Digger's Diary: Tales from the Allotment

by Victor Osborne

With charm and a keen eye for character, Victor Osborne describes a year in the life of the community centred on the patch of allotments where he has grown his own fruit and vegetables for many years. He records his own triumphs - tasting the first peach from his own tree; disasters - the lamentable failure of the autumn-sown onions; and his struggle to maintain his organic principles. He also celebrates the eccentricities and talents of his fellow allotmenteers who form a vigorous multi-ethnic democracy, a society in which your status is measured by the quality of your produce.

Paperback

First published October 18, 2000

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining year in the life of people and their produce.

[Emma Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Digger's Diary' is Victor Osborne's diary of a year in the life of his allotment garden (a community garden) and began as a series of articles written for the Daily Telegraph newspaper. The really great thing about the book is that you can't tell, as Osborne has managed to meld his articles into a story that flows well and draws the reader in.

To begin with Osborne explains how he became a gardener and why, in a life already full to bursting, he decided to take on an allotment and try and grow his own food. All of the usual reasons feature here – feeling trapped by the daily nine-to-five grind and wanting to get back to nature and worrying about what's in the food his sons are eating are two of the main ones.

The diary proper starts in January, an inauspicious time to begin a story about gardening, but Osborne manages to pull it off. We are caught up in his appreciation of nature, even when it is freezing outside and everything is hard with frost. There’s not much left at the allotment to dig up, but a plentiful harvest of peace and quiet, fresh air and friendly fellow gardeners makes up for that.

Osborne isn't a flawless gardener whose achievements we can't dream of living up to. As the book progresses we realize he hasn't yet dug over his plot and will be behind in spring. He hasn't ordered his onion sets or seed potatoes. Later in the year we watch him nap among the runner beans when he should be weeding, and develop a soft spot for the mice he has been trying to kill.

There are some funny moments, and some poignant ones. The allotments are burgled at one point and attacked by arsonists at another. And yet the spirit of the allotmenteers is not broken, and they still manage to put on a good show for the annual allotment competition.

Osborne is obviously a keen observer of people, and his characters shine through. The Birdman and his wife fill their allotment with chickens and ducks, and (briefly) homing pigeons. Five Pints uses his to play his saxophone, far enough away from his wife so that she doesn’t complain about the noise. Mad Alice believes that Alice Springs was named after her, and Brutally Frank is desperately in need of some tact.

Gardeners will love reading this book. It brings to life all of the reasons why people garden, and you sense you are in the presence of a kindred spirit. There's also the occasional tip to pick up, and the knowledge where the book ends, the new gardening year begins.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A year-in-the-life of an allotment, full of fascinating snapshots into the relationships between the different allotmenteers, and the produce grown. Enjoyable depictions of what to do (or not to do) with a bumper marrow harvest, and a very entertaining account of the annual vegetable show. There are little recipes tucked in throughout the book, and it was very easy to read, with short sections that are ideal for picking up in odd moments, or reading while stirring the dinner on the hob.

[Sean James Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books you just can't put down. An excellent book. As secretary of an allotment society I loved this book. It tells the story of what really goes happens on an allotment site. Love to hear of similiar books.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading about this chaps experiences on his allotment...