Observer Food Monthly’s editor Allan Jenkins was raised in children’s
homes and foster care, traumatised by abuse and lack of care. When his
permanent foster parents gave him a pack of nasturtium seeds and a tiny plot of
land, he found something to nurture. Years later, his own allotment, the
eponymous Plot 29 became a place of
solace as he came to terms with his harrowing past. He talks to literary critic
and food writer Rachel Cooke about his incredibly moving story, the power of
gardening and the importance of a patch of earth, however tiny.
