A well attended meeting the other night at the Temple Gate Hotel . Some of the detail about the allotments was outlined and agreed. The plot size is ten yards by twenty yards ( not gone metric yet). Cost Will be 150 Euro Per year (This works out at less than three Euro Per Week). Half Plots at half the price will also be accommodated or people wishing to share plots. Water will be on site, There is an open day planned for Sunday the fifth of April at three o clock . It is hoped that people will be able to break ground and plant this year . The Land Owner Jimmy Spellisy can be contacted at0868336264. To find his property go out the Tulla Road from Ennis to the Second turn on the right Fitzpatricks service station. Follow this road and take a right at the T junction where you will see a gate marked private property . Go Through that Gate and follow the road to the property.

I am aware of a lot of initiatives around the country that are being set up to start allotments. www.Irishallotments.net have set up to bring allotment folk together. This site has a full list of allotment schemes around the country There is an interest, globally, in growing food closer to home especially in cities and places where space is a premium. This interest may be driven by factors such as disillusionment with mass produced food, the growing interest in organic gardening, and the need for localisation and lower food miles. It may be about the related quests for quality, flavour and freshness in food. The need for green space and a quiet environment in ever more populated and bustling towns and cities and the factor of higher density housing with little or no gardens may also play a part.

The Benefits of Allotments

· Allotments meet the social needs of local people, both young and old. Gardeners enjoy talking about their shared interest almost as much as growing produce. This is an important contribution to strengthening communities. They also swap seedlings and produce which is a good bartering system.
· The home-grown vegetables taste delicious.
· You develop a more self-sufficient attitude and become less dependent on global market prices.
· There is a reduction on imports and pollution from transportation and fertiliser use.
· Fresh air and exercise are seen as increasingly important to maintaining health.
· Allotments are an educational place for children and others to learn about vegetable growing.
· Biodiversity: Because of the wide range of plants grown and habitats created for wildlife, allotments are shown as green oases in a "concrete jungle".
· Excess vegetables can be distributed locally either by setting up a stall in the local farmers markets.

And the negatives?…. There are none……