We’re hiring a skip on 23rd July from 9am to 3pm at the Duckmore Lane allotment.

If you have old carpet or weeds cluttering up your allotment then this is the perfect opportunity to get rid.  It’ll hopefully save you a trip to the tip and a messy car.

We’ve raised some funds from the plant sale a couple of weekends ago and Tring Town Council have very kindly offered to pay half (appreciated, thank you).  If you want to make a small donation then that would be good too.

Happy clearing and maybe see you down there!

This is a belated post but something I thought was still worth sharing.  A couple of weekends ago we had the Tring Beaver group visit us at Tring Allotments and was fantastic fun for all involved.

Twenty-five 7-9 year olds,  their leader, Heron and 5 other adults came to learn about the allotments.  I was terrified at the prospect but the experience has left me, my wife Charlotte and our neighbours and fellow plot holders Gary and Rachel with a big smile.  I was also told by Sue Atherton (Heron) that it was one of the best trips the Beavers had done .

We split the Beavers into four groups.  Group 1, the Darwins would explore the allotments being careful to stay on the paths and not touch anything unless they asked.  Group 2 would do some tasting (I gave up some carrots, beetroot, lettuce and peas for this); Group 3 would do some planting (sunflowers in pots) and Group 4 would weed Gary’s plot.  We rotated after 10 minutes so every group would get a chance to do each activity.  It was genuine fun!

I learnt something too: raw beetroot was a fave with kids (who’da thunk it?), child labour is alive and kicking in Tring, albeit disguised as teaching kids about weeding, and kids knew an awful lot about planting stuff already.

For those interested there are some more images here.

The funds are going to put towards hiring a skip at the Duckmore Lane plot on the morning of the 27th July 23rd July.  More info to follow.

The Allotment Association is looking for a new Chairperson as of October 2011 and would welcome any applications up until September.

If you’d like to get involved with the allotment community and are prepared to donate a little of your time to helping us liaise with Tring council then please step forward.

Please contact Rupert Wallis (13, Albert Street, 07909 510 968) or drop us a line via the website.

It’s a great chance to stock up on plants you’ve not had a chance to plant yourself and to find a bargain.

Any donations of plants, flowers or produce to sell would be much appreciated, and all money raised will go towards the Association funds.

Please contact either Mary Lynn Moxon (Kozy Corner, Charles Street, 01442 826 543) or Rupert Wallis (13, Albert Street, 07909 510 968) to make any donations, or bring them along to the stall on the day (the earlier the better).

Squash your toilet roll tubes to make them square rather than round. That way you can fit more into your seed tray and not waste any space. Try putting all the tubes in place and then filling with compost.

Good news!  You can by this book and get 20% off if you quote the promo code TAA when you buy.

I’ve not read it myself, but it sounds interesting:

“This book is perfect for all types of plotholder, from the non-working person who can spend time every day caring for the plot to the busy parent and worker who only has an hour or two at the weekend. All practices and methods covered are organic, and throughout the book there will be advice from seasoned plotholders and various examples of 3-year cycles. This really is the definitive guide to running a successful and productive allotment.”

If you’re interested then check it out on the publishers website and remember to enter TAA as the promotional code to get 20% (£4.00) off.

Last night several allotments were vandalised.  If you have any information then please call the Police on 0845 330022

Speaking to people at the allotment today I know several (top, middle & bottom) plots have been ripped apart and tools strewn everywhere.  On our own allotment garlic and onions were pulled up and thrown about the place, our cold frame was thrown on top of our brassica cage which smashed both.

It’s very sad. If you have any info then please speak up and call the police.

UPDATE: The council have informed Rupert, the Association Chairman, that they will be patrolling the area and are keeping an eye out.  Good news.

UPDATE 2:  We’ve had the following message from Thomas Montgomery our local Police Community Support Officer: “Residents and visitors to the area are asked to contact the Tring Neighbourhood Team on 0845 33 00 222 should they have noticed anything suspicious over that weekend, quoting reference D3/11/181, alternatively you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

My name is Jamie Arnold and me and my wife Charlotte are the new keepers of plot 85a at Duckmore Lane.  I volunteered to give the website a refresh.

I wanted to make it  a little more about the community so you’re views and active involvement are encouraged. Every news story published on the site will allow you to comment and contribute so feel free to add your own thoughts – but no dissing my potatoes.

We’re trying out something new called Ask Ken which I hope will be a bit of fun. Ken Seabrook has been at the allotment for thirty years and is a neighbour of mine. He spends a lot of time up at the allotment so I asked him whether he’d be willing to answer questions from you lot on all matters organic. The deal is, you ask the questions and I’ll knock on his door and do a short video with the answer and post it on here. If you see a Ronnie Corbett look-a-likee roaming with the allotment filming people it’s me.

For those of you on Facebook then there is a page over there so go and add us to your feed. We’ll post all the latest news and any events or socials and please, please upload any photos or post any advice.  For those hipsters amongst you, we’ve started a Twitter feed too. Twitter will allow you to follow the latest happenings without needing to give away your inside leg measurement.

If you fancy posting something on the site (it’s dead easy! if you can use Word you can use this site), or want to share your growing diary then get in touch via email.  It’d be good to have other people add stuff.