Roots Allotments is a community first allotment company started in Bath, with the aim of getting people of all ages growing their own and connecting with nature.
Having been open for over a year now, it is delighted to be launching its second site on the edge of Bath at Bathford.
Roots Allotments is the new alternative to growing your own – it’s a membership-based model where you sign up monthly or annually for your own plot of land. You select the patch size you want, starting from £9.99, and Roots provide all you need to get started including seeds, plants, your patch, compost and tools.
Within your membership, you also get access to our learning area with courses from growing experts as well as workshops, talks and events all throughout the year!
The company was started in December 2021 and since then Founders Ed Morrison, Will Gay, Christian Samuel and Josh Gay have created a growing community that is reaping the benefits of their patches far beyond the bounties that they’ve grown.
The beginnings of Roots stemmed from Ed moving back to Devon over lockdown and seeing the queues outside the supermarkets, to which he then asked his grandma, “What would you do if you couldn’t get your food tomorrow?” She couldn’t give him an answer, so they started a no-dig patch in their garden. Then Ed returned to London after lockdown, looked to get an allotment with his friends Will and Christian. However, with the local waiting list over 28 years and their shared desire to get growing and become more self-sufficient, Roots was born.
Will and Josh Gay, two of the Founders of Roots Allotments are twins and third-generation farmers in Bath. Their knowledge and background of growing, setting up land to grow on and understanding the natural environment and its fine balance, has been invaluable as Roots has grown.
Josh also runs Newton Farm, using the regenerative farming method, so bought a lot of what he has learnt about this to the principles of starting up the initial no-dig site on the West side of Bath.
Ed’s background is in branding and advertising for highly regarded agencies in London, and he then went on to run his own online cocktail-making business over lockdown. His move to growing and gardening was also spurred on by his Grandad, who always grew his own tomatoes in his greenhouse, but sadly over lock-down, he passed away due to Alzheimer’s.
This combined inspiration from his family and the food shortages through the pandemic led him to Charles Dowding, who has spearheaded the no-dig technique movement across the globe from his market garden in Somerset. Ed did a lot of reading and watching about this, before eventually going to his market garden and going on one of his day courses, and never looked back!
His enthusiasm about sustainability, community, biodiversity and soil health is clear in the workshops that are run at Roots and the ethics on site – no dig, no chemicals and good vibes only. Ed’s passion for growing has gone on to inspire others locally.
Since Roots began, over 300 members have joined the site at Tuckers Meadow on the West side of Bath, growing a wide variety of fruit and veg, attending workshops and talks and even enjoying nighttime bat walks! It is known and proven that spending time outdoors, and gardening specifically, is good for both mental and physical health. Roots have proven this again with their own data after surveying their members after the first year of growing, with over 93% of members reporting a well-being boost. They also found that over 60% of members met someone knew, friendship and community is a natural solution to the growing issue around loneliness in the UK.
For more information about Roots Allotments and to book a place at the new site in Bathford, visit www.rootsallotments.com