As well as the newsletter this blog will be used to keep you up to date with what's happening on the plots. You can use the RSS feed button or just visit this page regularly for updates.
Let us know if you have anything you want to put on the blog.
Some of you may have read about the council's decision to change allotment leases in the Lancaster Guardian, but the following email from the chair of ALMA (The Association of Lancaster & Morecambe Allotments) reports some significant changes in our relationship with the council in the future...and for once we think this is good news!
"Dear All
Lancaster City Council’s Cabinet met at Lancaster Town Hall on Tuesday 6th October 2009, Item 6 on the agenda was the future arrangements for all Lancaster City Council allotment sites.
Councillor Emily Heath put forward the proposal of the Allotment Task Group that sites should pay a peppercorn rent and retain the difference in rent for running costs/maintenance and improvements to the allotment sites. Also that a sum of £20,000 per annum, over 5 years, be spent on bringing allotment infrastructure up to a better standard.
I am very pleased to tell you that this proposal was passed unanimously by the Cabinet and various members praised the past work of Allotment Committees and plotholders.
Further to this, it was agreed that, in addition a new lease, each site would be asked to enter into a Service Level Agreement with Lancaster City Council. Details will be provided later.
Although the Cabinet’s decision has to be ratified by the full Council at their next meeting (March 2010 budget meeting), I am assured that this will happen and I was informed that the new leases have already been drawn up.
This means that we have obtained all that we asked for.
May I take this opportunity to thank the Allotment Task Group for all their efforts over the past 5 years. Special thanks to Emily Heath, Richard Tulej, Jill Wesolowski and John Lambert.
Congratulations to all concerned.
Tom Jones
Chair
ALMA"
A big thank you to all who organised, volunteered, donated and bought stuff at our first surplus sale. It raised a massive £360! Which when added to the profit from the stall at Funday means we have raised just over £600 pounds from those 2 events alone.
A photo of the opening got into the Lancaster Guardian with a small article which helped to provide some publicity for organisations that gave us the funds to complete the extension. However, somehow from my notes to the press release to the final article two of our funders got left out...both the Galbraith Trust and The Lancaster City Council Allotment fund also contributed significantly as well as those mentioned in the article.
The surplus sale was so successful we think it may become an annual event, we'd welcome suggestions for improvements and additions.
As you all know we're holding a fundraising day on Saturday 29 August 2009, we hope you'll all join in with this by donating and turning up on the day.
The day is also going to be the official press opening of the new allotment extension and we would like to invite as many of you as can to come and join in the photo shoot. This will generate some press coverage for the generosity of our funders.
All members and families are welcome.
We're planning to 'cut the ribbon' or 'dig the first sod' at around 11.30 so please get there for that time. Down at the Sunnyside gate end.
One of our members has passed the following on to me. The links take you to an article about the problem and to the Downing Street petition that you may be interested in adding your names to.
Dear Fellow Allotment Holders
You are probably aware of the withdrawal of the herbicide aminopyralid in July last year after a national outcry about the damage caused by manure contaminated with it.
Dow Agrochemicals have quietly applied for it to be reinstated and this seems likely to be granted by Govt unless protests from influential groups and individuals can prevent it. I have put a petition on the No 10 website http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/aminopyralidban/
and ask as many as possible of your members and their contacts to sign it. For those who are unfamiliar with the problem, full details of the story which started in early 2008 can be found at http://www.glallotments.btik.com/p_Contaminated_Manure.ikml
Thank you in advance
John Shobbrook
Chair, Black Horse Allotments Association, Wednesbury,
How can I use green manures?
Is this a virus?
Where do I get free........?
I need a shed!
Where can I find seed for lemon flavoured carrots?
All these questions and more could be asked and sometimes answered, if we had a Fairfield Allotment Forum...
So...
Since the launch, and re-launch, of the allotment website we have been asked on a number of occasions if it would be possible to have a section where members can ask questions, have discussions, share materials / equipment / seeds, ask for help, recommend varieties / suppliers / books / websites etc.
A (private) forum has been added to the website for members, the waiting list and guests. Although the forum has been set up as private anyone that joins should still be conscious of their own & others web privacy when choosing user names and posting comments.
To join - go to the forum page ( http://www.fairfield-allotments.co.uk/forum.html ) and register. You’ll need an email address (which remains invisible to other users) and to choose a user name which others will see. Most users of discussion forums use a ‘nickname’ rather than real names, but that’s up to you. As this is a private forum your ‘application’ to join will need to be approved, so the email you want to use must be the one we already have. If we don’t recognise your email address then we can't approve your application. If we don't have your email address then get in touch using the contact sections of this website.
You should be able when you have registered to add new posts of your own, respond to other’s posts as part of an open discussion or send responses directly to individuals messages.
Over two thirds of the association receive the newsletter by email so that means we have around 70 members who may join the discussion group; far more than you bump into on an average day at the allotment!
Don’t worry if you’re not used to this sort of discussion forum, it’s probably new to most of us. Add new topics, reply to topics, ask questions...we’ll see what works, and what doesn’t and change what we can can to suit demand.
For those that are used to using this kind of forum, your help would be great in getting it started. Add and respond to topics, offer suggestions to get us novices contributing.
We look forward to receiving your registration requests and please, please, please... if it’s not working...or you want something changing...or you have suggestions...they are always welcome...
Lancaster City Council have asked us to advertise the following...
THE BIG HEAP
Head to the Williamson Park car park on Wednesday 12 August from 10am onwards and help yourself to two FREE bags of compost made from Lancashire’s garden waste. Just bring some bags and a spade and get digging. You’ll have to be there quick though, because once it’s gone, it’s gone!
Why not bring along the kids and let them have a chance at planting their own mini wild garden or vegetable patch in our potting tent?
Click here for the full poster...please display it where you can
We've asked the council how allotment associations can get access to compost like this in bulk. Should we get a discount? Should we get it free?
What do you think...register for the forum and we can pass the message on!
Annual Awards at Fairfield Allotments
Judges
The judges invited to inspect the allotments to decide on the annual awards were garden designer Jennifer Lauruol, Director of Carpe Diem Gardens, Ltd; and John Galagher, Head Gardener at Yealand Manor.
|
Award Category (main site) |
Plot Number |
|
Best All-round Garden (productivity, biodiversity, beauty) |
Plot 4 |
|
Most Productive Garden |
Plot 13 |
|
‘John Innes’ Compost Award (variety, quality, management) |
Plot 14 |
|
Efficiency, Maintenance & Tool Shed Storage Award |
Plot 43A |
|
Water Management & Use of Recycled Materials |
Plot 28B |
|
Most Beautiful and Colourful |
Plot 23B/24A |
|
Best Brassica Bed and Longest Season of Nectar for Bees |
Plot 16B |
|
Award Category (new site) |
|
|
Best New Plot (evidence of long-term design, plan, use of recycled materials and sustainability (no black plastic!) |
Plot 60A |
|
Soil Management (use of green manures) |
Plot 66B |
|
Jump-Right-In Enthusiasm Award |
Plot 62AI |
A few times over the last couple of months allotment members have reported tyre tracks on their plots.
It is still difficult to get vehicles on and off the site easily without either getting stuck or causing damage to tracks and plots (particularly on the corners). We would urge people to only take cars / vans / trailers onto the plot if you are confident that they can get 'round the corners. As the wet weather continues this is especially important as the track gets waterlogged and becomes unstable.
If it is possible to not take vehicles on the plot and move stuff by hand, then please do - only accessing the plot by car when absolutely unavoidable.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to Funday this year making it the most profitable one yet. Jean and team raised over £260 for the allotment funds which will go toward improvements, maintenance and our water bills (not that we should have used that much this year!).
Most of you will have seen or received information about our next fundraising event...
On
Saturday 29 August 2009, the Fairfield
Allotments are having a sale of surplus garden produce. The sale would start at
11am, and would take place just inside the allotment gates near the white
farmhouse.
Nearer
the time, there will be posters advertising the event but, in the meantime,
please put the date in your diary.
·
Fruit and
vegetables
·
Cut flowers
·
Herbs and
other potted plants
·
Jams and
chutneys (get making!)
·
A giant marrow
or pumpkin for a “Guess the weight” competition
·
Folding tables
·
Gazebos
·
And, of
course, your time. We will need
volunteers to pick, price and sell on the day.
It
is hoped that a sale of late summer produce will build on the success of the stall
at the Fun Day, when a very useful £260 was raised for Fairfield Allotment
funds.
If you want to get involved email the association and we'll pass information on to the organisers.
The summer newsletter is now on the website and includes details of how you can contribute to the allotment stall on Fairfield Funday (4th July).
Please help support the allotment funds by donating lots to the stall and buying lots from it!
If you're reading this you've already found the updated website. Comments and ideas would be welcome.
We are particularly interested in starting an allotment 'archive'. Have you got a collection of your old membership cards? What about photos of the plots 10, 20 or 30 years ago? It doesn't have to be much. If you have please get in touch with John so he can scan them and then return your originals.
The new gates have been installed at Sibsey Street, so access should be much easier.
Over the next couple of weeks the reinforcement to the tracks will be laid on the extension and the plots will finally be let to new members; 26 in all!
Just a reminder that the new track should not be driven on until the end of June and it may well be very slippery underfoot so please take great care.
Those of you that have been down to the plots over Easter will know that the extension is well underway. There will be 11 new plots in total, which will be subdivided into halves and quarters allowing us to offer plots to 26 new members. The new paths cannot be driven on for at least a month and care should be taken when walking on the new track reinforcement. There is more info on the extension page and in the photos area.
