Alotment gardeners are motivated by different things, says Saana Karlsson of the City of Espoo's adult education institute. For example, dabblers enjoy pottering about on the vegetable patch, and the amount of rain doesn’t matter as the rain stores will keep the roots well nourished. The kitchen gardeners like to plant different kinds of vegetables, such as brown tomatoes or red lettuce.
This spring, 64 new 9 m2 allotment plots will open by Tapiola’s Jousenkaari school and saplings will be planted in the area later this summer. Many companies have participated in the adult education institute’s World
Design Capital 2012 'Garden Plots for the Masses' project by donating materials.
New allotment plots will also be built in Otaniemi as part of the Aalto Garden, which is due to open in autumn 2012. The 1.3-hectare campus garden will be built in the Ossinlampi area. It will be built based on the design of student competition winner Sofia Tigerstedt.
It is possible to build a small hut on the allotment plot. Puolarmaar’s traditional allotment garden has already inspired the building of another community garden at Säterinniitty, near Leppävaara, which will be completed at the end of May. The opening of a community garden in Niipperi is expected later this spring.
Espoo’s Allotment garden association spokesperson Sanna Heikkinen warns that it is not just about building flashy new allotments. “It’s enough just to build a modest plot and the people will still come.”
‘City gardening’ theme night at WeeGee, Espoo WDC space, Wed. 5 September. Enquiries about free allotment plots: vipa@espoo.fi
The article has been published in Espoo Magazine 2/2012. Read the whole paper.