If you go on line using the above E mail address you can access allotment workshops. One hour sessions on building homes for wildlife, tips on creating a wildlife pond. Also gardening methods for companion planting & wildlife friendly pest control. Working with Leeds City Council & the Yorkshire T.O.A.D project. Those who attend a workshop & complete the simple feedback form will be entered into the draw to win £100 to spend on wildlife gardening products at a local garden centre.
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.
We have a large quantity of plant pots that have been donated by Bernard Lovell to raise money for allotment funds, If you want any come and see me Mark Burton on site, take some plant pots & just give a small donation.
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.
We have for sale at £4.00 each 1 x conference pear, 1 x Braeburn apple 1 x Victoria plum. They have been established for about a year. If you would like to buy one or all three. See Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary – plot 14)
Blog created by Mark Burton -( Allotment Secretary)
These are the seeds that members donated to send to the Lemon Tree Trust. All the seeds are sent to refugee camps so they can grow there own vegetable’s & flowers. Growing at home gives them purpose & hope. All the seeds that will arrive will be greatly received by the refugees. So if you have any spare seeds even part packets that you don’t want, please give them to Lucy Moore on plot 46SB/37N or myself Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary). Big thank you to Lucy & Richard that package up all the seeds to go to the Lemon Tree trust.
Blog by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary) Pictures – Lucy Moore
Grow Organic is a 100% organic fertiliser, it improves soil & breaks clay. I have included some pictures so plot members can read what it can be used for, & what the benefits are. We stock a minimum quantity and the price is £7.00 & would cover 1/2 plot if spread out & dug in. People who use it say it is as good as cow manure without all the hassle of delivery & off course the mess. It can be used for different applications.
All monies taken go towards the up keep of the site.
January usually brings bad weather but hopefully you can still complete those winter jobs that are still on your to do list. Check your stored vegetables , empty your potato sacks to see if any have become rotten, a squeeze will establish if a potato has gone bad. It would be a good idea to check the underside of your strung onions where rot usually starts from. January is not a month for outdoor planting or sowing you can try to grow some summer cauliflowers in a frost free place such as a cold-frame or frost free greenhouse, but obviously sowing in the deep winter months is a gamble.
I wanted to share this with all the members , Steve Johnston’s wife Sally made this picture using embroidery stitching, its an overview of our allotments & what a work of art it is. Sally made this during lockdown. I would like to thank her for the picture frame. I will put it up in the hut building . Its something really different. Thanks Sally
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