Horticulture
There’s always plenty to do in our allotment garden from sowing seeds to harvesting. We grow a variety of high quality, organic fresh fruit and vegetables. Most of the produce is used in our kitchen to prepare healthy, shared lunches all year-round. Any spare fruit and veg is sold on site to volunteers.
There are some jobs that are highly physical – like digging – and not everyone can do that, but potting plants can be done sitting down. To make gardening more inclusive for those with limited mobility we have a wheelchair-accessible greenhouse and raised planters on a smooth area of hardstanding next to our barn. Andy, our head of horticulture, finds lots of ways to make growing food fun and inclusive, so everyone gets green fingers in the end.
We grow a variety of high quality, organic fresh fruit and vegetables
In our well-tended veg garden, we grow carrots, onions, potatoes, runner beans, leeks, sweetcorn, courgettes, butternut squash, beetroot, strawberries and more. We also have small apple trees, a quince tree and a pumpkin patch. One of our prize-winning giant pumpkins tipped the scaled at 52 kilos. There are three fruit cages for raspberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants. Plus, two polytunnels for tomatoes, aubergines, chilli peppers and red peppers.
Some of our plot is dedicated to flower production
Sweet peas, dahlias, sunflowers, cosmos, gladioli and rudbeckia to name but a few. Colourful blooms are grown for pleasure and to attract pollinators. We also sell pot plants which make wonderful gifts.
The Boaz showgarden won a silver award at the 2023 BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair in Beaulieu. It’s quite an achievement and we couldn’t be prouder. The garden was designed by Andy and showcased the many activities Boaz has to offer.
