October 2006 by Award Winning Newcomer Linda (plot 47)

October 1st, 2006

This contribution by Award Winning Newcomer Linda (plot 47)

Linda’s Allotment Diary

Last year, 2005, I applied for an allotment at the Aldershot Road site as my daughter made the suggestion knowing how much I love gardening.
Well, how pleased am I that I made that leap, albeit with trepidation as I had not attempted to grow a vegetable of any description for a very long time – oh 30 years ago a few tomatoes against the house wall, and a few runner beans in the then garden.
When I first saw the plot it was covered in black sheeting, old odd pieces of carpet, even an old duvet and lots of clutter, and it seemed much too large for me to tackle!!
Somewhat daunted, I have to say, I made a start at clearing the plot, with the help of my youngest daughter Ursula.  We did toil and dig and clear.  Slowly we made some headway and actually started planting some seeds; carrots for my granddaughter first in the newly dug ground.
I decided to dig a little at a time and slowly work my way down the plot, making small manageable beds to set seeds, with the help of a book I purchased  – ‘ Organic Allotments’.   I worked on, never dreaming I would become so addicted.
All this since February 2006.  Now in October 2006, I have very nearly worked the whole plot, but the very best part so far has been seeing our efforts materialize. Courgettes, carrots, runner beans, tomatoes, leeks, potatoes and much more all growing; so exciting, and now harvesting,  -  absolutely great!
I have learned loads.  Courgettes need more room to grow, (bigger bed next year) Cucumbers – big leaves (um?).  Next year I will attempt to grow them up a frame!
Tomatoes!  Planted too many!  Potatoes!  Did not plant enough!
Next, I will try to grow a few different varieties.
All so exciting!
Yes, I am in good company with my excitement; Charlie Dimmock, Alan Titchmarsh (my hero) Bill Oddie ( another hero) Monty Donn, Chris Beardshaw and many more and of course, all allotment junkies!.
Lots of lessons learnt to put into practice next year, and I will have a go at growing a much more varied selection of crops.  Herbs are on my list and I have already decided where they will go.
So far, so good!   I will not be daunted by bad weather and will always find my plot my most favourite place to be, even if I just sit and plan what will go where next year. That does not happen often as there are always weeds to be pulled, a bit more digging to be done, checking my many compost bins to see how they are doing.
Think! Think!  Think!  Like ‘Winnie the Pooh’ “What else can I do?”
Fabulous, just fabulous!!!
Linda
Plot 47

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Great to see so many plotholders at the public meeting!

August 12th, 2006

Great to see so many plotholders at the public meeting! Some of us were difficult to recognise when scrubbed up, minus wellies and not in working gear! We had so many concerned residents attending that we could not all fit in the hall. Politicians present had great difficulty in maintaining their position of housing at any cost. The one unequivocable supporter of our stance was John Pletts of the Green Party. We now have over 300 signatures on the petition and will hand this in to the GBC offices at Millmead on Monday 14th August at 11am. GBC, the press and the police have been informed. It will only take 10 minutes so if you can come along please do!

PUBLIC MEEETING AT ST MARY’S CHURCH HALL, ALDERSHOT RD, GUILDFORD ON WEDNESDAY 9TH AUGUST,7.30 to 8.30 pm. Please come along and sign our petition objecting to GBC’s ’strategy’ to avoid the ban on development of open space such as our site. This ban is rightly in place to protect the biodiversity of the Special Protection Area of Whitmoor Common. We are within 2km of Whitmoor and development on our site would affect the rare birds whose habitat it is. Please spare an hour of your time or, if you can’t come please write and object to Mark Dickson, Planning Policy Manager, Guildford Borough Council, GU2 4BB.

Just a reminder to newcomers and those who weren’t at the last WASHA meeting:- The fruit on plots 82, 84, 85 and 86 is for everyone to share. At present there are apricots ripe and some soft fruit left. There is a good crop of damsons which are still unripe and there will be plums and apples later.

Welcome to Carolyn who has taken on plot 29 which will need a lot of work. We hope to give you some help when the dry weather breaks. Welcome also to Sally on plot 30. This is also a difficult plot but we’re here to help. It’s not so long ago that all three plots 28, 29 and 30 were a giant bramble patch!

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Goodbye and hello!

June 17th, 2006

Farewell to Mike and Jo and family who have moved to Birmingham and welcome to Liam, Kate and daughter Chloe who have taken over from them on plot 75.

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Congratulations to Sarah and Mike

June 2nd, 2006

Congratulations to Sarah and Mike on Plot 25 on the birth of their daughter Mari. The rainy weather has left everyone struggling to catch up, but as soon as we can, some of us will give you a hand with your plot.

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The Third WASHA Annual general meeting

March 24th, 2006

The Third WASHA Annual general meeting will be held on Saturday 1st April at St Mary’s Church Hall Aldershot Road. The doors will be open at 9am for the reading of correspondence and the meeting will start at 9.30. Please come along , have your say, meet fellow plotholders and catch up with what’s happening on our site.

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Welcome to Linda on plot 47

February 21st, 2006

Welcome to Linda on plot 47. She will be assisted by her daughter Ursula and also a strapping grandson. Linda aims to be totally organic and we wish her every success!

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January 2006 and general over wintering advice

January 1st, 2006

  1. It’s a new year and although it’s cold and the soil is still quite wet, there are things we can be doing to give us a head start when spring arrives. The rents were due in October. This is the time when some of us give up but very few have on our site which is good news.
  2. Some of our plotholders are still new to allotments and are struggling to bring once derelict plots into order and productivity.
  3. If you are passionately organic and do not want the stain of using chemical weed killers on your conscience, then you must realise that you will have double the workload. Bear the burden of your faith bravely and get stuck in!
  4. Here is some basic advice:-
  • If someone has helpfully put black plastic on part of your plot to clear weeds, roll it back all at once, at your peril! It may look clear underneath but roots will not be dead. You’ll let in the rain and light and they’ll be off! Only roll back as much as you can realisticly dig in a session.
  • Use a spade for the initial dig on ‘virgin’ soil – NOT a fork! You have the roots of some of nature’s toughest customers firmly embedded in your plot! The three worst are bramble, couch grass and convolvulus. I said ‘worst’ because they all have colonising root systems. You need the spade to cut these as you dig. Use a fork and the roots will simply slide through and remain there.
  • You will save yourself a lot of later trouble if you take these roots out at this point. Shake the soil from them and put them on a piece of iron where they can’t regrow easily. Plan some way to be totally rid of them. Burning works! No matter how organic you are there is no co-existence with these thugs of the plant world. Brambles will puncture your flesh, couch will even grow through your potato tubers and convolvulus will completely smother big raspberry canes. Don’t put them in a heap on earth in another part of the plot. They’ll love that! Don’t try to compost them! Think annihilation!
  • The other way to prepare ‘virgin’ soil is to turn it all over, cutting roots but not removing them, then taking them out later when they start to shoot. This requires constant vigilance and will need a longer time frame than the first method although initially it is faster and not so tedious. If you’ve planted crops in this rooty soil they’ll have to compete for food, moisture and light. Some can but small seeds will stand no chance.
  • Don’t hire a mechanical cultivator and expect a miracle. These will bounce along the top of the ground and be useless unless you get one that is approaching the power of a small tractor. The usual cultivator that is available for hire will only cope with dug ground. It’s patience and perseverance that wins through.
  • There are ways to increase the work rate and the best of these is recruiting extra help form friends and family.
  • If you don’t know how or where to start use the WASHA email. Some of our experienced gardeners will help. Some of us have cultivators and will fine down your dug soil if asked.

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Jobs for the month (September 2005)

September 1st, 2005

  1. This is the time of year to turn surplus into preserves.  Got loads of green tomatoes?  Good pickle recipe in recipe section.
  2. Got loads of pumpkin?  They store well.  You can also freeze them ready cut for roasting.There’s a good pumpkin soup recipe in the recipe section. If you’ve grown a variety such as ‘Sweet Dumpling’ which is delicious but resembles a cannonball in size, shape and durability, then you need to roast it whole and scrape the seeds out when it is cooked and soft.  The flesh can be scraped out and mashed with butter and curry paste  -  nice! Pumpkins and their seeds are specially good for men -  something to do with pollination!
  3. Your onions should be lifted, dried and stored now and also your shallot crop.  Onions are easily plaited on a string.  Baler twine is fine and riding stables will usually give you bags of it if you ask. A plait of onions keeps well as the air circulates and you can easily cut off one without the whole string unravelling.
  4. I’m told that cooked beetroot can be frozen.  Anyone tried it?  Sweet corn freezes very well andif you strip it off the cob, it takes very little room.  It’s not a difficult job.  Blanch the cobs first and plunge into cold water.  Take off the first column of kernels with a small pointed knife then the other columns come off easily when bent sideways.  Fortunately we all have good crops of sweet corn this year as the flocks of cob raiding pigeons, crows and magpies have not returned.
  5. Most soft fruit is finished, except blackberries and Autumn raspberries, so you can start pruning outdead canes.  Strawberry beds need a tidy up.  There’ll be plenty of runners to start a new bed.
  6. Check all brassicas regularly for caterpillars or you’ll get a rude shock!
  7. One might have hoped the slugs had perished in the dry spell but no such luck!  They are back, bigger and hungrier than ever.  You might be waiting for your sprouts to ’sweeten’ after a frost but they are already nice enough for the slimy ones.  They also find swedes tasty.  It helps to keep your paths trimmed as they rest up there in the day.  If you are on site at twilight, the number emerging to tackle your crops is quite depressing.  If you are very organic and a Buddhist, you can collect them up and put them in your compost bin where they will recycle your organic waste.  Keeping them there is the problem!
  8. Outdoor tomatoes have done pretty well on site but the dreaded blight is here now.  Taking off the leaves helps.

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Thanks to St Joseph’s School

August 14th, 2005

Thanks to St Joseph’s School children, teachers and parents for their letter of appreciation for the help given on their plot. The photos of the children proudly displaying their first harvest were delightful and will be displayed at the next WASHa meeting. Here’s an extract from the note:

“Thank you and all our allotment friends for your help this far. We have been up to our plot with the children and watered and harvested. the beetroot and potatoes were cooked for the children to taste and of course, peas straight from the pod! It was fantastically successful and we think the children will remember it all their lives. There is a watering rota organised until the end of summer and we will be back first week in September. The beans are in and we will harvest as we go. Parents have donated £18 towards seeds and tools for next year.”

Attention all those newcomers to the top of the high path who were hoping to use the one remaining tap on the top supply line! The stop cock has been removed and the pipeline dug up. So much for encouraging allotmenting!

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Jobs for the month (August 2005)

August 1st, 2005

  1. The planting season is drawing to an end and it’s full scale harvesting now.  Here’s a planting check list.  Your leeks, purple sprouting, and winter cabbage and cauliflower should all be transplanted out now and your Brussels should be well advanced.  They won’t be a lot of trouble but don’t neglect them.  Keep them weeded and free of pests.  These are going to see you through the winter providing fresh green veg.  Latest medical news tells us that as little as 1.5 oz of broccoli per day helps fight cancer.  We plotholders who are grandparents find our fresh veg much in demand for the youngsters.
  2. Now is the time to sow your overwintering or ‘Japanese’ onions.  Senshu is a good variety.  Sow the seeds the same way as spring onions.  The trick is to get them to germinate in the continuing dry weather.  The clay soil has dried out very quickly the summer this year.  No matter how fine and friable soil used to cover the seeds has been, it has soon formed a hard pan.  The small seed has difficulty pushing through from below and water from above just runs off.  I’ve noticed that some plotholders have started replacing the covering soil with peat.  This is proving successful.  The peat, unlike the clay soil, stays soft and crumbly.  Once the ‘Japanese’ onions get a good start, they survive winter and will be ready to eat in June.  They are the sweetest juiciest onions and can’t be bought in shops.  It’s worth hedging your bets and planting some of the sets as well.  They’ll be appearing in the gardening shops later this month.
  3. Other seeds that can go in now and survive the winter are chard and spring onions.  Why are they called spring onions?
  4. It’s potato harvesting time.  Most plotholders grow earlies only and don’t bother with maincrop for storage so their spuds are out and eaten before the slugs and blight get a hold.  However if you are harvesting maincrop for storage here are a few tips.  Choose a dry day, expose the freshly dug tubers to the sun for a few hours to let the skin toughen, inspect closely and only reserve perfect tubers for storage, then make sure the storage container is dry, porous  and free from light.
  5. Are your beans and courgettes coming to an end?  They don’t keep on producing till the first frost so remember this next year and plant for succession.  Too late now!
  6. crops last year.  What’s happened to them?
  7. Need more compost?  Use an old bottomless 44 gallon drum or similar, bring up all your household scraps, paper, cardboard, throw in all your weeds and vegetable waste, use the bags of grass cuttings Malcolm leaves near the shed and eventually you will have a drum of  – soil.  Forget all the gardening programs with their smug presenters running peat-like ‘compost’ through their fingers.  No, your drum will have what looks like normal soil in it.  It’s best to put a wire rack over the wheelbarrow as you empty the drum into it to take out the non-organic waste which even the best trained family will have thrown in.  Vacuum cleaner bags are worst!  What are they made of?  This stuff is still the best soil improver of all and costs nothing.
  8. This is the month of surplus.  Share your bounty!

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