Posts

Featured

Criteria for Inspection of Plots

In view of the waiting list for allotments it is clearly necessary to have a means of ensuring that they are used for their intended purpose, and that they are maintained in a fit state to be handed on to someone else. A neglected plot also spreads weeds around and makes life more difficult for other plotholders. To this end the committee inspects plots twice a year.

The main criterion is that, by the time of the first inspection (wb 15th May this year), 75% of the area should be under cultivation, with weeds, particularly perennials, adequately controlled. This includes areas with perennial flowers or soft fruit bushes.

Internal paths (1m wide or less) should also be well maintained. Areas used for compost bins, storage or other amenity are not counted unless they constitute 25% of the total area let, in which case 100% of the rest must be cultivated. Plot edges should also be maintained (paths usable and area of plot preserved).

Plots will be re-inspected in September this year, by which time we expect to see evidence of crops growing or recently harvested in the area under consideration.

New plotholders having joined during the last year will have plots inspected, but not be expected to meet all the criteria.

Happy Gardening

Minutes 5 June 2023

Present: Kathy Bramble (chair), Jane Henderson (secretary), Karen Robinson (treasurer), Briony Doubleday

Apologies: David Helliwell, David Custeron, Tony Cox

  1. Previous minutes accepted.
  2. Matters arising
  3. TC report on Glyphosate circulated, some minor changes suggested, TC will edit then it should be put on website and circulated to members.
  4. Welcome letter and rules circulated. Some minor edits needed but then put on website and circulate.
  5. Update of website – BD and KR working on it.
  6. Boot scraper – BD has an old one that can be donated.
  7. Crushed stones/gravel by gate – in discussion.
  8. Environment Agency access to end of Dean’s Ham agreed but need permanent fence from outset rather than a temporary one.
  9. Extension to water supply – tested on Dean’s Ham using flexible hose. Suggested to locate by Joy Wilson’s plot rather than on main path as trailer bikes will have difficulty passing. Suggested that a small number of people to refill troughs (Marcel, Harm-Jan and DH??) Also that Marcel show the above how to reset electrics in the event of failure.
  10. Communal composting – Need clear instructions especially pictures of perennial weeds that should not be put in. BD to print pics, KB to laminate. Compost education day: KB to talk to Jean K, Tim T, Michael W and/or BD to arrange session and date.
  11. Summer event 15th or 16th July – Agreed BBQ. Sat or Sun to be determined based on 2 week forecast. JH will email members for loan of BBQ otherwise buy disposable one. KB to ask musicians. JH and KB to organise event.
  12. Plot inspections have taken place. Various people have been spoken to and/or sent letters. Sept final deadline for action.
  13. Working party 9th July – KB suggested that people might be willing to help clear neglected plots that are being passed on to new allottees.
  14. Co-tilling – Clarification sought regarding whether co-tillers get preferential treatment on waiting list.  DH to be asked.

Spragglesea Mead and Deans Ham Summer Produce Show 2023

Following discussion at the AGM, a pilot produce show will be run alongside the Summer BBQ. Entry is free and there will be prizes and glory up for grabs. It will be held at the Summer BBQ Saturday 15th/Sunday 16th July (weather dependent).

Please cast your eye over the list of classes when planning your planting, we hope there is a suitable class for everyone.
Details of sign up and precise class descriptions to follow….
Urgent note: seed potatoes for Class 1 are available on the table by the allotment gate with a sign up sheet. Please help yourself asap to get ahead with your planting, (sorry this is rather late). Please include your name and plot number on the sheet in the box, (multiple entries allowed per plot but only one per person)

  1. Potato weigh in/count (dig up on day) – see above
  2. A salad dish – three distinct salad vegetables in groups of three
  3. Three perfect vegetables or fruits on a plate eg peas, beans, beetroot etc
    (multiple entries encouraged, this could evolve into several categories if popular)
  4. A vase of a single flower variety containing between three and seven stems
  5. An arrangement of three to five different varieties of flowers or herbs
  6. A bowl of fruit, three perfect specimens of three different fruits
  7. Tallest/widest sunflower (measure in situ)
  8. Longest vegetable – (any variety, in situ or harvested)
  9. Cake with an allotment connection (preferably to be eaten at event)
    10.Best allotment photograph
  10. A vehicle made out of plant material
    12.And finally due to popular demand a (wittily titled) comedy vegetable

Allotment Newsletter, December 2020

Welcome to the December newsletter! Winter is here, but there is always plenty to be done on our plots: clearing and digging in preparation for the coming season; sowing broad beans and other crops that can be started at this time of year; and harvesting winter produce such as sprouts, kale and parsnips.

Faith, Hope and Charity are the names chosen by Marcel Kruip for the three solar pumping systems he has designed and installed. We are enormously grateful to him and to Peter Thonemann who has most skilfully engraved these names on slate slabs (see photo, with Marcel by Hope). When weather and Covid permit larger gatherings, we shall plan a christening ceremony to express our thanks to all involved in the project.

Marcel Kruip manning the pumps


Wood available – as logs to take home for the fire, to anyone prepared to cut them up. The remains of the ash trees felled from the fence are stacked by the Temple of Mars (the shed near the entrance). This wood is available to plot- holders at a price of £5 per barrow-load. If you are interested please let me know before taking wood.

The remains of the horse chestnut in the far left (west) corner of Spragglesea Mead need more work. There is plenty of useable wood to cut up, but also the other remains of the tree to clear. Anyone willing to help with this task will be given wood free to take away.

Rubbish! Our thanks to those who helped clear bags of rubbish during the summer. There is more left near the entrance, including some items too large to bag up. If anyone has an estate car or other vehicle suitable for taking these to Redbridge we will be extremely grateful: please get in touch and I will help. Otherwise my plan to is to hire a man with a van to remove all the remaining rubbish.

AGM: 17 March 2021 at 7.30? Our constitution requires us to hold an Annual General Meeting in March. As we will have some important matters to decide we intend to have one in 2021, although at the moment it is quite unclear what form it will take. I envisage some combination of a face-to-face meeting for the number of people allowed (and willing to take part) at that time, an online link by Zoom, and email circulation of papers in advance, with the option for postal voting. I would be happy to have advice from anyone with recent experience of organising meetings of this kind.

Potato Fair Cancellation: See the information below from the Oxford and District Federation of Allotment Associations (ODFAA):

Sadly, due to the ongoing circumstances surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, Pennard Plants have taken the decision that they will not be hosting any Potato Fairs in 2021. However, they are offering a Virtual Online Potato Period, which will be administered through the Pennard Plants online web site https://www.pennardplants.com and are offering a 15% blanket online discount off the price of most items that were available during the past years Potato Days, obviously depending on availability. Discounts will be valid from 1 November 2020 until the 31 March 2021, and carried out online with a discount code [oxford77k] that is entered in the ‘Shopping Cart’ page when ordering. (Postage & Packing and Gift Vouchers, plus a few odd things are not discounted). You can use the code as many times as needed during this period. A decent alternative, which some may know of, is Charlton Garden Centre in Wantage (if you prefer to collect) – their published 2021 list can be found here:
https://www.charltongardencompany.co.uk/default.aspx

Finally I would like to wish the Season’s Greetings to all plot-holders and their families. Have a merry (but safe!) Christmas and a New Year full of hope for easier times and successful cultivation in 2021.

Tony Cox
11 December 2020

Spragglesea Mead and Dean’s Ham Allotment Association – Autumn 2020 Newsletter

Welcome to our latest news. In spite of the strange times we live in, most plot holders have had a successful summer growing season. See below for a suggestion on how to keep your plot productive over the winter!


Website. Thanks to Karen Robinson – who earlier this year set up our Facebook page – we now have a new website: https://spragglesea.org.uk . Karen will welcome contributions such as photos, growing ideas, recipes, etc. The website has contact details for Karen and the other committee members.


Solar water pumping. Solar pumps are now operating at all three sets of water tanks. Our thanks are due to Kathy Bramble, who conceived this project and wrote the grant application to fund it, and to Marcel Kruip who designed and installed the systems. Marcel is not a plot holder himself, but is the husband of Georgina Howse (Dean’s Ham 11c). We are very grateful for the all work he has put in, which will save us having to lug around the heavy petrol pump and to contaminate the site with its noise and its fumes.


Covid-19. As I write, the virus is on the increase. Please continue to wear gloves for handling the gate and any communal equipment, and observe social distancing rules while on the site. For latest government advice, see: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus .


Bonfires. The City Council ban on bonfires has ended. If you are burning material on your own plot, please observe normal guidelines, minimise smoke and avoid days when the wind is blowing in the direction of nearby housing. Anyone planning a bonfire on the communal site (next to the picnic site on Dean’s Ham) is asked to contact our secretary Jane Henderson (jane.henderson@ndph.ox.ac.uk) a couple of days in advance so that plot-holders can be alerted, and have time to bring material for burning. Please do not pile anything on the bonfire site at other times, and make sure that what you bring is suitable, e.g. not green material that will produce a lot of smoke. Some things are better composted and the communal composting areas are still under review. In addition, it may better to stack large pieces of waste wood in an out-of-the-way corner rather than burn them.


Dogs on lead! In spite of the notice on the gate there are still complaints about dogs not on leads, and – most disgustingly – dog poo on paths. There have been suggestions that dogs should be banned from the site, a step that I would be most reluctant to take – so dog owners, please obey the rules about leads, and pick up any mess!


Deadly netting. Our site is home to many small creatures including amphibians and grass snakes (which do not bite and are quite harmless) as well as birds. Sadly, they are prone to getting caught in the netting which many of us use to keep birds off our crops. Please be careful to use appropriate netting close to the ground. For advice, see for example: https://www.countryliving.com/uk/homes-interiors/gardens/a28515005/garden-netting-animal-death/

Tree felling. The Committee has agreed to the removal of some unwanted trees on the site: the ashes in the fence to the left of the main gate, one of which is causing some damage to the fence; and the diseased horse chestnut near plot 9 in Spragglesea Mead (close to the boundary between the two sites). This work is planned for 5 October 2020, when Bowards tree surgeons will be on the site.


In praise of garlic. If you want to keep your plot in cultivation over the winter, here are some suggestions: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=707 Macintosh HD:Users:tonycox:Desktop:tony's own garlic.jpg

My own favourite is garlic. When I was young it was regarded as a nasty foreign substance which made people’s breath smell. I doubt if I ever tasted garlic before my first visit to France aged 18. Since then I can’t get too much of it, and I was pleased to find that it is one of the easiest crops to grow.


Split a garlic head into cloves and plant them 3 – 4 cm (1 – 2 in) deep, 15 – 20 cm (6 – 8 in) apart. October is the best time, so that they start growing before flooding is likely, and because they benefit from some cold weather. Opinions differ on varieties, but I have had good success with organic French or Spanish garlic from a supermarket. Once you have a regular crop growing, just keep some back to plant next year. It needs very little attention apart from occasional weeding. Last year my garlic was flooded five times and was hardly ever watered in the dry weather that followed. Harvest in June, when the tops died back.


Recipe for instant aioli. Mix crushed garlic with Hellmans or other mayonnaise. Delicious with fishcakes!

Tony Cox
28 September 2020

Recipes

Courgette Fritter

1 cup Grate courgette and squeeze out the water

Add in some sweet corn, bacon, cheese and anything else you like the taste

1 egg

t flour 

Mix together and fry with a knob of butte or a little oil

Courgette and cheese loaf

75g butter

200g courgettes, grated

225g SR flour

1 tspn cayenne pepper

1 tspn mustard

125g mature cheddar, grated

3 large eggs, beaten

4 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 180C/160Cfan/Gas 4.

Line 2lb loaf tin with baking paper.

Melt butter and leave to cool.

Sift flour, cayenne into bowl, stir in cheese.

Add eggs, milk, butter, mustard, courgettes.

Mix thoroughly and but in loaf tin. Bake 45-50 mins

Courgette, cashew and coconut subji

50g cashews, chopped

4 tbspns desiccated coconut

2 tblspn oil

1 tspn mustard seeds

8 curry leaves

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

200g tinned tomatoes

1-2 tspns chilli powder

1-2 tspn ground cumin

1 small tin (326g) sweetcorn, drained

850g courgettes cut into 2cm dice

Put cashews and coconut in bowl and add 5 tblsps of boiling water, leave to sit.

Fry mustard seeds, curry leaves, onion until soft then add garlic. Fry for a couple more minutes, then add tomatoes. Continue to cook for another 6-8 mins then add spices, sweetcorn and courgettes. Cook until tender then add cashew/coconut mixture. Cook until hot.

Keralan runner bean curry

1 onion, chopped

2 chillies, chopped

Small thumb ginger, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Oil

1 tspn turmeric

2 tspn cumin seeds

1 tspn coriander seeds, bashed in a mortar

1 400ml tin coconut milk

50g desiccated coconut soaked in cold water for 20 mins

400g potatoes chopped into bite size pieces

400g runner beans sliced

1 tbspn mustard seeds

1 handful curry leaves

Fry onion, chillies, ginger and garlic for a few mins then add spices and cook for a few more mins. Add coconut milk, desiccated coconut and potatoes, simmer for 15 mins until cooked. Add runner beans cook until tender. Meanwhile, fry mustard seeds and curry leaves until seeds pop.