Free muck

The Allotment Association has organised for some community manure to be distributed in four spots around the Duckmore Lane allotments.

It’s been funded from the Association’s war chest so please help yourself.

Happy growing!

The skip man commeth

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!

Tring Beavers visit the allotment – and love it!

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.

Plant sale provides fund for skip hire

A couple of weekends ago the Tring Allotment Association held its annual plant sale in the High Street.  Thanks to the hard work of Rupert and Mary-Lynn,  and generous contributions from some of you we were able to raise £120.

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.

WANTED: New chairperson

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.

Plant sale

The Allotment Association is holding its annual plan sale on the High Street in Tring on 25th June.

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).

Tip of the day 2

Rather than using the whole toilet roll as mentioned in TOTD1, cut it in half and make 2 pots from one toilet roll tube.

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.

Tip of the day 1

Save all those cardboard toilet roll tubes. They make excellent plant pots. Just pop them in your seed tray, fill with compost, pop in a seed or two, water and wait. When your plant is bigger you can plant the whole tube in the soil as it will biodegrade.

Allotment Source Book – 20% off with TAA

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.

Bloody vandals

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.”