Getting an allotment totally changed my summer – and radically altered my relationship with food | Diyora Shadijanova

I've relearned the meaning of seasonality - and how fragile the natural systems that sustain us really are

A few months ago, when I received an email about an available allotment in my area, I struggled to remember when I had signed up for one. It turns out I had done so two years ago, fuelled by my envy for those with gardens during lockdown. Back then, all I wanted was a small bit of outdoor space that felt like my own, to plant flowers, herbs and, at a push, some chillies. A place where I could read and write in the sun, safe from distractions.

Now I was being presented a half plot of available land (125 square metres!) with an established apple tree in the middle - which I mistook for a cherry because of its pink blossom. You'll have to have a trial period, to see how you get on," the woman showing me around said. She meant business. The plot, which was bigger than I could dream of, was beautiful but overgrown - getting it started would require proper graft. I wasn't sure I had it in me.

Diyora Shadijanova is a journalist and writer