1973: The Finest ALLOTMENTS In Britain? | Nationwide | Voice of the People | BBC Archive

"A staggering example of self-help in a small community, and one which amply demonstrates that allotments can be fun."

Marting Young reports from the Uplands Allotment in Handsworth, on the northwestern edge of Birmingham, where whole families have combined together to work on their own community allotment site.

The allotments are just a part of the site; there's a community centre, a canteen, a gardening supplies shop, and even a warehouse where you can borrow all manner of gardening equipment - from a humble spade to a heavy duty rotorvator.

Martin chats to Margaret Alton, "the driving force" behind the allotments, about how the modest original plans for the site have bloomed into this horticultural heaven. He also speaks to Sam Johnson - reputed to be the finest allotment's finest gardener - to find out the secret growing techniques he uses on his extraordinary vegetables.

Clip taken from Nationwide, originally broadcast on BBC One, 12 October, 1973.

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