend away, there’s someone else to keep up with the watering and weeding. You can also take advantage of using some of the farm’s heavier tools.

There’s always been a massive waiting list in this area for allotments, and people have been on lists for years waiting for their own space to come up. We know what it’s like when you have the urge to get growing your own food, but don’t have anywhere to do it. So if you want to get growing and start to learn what growing your own food is about The Big Allotment would be ideal for you.

At the other end of the scale, you may have had your own allotment, but for some reason want to scale down your growing. Our project would benefit from your experience and you could get involved as much as your time will allow.

Teaching Space

We have been looking at developing courses and workshops on the farm for a few years now. Teaching organic growing techniques was always going to be top of the list.

The new Community Allotment will act as a teaching space for some of the growing courses and workshops that will be held on the farm in the springtime. By becoming a friend of the farm (£30.00 per year, per household), you are welcome to attend our rolling program of monthly organic growing workshops so you get the chance to learn right through the growing season. (reduced rates to unwaged/low income).

You can find out more about our training courses and workshops on our website here. New dates are being added all the time, so subscribe to our newsletter to see what is coming up in the future.

So how does The Big Allotment work, and what are the benefits?

The Big Allotment is a shared growing experience combining growing enough fruit and vegetables to cover most of your household’s needs, with a learning program that will involve regular classroom sessions. In the sessions, you can learn how to grow your own food from sowing seeds right the way to cultivating, caring for and harvesting your crops.

People who join the program will also be able to take advantage of discounts on many of the courses and workshops that we will be running. There is also the social side of our project, with regular social events both on and off the farm.

It’s not just for new growers

If you are already an experienced grower, you can still get involved with the project, sharing your knowledge and the great food that we will grow here.

Since we started the Burscough Community Farm project five years ago, it’s steadily grown into a community who value the landscape that we work in and enjoy the benefits of working together. The farm is developing into a centre for food, health and learning.

Places on the project will be limited, so if you are interested in getting involved, please register with us now by clicking on the button below.