‘Owning an allotment has provided me with a lifelong therapy’

Three years ago, Kirsty Ward was suffering from PTSD. She tells Laura Hampson how owning an allotment changed her life
Kirsty Ward

It is no secret that gardening can do wonders for our mental health. Nurturing nature is meditative, which could be why the Office for National Statistics reported that 45 per cent of Brits picked up the hobby during lockdown.

Avid gardener Kirsty Ward knows all too well how impactful gardening can be on mental health. When she bought her allotment in Lincoln three years ago, she was suffering from PTSD after a difficult pregnancy and birth with her second daughter.

“About six months after her being born, I fell quite poorly with my mental health and later was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder,” Kirsty, 30, explains. She says she read up on what could help and focus therapy, in particular gardening therapy, was one of the suggestions.

“I can honestly say that it saved me, I wouldn’t be without it. It's provided me with a therapy that's helped me get back on my feet, it's helped me get back to being who I was, finding myself again. It's also provided me with a lifelong therapy. When I'm having a bit of a rough time or if I'm having a bit of a dip again, I just go straight to my allotment and spend some time there and I feel better.”

Kirsty hasn’t always had a green thumb, she recalls when she was just starting the allotment, she wanted to grow potatoes but had no idea how to. Three years later, her 300-square metre allotment is filled to the brim with home-grown veggies and beautiful flowers.

“I like to plant different things every year if I can,” Kirsty says. “The first year I had the allotment I just planted normal potatoes. So last year, I planted purple potatoes and pink potatoes instead. I like to experiment growing different types, it's really fun and it keeps you engaged growing different things every year.”

To keep track of what she was growing, Kirsty began a visual diary on Instagram (@my_little_allotment), which has now amassed over 43,000 followers.

“I think allotments have started to become more popular in the last three years, especially with vegetarians and vegans. It's very expensive to buy a lot of fruit and vegetables,” Kirsty says. “During lockdown I saw a lot more people add me [on Instagram] that had gardens and wanted to try growing food in their gardens. There's been quite an influx of people just in Lincoln taking on allotments, it's really nice to see that more people even in the local area are taking on allotment sites now.”

Kirsty with her dahlias
Kirsty Ward

Dahlia obsessed, Kirsty’s allotment is half fresh produce and half flowers which she gives away to friends and family, puts on the sharing table or donates to charities that take fresh food. The strawberries are her kids favourite, though. “No one else gets a look in,” she laughs.

“When I first started, I thought it was going to be all vegetables and I found a big love for dahlias and my dahlia patch has gone from being a small flower bed now to taking over another flower bed and another flower bed,” Kirsty says.

“I read a lot about how beneficial pollinator friendly plants are. So I've got lots of lavender, I grow lots of edible flowers that are great for pollinators. I put lots of pollinator friendly flowers around the allotment to encourage them to pollinate my plants, they all work together side by side.”

Kirsty's allotment is half flowers and half fresh produce
Kirsty Ward

What beginners need to know about taking on an allotment

For beginners, Kirsty recommends dedicating at least one full day per month to the allotment, on top of popping in once or twice a week to keep on top of watering and weeding.

“Some months I'd put in two or three days of hard graft to get it running. Taking on the allotment is a big commitment because they are big spaces. And it's a lot of work to get them established but once you get them established, you can run them quite well,” Kirsty says.

“Now three years down the line, most of the biggest things are done and the soil’s better because I've been digging organic matter in over the years and there are less weeds and it's a little bit easier to manage. So probably now I try and go down two or three times a week, but only for half an hour or an hour.”

Fresh produce from the allotment
Kirsty Ward

Kirsty’s top tip is to start small - as the space can be overwhelming at first.

“Don't look at it as the whole space to start with because it can be quite overwhelming and daunting,” she continues. “I think if you're looking at the overall space, it's harder to see it changing.

"Take a small amount of space and make a bed there for flowers and complete that before moving on to the next thing. Make sure you take lots of pictures because that's the way that you see things develop and I think it keeps you going.”

Do your research before you start, too. Kirsty advises reading up on perennial weeds before going down to see the plots you’ve been offered because some of these weeds can be ‘quite difficult’ and ‘a lot of work’.

As you progress, working the soil and mulching it with compost can help you produce top notch produce, too. “That helps stop the water drying up and with the mulch it will keep the water retained in the soil and your plants won't go thirsty. They won't dry off and shrivel and die if you're not going to be there for another seven days. Make sure you're watering in the evening when the sun is at its lowest point. Harvest regularly in the summer because all of a sudden it will just boom.”

Kirsty says the allotment has changed her life
Kirsty Ward

Kirsty admits it can be hard work, but she loves it. “It's just such a nice place to go. You know when you’re escaping on holiday, it's kind of like that for me, you sort of get away from normal life and you forget about it for a few moments which is really nice.

“I don't know where I'd be now if I didn't take on my allotment. I'm not sure how I would be and how well I would be. I think it's just completely changed my life.”

To follow Kirsty's allotment journey, follow her on Instagram @my_little_allotment