Jam in the making
Nick was certainly busy after he had picked some strawberries that the Depuy team had grown on their plot. The pictures below show him making jam from start to finish
Blog created by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary) Pictures sent in by Nick Oldridge of Depuy Synthes who occupy plot 28.
Plants Mean Prizes
This year has been a strange growing season so far with restrictions & social distancing. We have decided to still proceed with the competitions that we have on site every year. Finest worked plot which could be two categories, also finest newcomer to the site. Prizes will be announced next month. Everyone has worked very hard on their plots this year under difficult circumstances. We have been lucky that we have been able to still enjoy growing fruit & vegetables.
Blog created by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary) For & on behalf of Old Lane Allotments Association.
Trees on site
We have been asked by Leeds City Council that non edible trees have to be cut down to 6ft in height. Those wishing to purchase non edible trees have to put them in pots to reduce high growth. If a plot member leaves the site they can take the pots with them. Obviously fruit trees have to be bought on dwarf root stock.
Leeds city council have been spending considerable amounts of money felling non edible trees on allotment sites from the parks & countryside annual budget.
Old Lane Allotments Association
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
June is a very busy time on the allotment the nights should now be frost free, and daylight hours are longer which should give you plenty of time to get on with jobs that need doing. Now is the time to protect your strawberries by mulching around them with straw to keep mud splashes off, & keep birds of your precious ripening strawberries by cover your plants with netting.
Keeping on top of the weeds is still very important hoe between rows & let them dry out on top of the soil. Continue sowing beetroot, This is the last chance to sow main crop variety carrots that will be ready to harvest in September/October. Courgettes, Summer squash, & marrows if you don’t already have young plants you have raised in pots, you can sow the seed direct outside now the soil has warmed up. The beginning of June will be the last chance to grow maincrop peas, towards the end of the month switch to early fast maturing peas which should be ready to harvest in September. Outdoor cucumbers are usually started off earlier in pots, but if you sow them direct this month they should give you a crop in August/September.
Sow Outdoors now – beetroot, broccoli, Carrots, French beans, kale, pumpkins & Winter squash, runner beans, swede, Swiss chard, turnips, radish, Spring onions, continue succession of salad leaves, cucumbers, herbs.
Blog by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)
ONION NECK ROT (botrytis allii). At this time of year it is advisable to check onions to see if they are storing well and keeping free of disease.However,after a period of about 10-12 weeks after harvesting a crop the signs of ONION NECK ROT will appear. The symptoms are,the scales go very soft,then it spreads around the neck,spreads to all the onion giving it a brown colour rendering the onion useless. Infection can be caused by,probably,contaminated seed and not clearing the site of all previous debri which must not be put in the compost heap,burning all the debri is best. It is recommended that a crop rotation system is used of 3 to 4 years …
ONION WHITE ROT (sclerotium cepivorum) This is very common problem and most people on allotments will have had this disease.It is a very serious problem and fairly easy to identify the disease, weak leaves and growth at the base of the plant is covered with a white looking fungus.Once this is noticed the plant or site,if its that bad ,should be cleared out and all the plants effected burnt.under no circumstances should plants be put in a compost heap burning is the best option. Unfortunately there is no chemical available for garden
use once the soil is contaminated it is very hard to eradicate .This does not mean that all the plot is effected just keep plugging away and and don’t be put off by any disease ..once again crop rotation is a must on allotments to try and prevent diseases …keep digging
Mick Cooper/Mark Burton
From Wednesday 3rd June we will have in stock clover multi purpose compost 75 litres. The new price to members will be £5.40 .
Please can members respect the stores opening days & times which are located on the hut building. All monies taken go back into the running of the site.
Blog created by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary) For & on behalf of Old Lane Allotments Association
SUPPORTING LOCAL WILDLIFE
Allotments can provide local wildlife with natural habitats birds,badgers,foxes,bees butterflies & slow worms, to all nature of wildlife. Its really surprising what you can see down on your allotment.
GREAT FORM OF EXERCISE
They say with 1/2 hour exercise on your allotment a day you could burn up to 150 calories. You can work up a really healthy appetite for the food you grow.
EATING HEALTHY
An obvious benefit to allotment gardening is eating healthy. That is fresh organic fruit & vegetables from ground to pan to plate without the supermarket price tag.
RELAXATION & IMPROVE YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE
Working on your allotment plot you will get a good sense of accomplishment at your results & efforts. Its also a fun way to relax and to relieve stresses & strains & will improve your quality of life.
Blog by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)
Members disposing of unwanted items at the hut building
Can members please stop leaving there unwanted items next to the entrance of the hut building. If you have an item you know longer want on your plot then take it home for disposing of. Otherwise we end up with the hut building & surrounding area looking like a dumping tip. As per photographs below
We all need to work together to keep our site tidy
Old Lane Allotments Committee
Our treasurer Steve Johnston & his wife Sally took some of our members rhubarb to donate to Theatre arts group slung low at Holbeck working mens club. Amongst other activities they make up food parcels for the community.
On there Twitter feed on social media they said ” Rhubarb – Monday means a delivery from those gorgeous green fingered Beestonians at Old Lane Allotments in Beeston” Fresh produce always cheers up a food parcel”.
Great that members have donated rhubarb & a big thanks to Steve & Sally.
Blog created by Mark Burton – photograph sent in by Steve Johnston
friendly, locally-managed allotments in Beeston, Leeds
A place to return to education, and meet your personal and professional goals in a supportive learning environment. Choose from short courses to PhDs at https://warwick.ac.uk/study/cll/
Welcome to my world: digging, harvesting and other stuff
