I find it very hard to love a Cabbage White butterfly but there are many others I enjoy seeing on my allotment. Among my favourites are the four blue butterfly species which are to be found on the ancient chalk grasslands of the Whitehawk Hill Local Nature Reserve along the boundary of our allotment site. These are the Common Blue, Adonis Blue, Chalkhill Blue and the Small Blue, which is Britain’s smallest butterfly and has the delightful scientific name of Cupidus minimus.
Author Archives: Nick
A good turn-out and interesting discussions at our 2021 AGM
On Sunday 1st August, the committee members of the Craven Vale and Whitehawk Hill Allotments Society, together with several other plot holders, met at The Hub for the Society’s Annual General Meeting 2021. Because it had not been possible to have an AGM in 2020, due to the pandemic, there was a lot to catch up on!
Recipe ideas – dealing with the courgette glut
At this time of year it’s easy to find yourself completely overwhelmed with courgettes – and of course, turn your back and they’ve quickly turned into marrows! – but don’t despair, here are some great uses for them.
Summer Events at Whitehawk Community Food Project
Just to highlight a number events taking place at the Whitehawk Community Food Project over the next month, which are particularly aimed at providing a safe space for women and children on the site.
2021 – A bad year for blight
The extended periods of rain and cool weather we had in June and part of July have helped blight spread quickly throughout the allotments this year, badly affecting both potatoes and tomatoes.
A new visitor to our site: The Swallowtail Butterfly
In autumn 2020, two plot holders reported discovering some amazing looking caterpillars happily munching away on plants on their plots. After a bit of research, it turned out that these caterpillars were in fact those of the Swallowtail Butterfly – one of our rarest and most spectacular butterflies, normally only found around the Norfolk Broads and in mainland Europe.
Notice of our Annual General Meeting
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.
Recipe: Easy-to-make rhubarb cake
All the rain we’ve had this month has been great for rhubarb, so if like me you’ve been 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!
