One Man and His Dig: Adventures of an Allotment Novice

by Valentine Low

When Valentine Low decided to forego his world of dinner parties with the chattering classes to take on a pastime usually indulged in by old men with flat caps and rollups, he had little idea of the sea change it would bring about in his life. A year down the line he had developed a worrying obsession with potatoes, a resourcefulness that borders on kleptomania and an ever-strengthening relationship with a cheery Irishman named Michael (who thinks that zeitgeist is something nasty you get on your cucumbers).

By turns entertaining and informative, and packed with allotment wisdom -- everything from who was responsible for the desecration of the purple sprouting broccoli (that'll be the pigeons) to how to build a proper manure heap -- One Man and His Dig is an indispensable guidebook for all green-fingered urbanites.

Genres: Gardening

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2008

About the author

Journalist and royal correspondent at The Times.

Reviews

[Joanna]

This really put me in the mood for a new gardening season. I enjoyed the gardening stories the best- hapless new-to-gardening enthusiasts are my jam- and found the allotment history lessons somewhat interesting. Spring is coming, you guys! I get to dig in the dirt again so soon!

[Maddie]

Enjoyed the author's highs and lows of vegetable growing and the slant of it being a competition to see how economically viable and beneficial allotmenteering can or perhaps cannot be.

Valentine and his wife soon realise the virtues of this pastime are rooted much deeper than just the produce value but also the sense of community and local belonging, the cultural discovery of new foods and the pride of growing and working with the earth.

[severyn]

There seems to be a reasonably large number of books like this,- a nice genteel niche topic, not too hard to investigate, an author writing in their spare time, usually their time spare from their jobbing journalist career, a cheerful middle England style.

There's nothing actually wrong with the book, so maybe one star is harsh, but I can't think of a good reason to read it either.

[Lena]

A nice book by a nice chap. Makes you want to go out and get dirt under your fingernails. The stories of the author's own allotment are interspersed (but not too heavily) with info about the history and background of allotments. You get the sense that if allotments ever disappear, they'll be reinvented by a committee trying to improve physical and mental wellbeing.

[Carol]

An amusing account of the first year and a bit of a new allotment holder, with a plot in the London borough of Acton. Enjoyed both the highs and lows of his experience. There is nought heavy or serious in this book, but some of incidences remind me of the first few years of having an allotment and brought back happy memories.

A good read for the lengthening autumn nights when your trying to remember the long summer days!!

[Susanne Hülsmann]

An amusing account of a new allotment holder in London (Acton), the mistakes and successes, the neighbours and friends, interspersed with the history of allotments in the UK and the occasional recipe and growing tip. If you're interested at all in gardening, allotments or just seeing an unrbanite get back to nature, this is a good read.

[Lizzy]

I enjoyed this, and not only for the title pun. It has many interesting snippets, including Eastleigh's failure with their allotments...I did not realise the ramifications of that fight when I lived there! His characterisations are very good.

[Selene]

This was an excellent book! He is a great, funny and thoughtful writer and I can relate to his veg obsession! With an allotment in East Acton it was all fantastically brought to life! Yippee!