Blog

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This will be our Committee for Old Lane Allotments Association 2020/21 growing season.

Mick Hogan (Chairman) Mark Burton (Secretary) Steve Johnston (Treasurer)

Reg Brook , Tony Paine , Peter Armitage, Martin Kennard, Kathryn Thornton,

Nick Thyer

Blog created by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)

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Thank You

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St Anthony’s Drive has now become a pedestrian & cycle zone. What does that mean for us as plot members that want to access are main gate ?  Between the times above Monday to Friday 8.00 AM – 9.50 AM & 2.10 PM – 4.00 PM you will not be able to park on St Anthony’s Drive outside of the main gates. However you can access St Anthonys Drive at these times but you would have to bring your vehicle on the allotments & use the site car parks. This is a trial by Leeds City Council that will run for at least 18 months & could be made permanent. I have received this information & been told its to stop traffic congestion outside the school, stop unwanted pollution near the school, make the school safer to access for parents & children.

Blog by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)

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Mick Hogan our Chairman has had another bumper year when harvesting his carrotts. He does really well with the sweet candle variety from (Kings seeds) Using his sand & compost method

Blog & photo (Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)

Whatever the weather brings in September the season definitely begins to wind down. The bulk of the harvest starts to come home now & gaps start to appear on your allotment plot.  You can still sow winter hardy spring onions, & also plant Japanese winter onion sets for harvesting from June next year. This is the last chance to sow spinach & winter lettuce, a few last minute radishes may give you a final crop until the end of the year. Now is the time to plant new strawberry plants, either those you have bought or propagated from runners. You can also transplant Spring cabbages for harvesting next year. You still need to keep those weeds down with the hoe before they get established. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, will need continuous feeding, & should be ready for picking.

The second early potatoes should have been lifted by now, if all the stalks have died off then there is no food been supplied to the tubers, so they wont grow anymore. Your main crop carrots should be ready for pulling some time this month. Sweet corn should also be ready to make sure it is remove some outer leaves & put your finger nail into the kernel if its milky they are ready. Pumpkins should also be ready cut the stalks a few centimeters from the fruit & leave in the sun to continuing hardening off.

Blog By Mark Burton (Site Secretary)

Fine wine by Nick Oldridge

Nick Oldridge on plot 28 part of the Depuy Synthes group made his own wine from rhubarb harvested on the plot. He made his own allotment labels for the bottles which I think you’ll agree they look great. Well done to Nick & for sharing the pictures with us .

Blog created by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)

Photos sent in by Nick Oldridge

Harvest time

Marie/Jim Darlow wanted to say “Harvest time is upon us & Autumn is just around the corner.  What a year it has been lockdown has brought mixed emotions,  but thankful for our little plot of land”

 

Picture & Words – Marie Darlow – Blog created by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)

 

Seed Appeal

Dear Gardeners

If you have any seeds you know longer want full packets or part packets The Lemon Tree Trust want our help. They send the unwanted seeds to support families living in refugee & IDP camps during the Covid – 19 crisis. Growing food & flowers at home gives people hope, & seeds are in short supply. Lucy Moore approached me on plot 37N & explained to me about the seed appeal. I thought what a fantastic idea we as gardeners usually always have unwanted seeds,  & to send them to other countries for them to grow there own vegetables & flowers it occurred to me that our site would want to help. There is a poster on both entrance gates, if you have any seeds you want to donate please give them to Mark Burton or Lucy/Richard on plot 37 N.

Information supplied by Lucy Moore– Blog created by Mark Burton

Pumpkins on Roy Deacon & Sandra Deacons plot 55 & 59.

 

(Blog & photos by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)

We have purchased 2 x sets of garden shears with extendable handles for trimming the grass  round the sides of your plot. We will loan them out to plot members on request all you need to do is ask a member of the committee. Pathways between plots are the responsibility of plot holders & part of allotment gardening, it is also written in our constitution of rules as part of plot maintenance.

Blog Created by Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary) For & On behalf of Old Lane Allotments Association