The interest in growing vegetables and flowers is growing so much that it is cracking across the country.
But the onslaught has also meant that the waiting time to get a plot of land has increased in many places, and today people who want to grow can have to wait several years for their plot.
– We have a waiting period of around three years, says Andreas Köhler (M), vice chairman of the technical committee in Östersund municipality.
When Frida Bäckman in Östersund started renting the cultivation lot a few years ago, she had to wait in line for around a year. But today, when interest in cultivation lots has skyrocketed, she had instead had to wait up to three years for her lot.
– It’s a bit of a shame that there has to be such a long waiting time, she says.
According to the municipality of Östersund, there are currently around 200 municipal cultivation lot places, while there are as many as 400 people in the queue. This means that the waiting time is around three years. Right now, the municipality is reviewing how to be able to meet the greatly increased demand.
– Yes, because the waiting time that is now is not reasonable, says Andreas Köhler (M), vice chairman of the technical committee in Östersund.
At Fritidsodlarnas Riksorganisation, the same trend is seen with an increased interest in cultivation across large parts of the country.
– It is not only people interested in cultivation who want allotments, but also those interested in food. They want to grow their own food. They eat organically and locally grown, says Ulrika Otterling, vice-chairman of the National Association of Recreational Gardeners.
– But the waiting time is a big problem because those who want to grow want to start at once. You don’t want to grow in a couple of years. Here, I think the country’s municipalities need to make sure to set aside more land and places for cultivation plots.