The allotment has never been more beloved - or more contested. In This Allotment, Sarah Rigby has brought together thirteen brilliant contemporary writers in a glorious celebration of these entirely unique spaces: plots that mean so much more than the soil upon which they sit.  The result is a book that explores the rich culture and community of Britain's allotment holders: the stories of what it means to grow your own food, to tend a patch of earth, to find solace and connection in the act of gardening. With stories from some of the nations finest voices from cooking and gardening.
 
In conversation with horticultural writer and broadcaster Barbara Segall, Sarah will discuss the history, the community, the politics and the sheer pleasure of the allotment - and why, in an age of anxiety, getting your hands in the soil matters more than ever.
 
Format: Interview & Q&A
Themes: Non-Fiction, Adults, Climate Focus, Food, Gardening, Health & Wellbeing
 
Sarah Rigby Books: This Allotment: Stories of Growing, Eating and Nurturing
Sarah Rigby is an editor, publisher and book coach. She has published some of the country's best-loved and award-winning writers of nature and place, including Nancy Campbell, Rob Cowen and James Aldred. Originally from Yorkshire, she lives in London with her family, where she shares an allotment. She also volunteers for Organic Lea, a workers' co-operative and community food-growing project on the edge of Epping Forest, where she recently completed a training placement in biodiversity and horticulture.
 
Barbara Segall Books:Secret Gardens of East Anglia
Suffolk-based Barbara Segall is a garden and food writer and broadcaster. She writes for The English Garden, Amateur Gardening, Essex Life and has a column, Barbara’s Homegrown Larder, in Homegrown Kitchen. Barbara broadcasts on Sundays (9-10am) on @Suffolk_Sound where her weekly programme, Suffolk in Bloom, is a magazine-style collection of events, books, people and plants. She grows and uses herbs, fruit and veg in her town garden and kitchen. Substack: thegardenpost.substack.com