I started off by growing peas and carrots in a couple of planters - just to see what would happen, and they grew, and I got enough carrots and peas for a meal for two, and that's when the bug hit (or is it bit) me.
Anyway, I went to my local allotment to see if there were any plots available, and I had the choice of 4 plots (this was 5 years ago), and I've never looked back. Every day, week, month and year is a surprise - there are never two the same. You think you've done well on something, then grow it again the next year, and you have a failed harvest. But its "sow" fun, and one thing that always grows without any help are the friends you make.
So now I've got the mushy bit out of the way, you can freeze, be really dirty, having slugs attach themselves to you, weeding and finding toads and/or frogs, being stung by bees (rarely), wasps (all the time), nettles, etc, etc. But we love it
![biggrin :D](https://chat.allotment-garden.org/Smileys/green/biggrin.gif)