Young are taking up their trowels

WITH the increased interest in allotments, more people in Westerham who do not fit the mould of a stereotypical plot-holder are taking up the challenge of growing their own fruit and vegetables.

At 15 years old, Henry Barwick, of Farley Croft, and the aptly-named Sam Shrubb, of Madan Road, are already sharing a plot at Farley.

The pair are the youngest allotment-holders in the town.

Henry said: "My dad has a plot up here. I used to help out on his. I wanted to have my own and I thought I'd like to do on with my mate.

"We've got school and our GCSEs but we try and get up here as much as we can. We're up here most weekends.

"It's quite hard work – you've really got to be dedicated because if you leave it, the grass will grow over all your work."

He said teachers at Oxted School, which both the boys attend, thought their allotment was very good but the pair sometimes get teased by the other pupils.

The matter-of-fact Henry said: "I don't take any notice. We do what we want to do."

He said he would recommend having an allotment to other young people his age.

The two lads took on their own plot in October, and are growing vegetables, flowers and a cherry tree.

They are currently working on building a path.

Henry said: "We've got lots of stuff growing at the moment, onions, potatoes, carrots and leeks. It's going quite well."

He said he was looking forward to eating the crop, as the vegetables grown on the allotment tasted better than those from the supermarket.

Another youngster getting the grow-your-own bug early is seven-year-old Imogen Bridges, of Bloomfield Terrace, who has her own beds in her parents' ;allotment at the Bloomfield site, where she is growing strawberries, lettuce and sunflowers.

Her mother, Pauline, said: "We've had an allotment for about four years now and I suppose she got interested because of that. We made a little plot for her, she likes to design it herself.

"There's quite a lot of children up on the allotment. We spend a lot of time up there, it gives them a bit of freedom. They get to talk to the older generation."

She added Imogen was discovering different types of vegetables she enjoyed eating after picking the things she had grown and taking them home to cook.