All plotholders, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to our Annual General Meeting on Sunday 1st August, at 11am. The event will take place at The Hub.
Author Archives: Nick
Recipe: Easy-to-make rhubarb cake
overwhelmed by what to do with it, why not try this easy-to-make, but delicious rhubarb cake recipe?
No two years the same – managing the unpredictable
As gardeners, we often think we can avoid the mistakes and replicate the successes we had in the previous year, but is it just me or does nature seems to rarely play ball by such logical reasoning? Every year seems to bring new challenges, new sights, new joys and also a few new disappointments.
Wildlife focus: The slow worm – neither a worm, nor slow!
A common resident of our allotments are slow worms. Often found in long grass or enjoying the damp warmth of compost heaps, these legless lizards primarily feed on invertebrates and can live up to 20 years old!
The secret to a good compost heap
There are lots of ways of making a compost heap. Some gardeners have a sort of wire netting barrel, others have wooden ‘boxes’ and there are of course the Dalek type plastic bins with a little door at the bottom. You can, of course, just make a heap in the corner of the allotment and leave nature to deal with it eventually. They all seem to work. A lot depends on on how much room you have, what materials you have lying around and how quick you need it to rot down.
Welcome back to the Hub!
To mark the occasion of our first reopening, on Sunday 6th June (11am to 1pm), we’re not only having our usual cups of tea, cake and chat, but also plan a plant swap. So, if you’ve got any spare tomatoes, or forgot to plant your cabbage seed, then pop along and you’re sure to find a home for your leftovers or find the missing plants to fill the gaps in your plot.
Plotholder focus: Hattie and Jenny
Mother and daughter, Jenny and Hattie both have plots on Craven Vale – Jenny for 11 years and Hattie for six. They also collaborate on a third plot, which they were able to take on four years ago. All three plots have needed intensive work, including clearing brambles, removing glass, getting rid of rubbish, building raised beds and preparing the ground.
30 Days Wild
30 Days Wild is The Wildlife Trusts’ annual nature challenge where they ask the nation to do one ‘wild’ thing a day, every day throughout June.
Random Acts of Wildness can be anything you like – litter-picking, birdwatching, puddle-splashing, you name it! But to help you on your way, The Wildlife Trusts will also provide you with a FREE postal or digital pack of goodies to inspire your wild month – including an activity passport and a wallchart to track your progress.
Wind turbines, goat herds and other bird scaring experiments
Short of netting much of my allotment plot – which would be prohibitively expensive – I’ve recently been experimenting with different ways of deterring birds (mainly pigeons, I suspect) from nibbling, and occasionally completely destroying some of my crops.
International Composting Awareness Week
International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) started in Canada in 1995, but has continued to grow worldwide as more people, businesses, municipalities, schools and organisations are recognizing the importance of composting and the long-term benefits from organics recycling.
