|
December 2010
26th December - Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you managed to get some leeks and parsnips out of the frozen ground. If we continue to have a run of cold winters like this we are all going to have to relearn techniques like clamping vegetables to keep a supply available through the winter... and keeping the rats at bay as well.
If you are new to the allotments, please go up regularly to check your compost bins and shed for unwanted intruders... both animal and human. Don't wait until April and the first warm sunny day before venturing up there ! Pass the message on to the tenant in the new plots whose shed has been standing on its roof for the last 2 months....
Improvements on site: A sub-committee has now met to begin planning some communal facilities on site, including a hut and composting toilet. Clearly this will take some effort over the coming months, to apply for a lottery grant, and to secure leases, agreements, and possibly planning approval etc on the land. If anyone want to join this group and help out with planning and or physical work, then please contact a member of the committee.
Produce show: The produce show committee will be meeting in the new year to plan next years show. Despite the inability of the local papers to report the correct date; putting the wrong date on the first article, followed by a second incorrect date when they published a correction (!), we can confirm that the date is 3rd September 2011. Put this date in your diary and no others. If you wish to help with organisation of the produce show in 2011 then again, please contact a member of the committee. Remember the provisional schedule is already available on the Produce Show page of this web site.
November 2010
Allotment rental: A bit of news from late November. You’re probably unaware that a proposal was put before SITC to increase allotment rents from next year by up to 100%. Committee members have been battling on your behalf to overturn this and achieve a more reasonable result. Because of the complexity of what was involved our secretary documented the outcome, the battle to get there and access to the various reports and other documents on his blog. To have a read click here.
4th November - The Autumn newsletter is now on line here, and the latest NSALG magazine can be downloaded from the Committee page, although you will need to be a member to view it (it is password protected).
October 2010
23rd October - new membership form for 2010 on line (committee page) allowing for Associate membership. Subs as agreed at AGM for 2010/11 year are: £7.00 for plot holders and £5.00 for cultivators/associate members. Note that the plot holders fee includes membership of the National Association (NSALG).
22nd October - skip will be delivered to site for plot holders use to clear plots of rubbish during half term week. Do not use the skip for disposing of asbestos if you find any. In such instances, please carefully place any asbestos panels you find in a bag and contact the council. Please note that the skip is also not to be filled with green waste, which can be composted.
21st October - the schedule for the 2011 show has been placed on the 'Produce Show' page.
19th October - Annual General Meeting in dining hall of St Ivo School, High Leys. Minutes of the meeting will be posted on the web site shortly.
September 2010
26th September - Note: one more week to complete the Kings seed order to Ray (our deadline 5th Oct so we can get all cheques cleared and get the order to Kings by the 15th). Please note that for potatoes: as a group order 8 bags or more reduces the price from £7.25 to £4. 95 per bag.
11th September - as the committee heave a great sigh of relief, we can announce that the Produce show was a great success. The standard of entries was very high - over 250 individual exhibits on the day. Find out more details and see the images on the 'Produce show' page. Let's hope you are all inspired to enter the competition next year.
9th Sept - Not long to go now to the Produce show - let's see as many of you as possible down at the Corn Exchange on Saturday. Remember: opens to the public at 12.30pm. Look out for the town crier, Tom, out and about on Saturday morning.
4th September - Don't forget the closing date for entries to the Produce show is 6th September. Time is running out get your prize winning produce in order, and jams and jelly prepared.
The schedule and entry form can be found on the Produce show page. Please note that the ENTRY FORM is found within the schedule - print pages 7 and 8.
August 2010
15th August - recent updates to the web site: Final produce show schedule can be found on the 'Produce show' page, and summer newsletter and NSALG magazine on the 'Committee' page.
We are now gearing up for a busy autumn. The most significant event is the Flower and Produce show - we think the first in St Ives for 15 years - which will be held in the newly re-opened Corn Exchange on 11th September. Please visit the 'Produce Show' page on this web site for further details. This is very much a work in progress so please check back regularly. If you would like to help planning the show, or being a steward on the day, then please contact the secretary.
On the morning of Saturday 14th August, we are aiming to be in the Corn Exchange to plan for the Flower and Produce show - if you want to drop in and see us and perhaps buy a cup of tea and a cake then it would be great to see plot holders from 10am onwards.
The date for the 2010 AGM has been fixed for 19th October in St Ivo school. Agenda to follow in due course.
July 2010
23rd July - A busy meeting this week with a committee meeting, and liaison meeting with the council. Please read up the minutes of these meetings on the Committee page. In the meantime the Association is now beginning to plan for a communal hut and other improvements to the site. Central to this plan will be to apply for a lottery grant, and to this end, we need to be able to demonstrate a need, and to find out what you want.
Therefore please can you complete this questionnaire and return to us by 16th August. We will be able to give you a summary of the results later in the summer, and an update on plans at the AGM in October.
3rd July - BBQ this evening on the allotment site. There will be no charge, but anyone who wants to join us please bring enough food (meat and a salad/side dish and drink) to cover your own needs. There will be a number of disposable BBQs to cook food on, but also feel free to bring your own BBQ if you have one. Meet at the bottom of the site (in area between plots 150, 152 and 134). Hope to see as many people there as possible.
2nd July - Codling moths have finally been flying after a run of warm evenings. 15 counted in a trap between 28th June and 2nd July indicating high risk. Best advice recommends applying sprays (organic or otherwise) in about 7-10 days time. See the spring newsletter for further details.
We have major plans to resurrect the Flower and Produce show in St Ives. The venue will be in the newly re-opened Corn Exchange on Saturday 11th September. Further details on the 'diary dates' page. If you would like to help organise this day, please contact a member of the committee, or mail us via the contact email address.
June 2010
A busy month with another round of break-ins on the allotment site. Luckily the police have now been making patrols on site. It seems that reporting of events is now working - showing that flagging up crimes will help get us noticed. Again the main problem was a lot of damage (smashed doors) rather than a significant number of items taken - the message is consider not leaving anything valuable, and leaving your shed unlocked, or have a window so thieves can see in. Those items which disappeared were strimmers, rotavators and petrol for said implements.
May 2010
16th May- the wildlife event was a great success with lots of bird boxes made, and lots of cake made, sold and eaten. This was a good event for families, with lots of children bashing nails into bits of wood.
Building nest boxes....
Eating cakes....
A bit of fun...
Spring newsletter is now on line on the committee page - note that we have gone for a web-based version this time. Please let us know what you think. Do you prefer a copy you can print off ?
April 2010
Please note that there was some trouble with children trespassing on site, over the easter holidays. We have been actively addressing this, with the help of the police. Members of the Association have been updated by email. If you need further information and want to be kept in the loop, please contact one of the committee, and if you are reading this and are not a member yet, then please do join up.
You will see that the field adjacent to the existing allotments has been ploughed and worked down. Plots will be allocated to new tenants as soon as a water supply is installed, which requires putting in pipes and water butts, so if you are on the council's waiting list, please be patient for a bit longer - it is going to happen !
March 2010
26th March: Note that the internal gates on site have been unlocked. However, it is preferred if you leave your car in the car park whenever possible - firstly the tracks are still quite wet, and secondly, if you park in the roadways for prolonged periods of time, no-one will be able to get past you. So please drop off materials at your plot, then return your car to the bottom, (and close the gates after you).
Update - Please take a look at the updated suppliers discount scheme, found towards the bottom of the Committee page. You can easily get your membership money back after a couple of trips to the garden centre.
18th March: For anyone interested in helping out with the wildlife day in May, we have a planning meeting on Monday 22nd March - 7.30pm in the Town Hall (mayor's parlour). Please do come along if you are interested in helping out. Note that the day will also incorporate a social/coffee morning, so if you wish to help with that part of it, then feel free to join us as well.
We have just had a message from a researcher at Cambridge University asking for help to complete a questionnaire:
Dear East Anglia or London resident,
The foods we grow in our own allotments and veg patches can influence the global impacts of the foods we eat. Take less than 10 minutes today to help us understand these effects on our local UK households. You can learn more about the survey and see it for yourself by following this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/69TPG58
In appreciation for your time, participants will be entered into a prize drawing for one of several gardening supply prizes. No participant information will be shared with any outside party, and all information will remain anonymous.
We very much hope that you will choose to participate in this survey. During this study, we have been continuously surprised and gratified by allotment tenants’ level of enthusiasm and interest in this research and endeavor to produce a final piece of work that will give back to this welcoming, supportive, and diverse community.
Kind regards,
Gillean Denny
PhD researcher
University of Cambridge
Please take a few minutes to help Gillean with her research.
February 2010
Here are some photos of the 'fruit tree' event on 7th February. It wasn't as cold as it looks....
Dealing with young trees; pears and plums.
Dealing with an old apple tree
January 2010
Don't forget the apples and orchard social event on 7th February - 2 pm - meet at plot 50. We have visiting expert, Bob Lever, who will tour the site and take a look at any fruit trees you need advice on mantaining. Bob is a member of the East of England Orchard Project and is extremely knowledgeable on fruit trees and management of orchards in this area.
Many of you will have noticed the bottom of the allotment site being waterlogged. This is apparently becuase the water pipes installed last summer are acting as a land drain, and channelling water down from the cemetery into the bottom of the allotments. When the new fencing has been completed around the perimeter, the groundsmen are supposed to be digging drainage channels to let the water escape into the ditch.
HRAA members will have received details regarding 'smart water', a unit of which we have bought from the police in order to protect our property. For details of our recent meeting with the police, please look on the 'committee' page of the web site. We also met with the town council for a liaison meeting on the 13th january. These notes are also on the web site.
|
