The National Trust has announced that it is making available 1000 plots for conversion to allotments; a response to our ever growing desire to avoid rising food prices and produce our own fresh fruit and veg.

The Allotment Experience by Ruth Binney is more than a gardening guide, it is a celebration of life on the much sought-after British allotment. Although it is based on Binney’s first-hand experience, it also contains quotes and stories from hundreds of other allotment enthusiasts. Binney provides useful tips and techniques and also shares recipes to make with your fresh produce. She is not afraid to include details of her failures and disappointments; as one gardener says, “It’s all trial and error.”

Binney comments, “As well as giving us a chance to grow our own food (and battle the weeds) tending our plot did wonders for mind and body, and was a welcome refuge from the claustrophobia of flat life.” For anyone with an allotment already, or sitting on the 150,000 people-long waiting list to acquire one, The Allotment Experience will tell you everything you need to know about making the most of your plot.

About the author: Ruth Binney has, with her husband Donald, been cultivating allotments for more than 25 years, in London and most recently in Dorset, where she now lives. She is an editor and author who, during a long career in publishing, has been involved in the creation of books on gardening and may other topics, particularly country wisdom. She is secretary of her local horticultural association and an occasional prize winner at its annual shows. This is her sixth book.

The Allotment Experience is published by How To Books Ltd. www.howtobooks.co.uk and is available at £10.99 in major bookshops and online retailers across the country. ISBN 978-1- 905862-26-9