Allotment (gardening)

An allotment (British English),^[1] a type of community garden (North America), is a plot of land made available for individual, non-commercial gardening for growing food plants, so forming a kitchen garden away from the residence of the user. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundred parcels that are assigned to individuals or families. Such parcels are cultivated individually, contrary to other community garden^{[contradictory]} types where the entire area is tended collectively by a group of people.^[2] In countries that do not use the term "allotment (garden)", a "community garden" may refer to individual small garden plots as well as to a single, large piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people. The term "victory garden" is also still sometimes used, especially when a community garden dates back to the First or Second World War.

The individual size of a parcel typically suits the needs of a family, and often the plots include a shed for tools and shelter, and sometimes a hut for seasonal or weekend accommodation. The individual gardeners are usually organised in an allotment association, which leases or is granted the land from an owner who may be a public, private or ecclesiastical entity, and who usually stipulates that it be only used for gardening (i.e., growing vegetables, fruits and flowers), but not for permanent residential purposes (this is usually also required by zoning laws). The gardeners have to pay a small membership fee to the association and have to abide by the corresponding constitution and by-laws. However, the membership entitles them to certain democratic rights.^[3]^[4]

^ The term "allotment" is not used in the United States to refer to these garden plots, as shown by the entries in the American Heritage Dictionary Archived 2012-08-13 at the Wayback Machine and the Cambridge American English Dictionary Archived 2013-05-27 at the Wayback Machine.
^ MacNair, Emily (2002). "The Garden City Handbook: How to Create and Protect Community Gardens in Greater Victoria" (PDF). Polis Project on Ecological Governance. University of Victoria.
^ Drescher, A. W. (2001), "The German Allotment Gardens — a Model for Poverty Alleviation and Food Security in Southern African Cities?", Proceedings of the Sub-Regional Expert Meeting on Urban Horticulture, Stellenbosch, South Africa, January 15–19, 2001, FAO/University of Stellenbosch, archived from the original on 2009-04-14, retrieved 2009-03-13
^ Drescher, A. W., Holmer, R. J. and D. L. Iaquinta 2006. "Urban Homegardens and Allotment Gardens for Sustainable Livelihoods: Management Strategies and Institutional Environments". In: Kumar, B. M. and Nair, P. K. (Eds) 2006. Tropical Homegardens: A Time-Tested Example of Agroforestry. Series: Advances in Agroforestry 3, Springer, New York.

[1] The term "allotment" is not used in the United States to refer to these garden plots, as shown by the entries in the American Heritage Dictionary Archived 2012-08-13 at the Wayback Machine and the Cambridge American English Dictionary Archived 2013-05-27 at the Wayback Machine.

[2] MacNair, Emily (2002). "The Garden City Handbook: How to Create and Protect Community Gardens in Greater Victoria" (PDF). Polis Project on Ecological Governance. University of Victoria.

[3] Drescher, A. W. (2001), "The German Allotment Gardens — a Model for Poverty Alleviation and Food Security in Southern African Cities?", Proceedings of the Sub-Regional Expert Meeting on Urban Horticulture, Stellenbosch, South Africa, January 15–19, 2001, FAO/University of Stellenbosch, archived from the original on 2009-04-14, retrieved 2009-03-13

[4] Drescher, A. W., Holmer, R. J. and D. L. Iaquinta 2006. "Urban Homegardens and Allotment Gardens for Sustainable Livelihoods: Management Strategies and Institutional Environments". In: Kumar, B. M. and Nair, P. K. (Eds) 2006. Tropical Homegardens: A Time-Tested Example of Agroforestry. Series: Advances in Agroforestry 3, Springer, New York.

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