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h o r t I C U l t U r E
Hope in the Valley, Earwig Corner,
Hangman’s Acre. Lewes has many poeticsounding
allotments, tended by people from
all walks of life. All are eligible to enter the
hotly contested annual Lewes Allotments
Show at the Town Hall, where people can
bring their prize onions and other produce
to be judged. But Martin Leeburn tells me
that prevailing allotment growing conditions
are not equal. “The Landport is a sunlit
floodplain with alluvial soil ten feet deep! At
Coombe, we’ve got solid chalk, occasional
sheep invasions and rabbits to contend with.
That’s before you get invaded by asparag<strong>us</strong>
beetles and carrot fly.” Not that he’s bitter.
His partner, Dilly Barlow’s Cara potatoes
won a prize the first time they entered the
show. “You get a certificate signed by the
mayor to pin up on the wall of your shed.”
It sounds a fiercely competitive event, and
frankly I don’t envy the task of the judges,
who this year are Philip Pople, gardener for
Lewes District Council, and Joe Simons, a
former allotment keeper with a great deal
of experience. Anyone with an allotment is
eligible to enter one or all of the 41 classes,
including ones for children and an Esther-
Rantzen special of ‘most un<strong>us</strong>ual vegetable’.
Sunday 19th September at Lewes Town Hall.
Entry free. Judging takes place between 11-
2pm, followed by prize-giving, then tea and
cakes. For an application form, go to the Town
Hall or contact Emma Martin 471469, or email
c<strong>us</strong>tomer.services@
lewes-tc.gov.uk