Author: oldlanelottswp

WATER SUPPLY NOW BACK ON

Dear Members,

The water supply for the site has now been turned back on.

The site toilet can now be flushed as normal.

THANKYOU

OLD LANE ALLOTMENTS COMMITTEE

Please can we all make sure that entrance gates are locked when entering & leaving site.

THE SECURITY OF THE SITE IS EVERYBODY’S RESPONSIBILITY

OLD LANE ALLOTMENTS COMMITTEE

Dear Plot Members,

This is to make plot holders aware the allotment committee meet the first Sunday in every month to discuss allotment issues. If there is anything you want to be raised in our monthly meeting, please put it in writing & place it in our site letterbox in the toilet area.

Thank you

Old Lane Allotments Committee

 

 

 

 

 

Brussels sprouts are part of the brassica family,  and as we know they date back to the 13th century & were grown in the region of Belgium that gave them their name. Recent hybrid varieties are a revelation for reliability of cropping &  the holding power of the sprout on the stem. Sprouts are really low in calories & high in protein fibre, they are low in glycaemic making them ideal for weight loss dieting. They are very nutritious vegetable’s containing high levels of flavonoid anti oxidants. Sprouts are packed with vitamins A, K, C and complex B vitamins as well as potassium, manganese & iron.

Brussels sprouts grow best in firm, fertile soil, rich in organic matter. They benefit from a sunny & sheltered position away from high winds. The soil must be dug over in Autumn & not prior for planting out. Use cabbage collars round the base of the plant to prevent cabbage root fly & protect from birds.

Always read the seed packet for growing instructions

 

Blog & research by Mark Burton (allotment Secretary)

SPRING IS SLOWLY CREEPING UPON US

 

This Month there are already signs of the approaching Spring season. Bulbs are appearing, fruit trees are now starting to bud & the wildlife is waking up. Light levels and temperatures are slowly increasing. There is still plenty to do indoors & in the greenhouse preparing for the growing season ahead.  Outdoors as your allotment comes to life again you will have everything to do at once, so make good use of your time to still get those winter jobs completed.

Blog created & photographs taken on Old Lane Allotments

By Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary )

SEED POTATOES ARE READY FOR COLLECTION

 

Dear plot members,

Seed potatoes have been processed & are now available for collection from Monday 18th February –  Saturday 23rd February at our hut building stores. We will be opening the stores from 9.00am – 11.00am next week each morning for members to collect their seed potato orders.

Members will be asked to sign for their potatoes when they collect them.

Thank you

Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)

FOR & ON BEHALF OF OLD LANE ALLOTMENTS COMMITTEE

Slugs & Snail’s

1. Did you know there are over 30 species of slug in the UK, and over 100 species of snail. Here are some facts about slugs & snails.
2. Moving a snail 20 metres away will ensure that it wont return, as they lose there bearings they only have homing instinct’s over short distances.
3. Slugs are hermaphrodites and can self – reproduce, if two snails mate they both become pregnant.
4. Believe it or not slugs have the ability to bite they have approximately 27,000 teeth.
5. Slugs find there way back to where they came from by leaving a unique scent trail,
6.  Certain breeds of slugs & snails can consume over 500 plant varieties & vegetation.
7. Majority of snails are nocturnal they do not like being exposed to sunlight.
8. Snails hibernate through winter months, slugs are found anywhere above 5 degrees
9. Snails & slugs love dampness lets hope for dry weather.
10. Slugs can stretch 20 times their length to squeeze through gaps.
11. It is believed an average British garden contains over 20,000 slugs & snails.

 

Blog & Research by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)

 

 

Calabrese which crops in Summer & Autumn is called broccoli, in supermarkets it is known as ‘super foods’. They are part of the brassica family originally cultivated in Italy, where the name broccoli is from the Latin word brachium which means branch or arm. It was named Calabrese after the Italian province of Calabria where it first was grown. It is a great source of vitamins K & C, good source of folate (folic acid) it also provides potassium, fibre. Vitamin C –  builds collagen, which forms body tissue & bone,  helps cuts & wounds heal. It is also very low on the calorie intake, it also can prevent constipation & for you to maintain a healthy digestive tract. Now we all new why are parents wanted us to eat broccoli.

These plants require moisture retentive soil & a reasonably sunny position when transplanted as young plants. They are best started of in pots undercover, use brassica collars at the bottom of the plants base to eradicate cabbage root fly.

When planting seeds always read the growing instructions

 

Blog & Research Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)

 

Making The Land Work For You

Vacant land, that is land without a crop on it, in the spring or summer the weeds will happily grow on vacant land. So working the land will not only benefit you with higher yields, you wont be pointlessly weeding on vacant land. After the early potatoes have been harvested in June/July you could replace them with (green manures) or sow maybe French beans which provide their own nitrogen if PH levels in the soil are low.

Intercropping can be another way to maximise crop production. Its important to observe crop spacing’s between plants, These distances have been calculated to produce the most from a given space. Overcrowding will not produce more crops from the space, but you can share the space between rows of slow growing crops with faster growing crops, that will be ready before shading out. Early carrot & turnip varieties will be ready in 8 – 10 weeks from being sown, allowing time for them to develop before say the broad beans have covered them.  So making the land work has numerous benefits on your allotment plot.

 

Blog By Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)

 

February is often the coldest winter month & what you can do on your allotment in February often depends on the weather. Do not slavishly follow instruction’s to sow or plant outside in February: think of the conditions, cold & wet ground will not germinate seeds it will just kill them off. If the weather allows,  you can direct sow broad beans along with early peas best chance would be to start them in a cold frame and plant outside later. Onion seeds can now be started off indoors or in a heated greenhouse at home, they need to be 15 degrees C to get them going for planting out later. The greenhouse border can be brought into productive use, a row or two of early carrots can come out in eight to ten weeks,  by this time the beds will be needed for tomatoes & so on.

If you didn’t plant your garlic out last November pop them in now, they like a cold spell so frost will not harm them. Conventional advice is to sow parsnips now but you will get much better germination rates in March, they will still be ready by the time the next frost arrives. Hardy lettuce can be started under glass, to provide an early salad crop along with rocket & some radish varieties.

Blog by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)