Writer of The Times Diary, Michael Leapman, became a tenant of an allotment next to Brixton Prison for 35p a year in 1974 when food and energy shortages inspired many people to attempt self-sufficiency. This book tells the story of the plot and the author's first year of cultivating it, written with humour and wit while providing a wealth of information for the would-be urban horticulturalist.

"It is splendid stuff and if your husband is a gardening bore and you want to shut him up for an hour or three, this is the answer.' The Guardian

'It makes fine bedside reading, laced with plenty of anecdotes, good gardening information, plus an Idle Gardener's Almanac.' Good Housekeeping