“No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden” – Thomas Jefferson 1
From large fields shared among villagers for crop-growing in the medieval era, to green spaces for modern urbanites to get away from it all and nurture their green thumbs, allotment gardens have been around for a long time. 2 And for good reason, too. Apart from providing people with the opportunity to grow their own food, allotments offer a myriad of benefits to human wellbeing. So much so that this year’s National Allotments Week, which runs from 11-17th of August, is themed “Allotments and Wellbeing.” 3
More than just community agriculture
Although originally meant to provide the underprivileged with access to freshly grown produce (a function they still perform today, especially in developing countries), allotments also offer gardeners a host of other benefits 4. A 2023 review of 162 articles that were published between 1978 and 2022 found that community gardens like allotments helped foster a feeling of wellbeing among those who spent time on them. They did this by creating a sense of community, functioning as a meeting place for gardeners and an inclusive environment for participants from all social backgrounds. Working on an allotment allows you to move your body and take a strong breath of fresh air, while you sustainably grow your own food and hang out with other gardeners from all walks of life. And not just for adults; they also provide recreational spaces and outdoor classrooms for children to learn about crops and nature.
A year on the allotments
Among the studies reviewed was a citizen science project that documented the thoughts of allotment gardeners over the course of a year. The study was titled “My little piece of the planet: the multiplicity of well-being benefits from allotment gardening”and focused on allotment gardeners throughout the UK who had been recruited and sent diaries to detail their activities and thoughts while they were on their allotments. They were asked to note things like the time they spent on their plots on a given day and their gardening activities. For each entry there was also a space for them to record spontaneous thoughts, feelings or other observations. The focus of the study was to extract the notes from this section in particular and analyse them.
After a year, only 163 out of 437 diaries were returned, and although the study was intended to be UK-wide, only gardeners from England and Wales sent their allotment diaries back to the research team. 97 of these respondents wrote spontaneous observations, resulting in a total of 342 entries that could be analysed. The notes described things such as wildlife encounters, social interactions on the plots, and how the gardeners used their surplus produce. After classifying these notes through a process called coding, 11 themes emerged, and the corresponding entries were coded as negative or positive. The themes that emerged out of that sea of data were: Emotional, Health, Knowledge, Organisation, Pride, Relaxation, Sharing, Social, Surplus, Weather and Wildlife.
The cultivation of social bonds and emotional health
The two most prevalent themes in the diaries were ‘Social’ and ‘Emotional’. A quarter of entries documented gardeners bringing their friends and families to the plot and chatting with fellow plot holders. These entries were overwhelmingly positive. Similarly, gardeners described positive emotional experiences when spending time on their plot, such as: “A lovely morning: just right to be down on the allotments!”
The themes of ‘Sharing’ and ‘Surplus’ were also present at 5% and 2% of entries respectively. These entries were closely related to the ‘Social’ theme, describing the connections and sense of community between gardeners. “Spinach and loads of courgettes which we put outside the house ‘Help Yourself!'” wrote one gardener while another noted “Left all my dahlia tubers in a box near the allotment gates with a note saying ”For anyone who wants them'”.
Mental health was also mentioned in the allotment diaries and always in a positive light, as one gardener wrote: “The plot is my safe space. It is my mental health balancer”. The only negative comments related to health involved accidents that occurred while gardening. Gardeners also felt pride either intrinsically or from external validation through competitions, as well as a sense of relaxation from either visiting their plots just to pass the time or feeling satisfied after a hard day’s work. While they were at it, gardeners also made observations about animal behaviour, sometimes mentioning a specific animal visitor on multiple occasions, suggesting that allotments could also be creating bonds between humans and nature.
Although the comments for each of these categories were mostly positive, there were some categories of responses that were overwhelmingly negative, specifically the themes of ‘Weather’ and ‘Organisation’. Weather-related comments were the second-largest category of responses and mostly focused on the hot weather’s effects on crop productivity and weather-induced structural damage to the plots (the data were collected during a year where the UK experienced record-breaking heatwaves). Organisation-related comments were interestingly the only descriptions of human interaction that were mostly negative; gardeners lamented having to deal with local councils and new regulations. They appeared to have a strong sense of personal space and ownership and did not like to be bothered by all the red tape.
The entries seemed to illustrate that allotment gardens provide people with secondary benefits such as building social networks, nature connectedness, and increased mental wellbeing. Some of these benefits also extended beyond just the gardeners but also to their friends, family and wider community through sharing of surplus produce and plot visits. As per the researchers, “…a large amount of the time spent on allotments is shown by this study to be involvement in social activities such as chatting and sharing cups of tea”.
How to find another way
So you want to try sustainably growing your own crops and you’re excited about the prospect of bringing your friends over to show them around, hang out and share your produce. How do you get started?
The National Allotment Society (NAS) published a handy guide on how to get started on an allotment. They cover the basics from figuring out how the sun falls on your plot throughout the day to easy crops for first-time growers, and everything in between 5. The NAS has been the foremost representative body for allotment holders in the UK and aims to “protect, promote and preserve allotments for future generations” 6. Head on over to their website to find out more about National Allotments Weeks events near you and uncover a wealth of information on allotments and how to get involved in this wonderful pastime that provides a host of wonderful benefits for both ourselves and our planet!
Article written by Hariharan Arevalagam
Primary paper
Dobson, M.C. et al. (2020) ‘“My little piece of the planet”: The multiplicity of well-being benefits from allotment gardening’, British Food Journal, 123(3), pp. 1012–1023. doi:10.1108/bfj-07-2020-0593. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/org/science/article/abs/pii/S0007070X20001469 (Accessed: 8 August 2025)
Other references
- Jefferson, T. (no date) Jefferson Quotes & Family Letters, Extract from Thomas Jefferson to Charles Willson Peale, 20 Aug. 1811 [Quote] | Jefferson Quotes & Family Letters. Available at: https://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/1354 (Accessed: 31 July 2025).
- The history of allotments (2021) National Science and Media Museum. Available at: https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/history-allotments (Accessed: 31 July 2025).
- National Allotments Week: The National Allotment Society (no date) thenas.org.uk. Available at: https://thenas.org.uk/national-allotments-week (Accessed: 31 July 2025).
- Kwartnik-Pruc, A. and Droj, G. (2023) ‘The role of allotments and community gardens and the challenges facing their development in urban environments—a literature review’, Land, 12(2), p. 325. doi:10.3390/land12020325.
- Beginner’s Guide to allotments – grow with confidence: National Allotment Society (no date) Beginner’s Guide to Allotments – Grow with Confidence | National Allotment Society. Available at: https://thenas.org.uk/Start-Allotment-Confidence (Accessed: 31 July 2025).
- About us: The National Allotment Society (no date) About Us | The National Allotment Society. Available at: https://thenas.org.uk/aboutus (Accessed: 31 July 2025).
