Author: oldlanelottswp

There is definitely a divide with gardeners/allotment members when it comes to using weedkillers. Chemicals can be dangerous to the environment including pets and wildlife. If weedkillers are not used properly, it can damage your own crops as well as neighbouring plots on the allotment. The pathways between plots have to be managed & maintained by plot holders, so having good communication with your neighbours is essential. Weedkiller on pathways looks really unsightly . To keep our pathways like a greenspace the best way to do this is to cut the grass with garden shears, otherwise put down weed suppressant over the grass to keep it under control. Weedkiller damage can occur in different ways, from drift when spray is applied during windy conditions. Leaching of residual weedkillers into adjacent beds. Also when the application of weedkiller is exceeded and has penetrated deeper into the soil. If you need to use weed killer as a last resort then glyphosate is acceptable. I think we have a duty to discuss this with neighbouring plot members especially if you want to apply weedkiller to pathways between plots, If you have to use weedkiller follow the instructions on the product label & apply weedkiller at the stated rate. it is a legal requirement to comply with the statutory conditions indicated on the label. Weeds can also be controlled by good cultivation techniques such as hoeing, mulching , digging ,which is a big part of allotment gardening

Blog by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary

Notice

It is a general site rule to fill up water butts that are next to site taps around the site when  members are watering up.  This is just a polite notice to fill the water butt back up  when you’ve watered your plot.

Blog created by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)

For & on behalf of  (Old Lane Allotments Association)

CONTACT DETAILS

DEAR PLOT MEMBERS

If anyone changes their home address, mobile telephone number, or E mail  details,  please can you let the Secretary (Mark Burton) know as soon as possible. It is imperative that are records are correct for the site working alongside Leeds City Council.

OLD LANE ALLOTMENTS ASSOCIATION

Hosepipes can only be used to fill up water barrels that you have on your plot. That strictly means hosepipes cant be used to direct water plants or land, it is forbidden on site. Anyone caught using a hosepipe other than filling up a water barrel will be in a strict breach of there tenancy agreement .

Thank You

Old Lane Allotments Association. (Blog created by Mark Burton – Site Secretary)

Path ways between plots must be maintained

To All Plot Members

Just a reminder that pathways have to be clear for access. It is the responsibility of plot holders to keep the grass cut on adjacent paths between plots to keep the site well maintained.

Thank you

Old Lane Allotments Committee

We have a builders skip arriving Thursday 13th April – morning time for all to utilise. Green waste should be composted. Wood can be burned with a small controlled fire. We must stress you should only bring on to site items that can be used on your plot. The skip becomes full far too quickly with non allotment waste been put in them. Remember we have over 80 members so if you can take some waste home for your brown, green, black bins, it will leave more room in the skip for the whole site to utilise.

Blog created by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)

SUCCESSIONAL SOWING

Successional sowing

It is easy to freeze are vegetable’s if we have a glut of crops. Fresh vegetable’s however that have been picked a few hours earlier & cooked always taste so much better. So to avoid growing a glut over the growing season we need to have smaller quantities ripening over a period. Say we are going to use a cabbage each week , take a modular seed tray & plant three seeds, label them with the variety & date. While they are developing pot on into three inch pots. Then three weeks later sow another three seeds as your first set of seeds are developing. Continue the process, that way you wont have too many of the same crop all ready at the same time.

This method can be applied to any crop that you have started in pots.

Blog By Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)

The carrot fly not only affects carrots but parsnips and even celery as well. The fly’s maggots cause the damage, killing seedlings and burrowing under the skin of mature plants, leaving brown tunnels behind. The fly’s produce two generations in a year and are active in April/May & July/August which almost ensures they can get at our crops. You can try sowing outside of these time frames in February,March,June,September, and October but its not an absolute guarantee that your crop will not suffer from carrot fly.

The fly is attracted by the smell of carrots & is most active during the day, so thinning, which bruises foliage and releases the scent, is best carried out later in the day. Inter-planting with stronger smelling onions is suppose to confuse the fly but evidence is mixed. Growing your carrots high in containers like half barrels in the ground could keep your crops out of reach. The best barrier to protect from carrot fly is to grow them under fleece, especially in the danger months. There are no chemicals available to amateur gardeners, but there are now more carrot fly resistant seeds being sold like ” Systan Flyaway” & “Resistafly” which could be your best option.

Blog & research by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary) – Pictures Mick Cooper

Give your potatoe plants a boost with granular fertilizer. This can be applied to the soil and either watered in, or using a hoe to leach down towards the plant root zones. For bumper crops and healthy potatoes.

We sell potatoe fertilizer at our stores shop priced at £1.60 per KG. All money taken goes back in to the running of the site.

Blog created by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)

The cabbage whitefly is a sap – feeding insect that can infest cabbage & other types of brassica plants. They are white winged insects that fly up in clouds when brassica leaves are disturbed. Cabbage whitefly can be very difficult to control, very much so on allotments where there are likely to be affected plants on neighbouring plots that will be a source of re-infestation. You will often see whitefly in mid Summer when the weather is warm. Due to whitefly feeding, plants will become weak, leaves will eventually wilt, turn pale or yellow & this in effect will stunt plant growth.

The best way to get rid of the dreaded whitefly is to blast them with your watering can, this will cause them to scatter,   If you are not wanting to use bug sprays or pesticides a simple remedy is to use washing up liquid and water,  a good squirt of liquid to a gallon of water should be enough. Using a sprayer only use in cooler temperatures early in the morning or later in the day.

It is nearly impossible to get rid of whitefly but using this method or bug sprays will allow you to keep on top of the problem.

 

Blog & Research by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)