news - Ashford Allotments

Seed Testers Sought

28/2/2014

Tuckers Seeds are looking for gardeners to help test their new seed varieties in the "real world", under a wide range of conditions. The varieties are shown in the letter from Tuckers below. If you'd like to help test, you'll be given free seeds, and at the end of the season you'll be asked to rate how they've performed.

We'd like to involve as many people as possible, though of course the amount of seed is finite. If you'd like to take part in this exciting new partnership, contact us as soon as possible at [email protected]

Use the scroll bar to read the whole document - there are 3 pages in total. Buttons at the bottom of the box will allow you to blow up the text to a larger, mare readable size.

Minutes of the January committee meeting

23/2/2014

The minutes of the January meeting of the committee of Ashford Allotment Society are now available to read in the "Official Stuff" section. Click here to go to them

RUBBISH and what to do with it.

15/2/2014

After the storm damage, the clear-up. With the current budget constraints, the council does not have the resources to provide skips for allotment sites. Please clear up your debris responsibly; dumping broken glass or other items in peripheral areas of your site is fly tipping and thatboth antisocial and illegal.

Some of the rubbish on your plot may have blown from elsewhere. You will have to make up your mind what counts as something worth keeping, which should be returned to its owner if possible, and what is broken and useless and just needs disposing of.

Stuff that needs to be got rid of should be taken to the KCC dump at Cobbs Wood. To check their facilities and opening times (they are open every day except Christmas Day) click here. The staff are amazingly cheerful and helpful and will usually give a helping hand with tricky items.

Broken greenhouse glass needs to be taken to Cobbs Wood dump; you should not put it in your "green bin"

Useful meeting with the National Allotment Society

12/2/2014

On Thursday 6th Feb, Steve Clements and Paul Neary from the NSALG came to Ashford to meet Penny Winston, Tony Fagg and Gilda Puckett. Geoff Button had planned to come but was unable. It was extremely kind of them to travel so far (Paul Neary from Winchester, Steve Clements from Crystal Palace) to give us their support. Their advice was very helpful and stimulating.

Paul Neary has drawn our attention to the "Local Plan" for Ashford, with details of provision for allotments in new housing estates. You can see it under "New allotments for new housing estates" in the advice and information section, or Click here to see it

Seeking contacts at Wye and Beaver Field sites

10/2/2014

Neither Beaver Field nor Wye sites currently have a rep. This means the Allotment Society has no-one they can contact about these two sites.

Would anyone reading this please contact the publicity manager on [email protected]? We just need someone we can ask the odd question of or, should the need arise, arrange to let one of the committee onto the site. There would be no official duties.

Dangerous greenhouses

10/2/2014

DANGEROUS GREENHOUSES. If you have a glass greenhouse and haven't been to your allotment to check it out since the bad weather, please do pay a visit and make sure it is safe and that there is no broken glass near paths or lying in the grass. The latter is especially important as in this mild weather the grass is still growing and shards lying in the grass will soon become a hidden menace.

Glass from greenhouses cannot be put in your green bin. It should be taken to the household recycling site where it goes in the "soil and hardcore" bin.

On your marks, get set . . . .

9/2/2014

Which of these plots does yours look like, the one on the left, or the one on the right? If you have to admit, "the one on the left", then keep your eye on the weather and, as soon as the levels of rain permit, get down there and tackle it.

Not as hard to clear as you'd think

With hundreds of people on the waiting list, it isn't fair for anyone to sit on a plot and do nothing with it. Inspections will be beginning in March and uncultivated plots like this won't go unnoticed. If you allow your plot to become overgrown you do risk getting a "Non-cultivation notice", which will expect you to get stuck in immediately or lose the plot to someone else. Much better to tackle it at your own pace . . .

Even though a stretch of green weeds and grass looks daunting, it takes less work than you'd think to get it back looking good. All those weeds can be composted and will, in a short time, be improving your soil and making your veg grow better.

Options for tackling a plot like this include weedkiller (the right one, used carefully), weed-proof fabric (high quality stuff is available at a very cheap price from the TRADING STORE - click on the words to go there), or just getting down there and digging the weeds out by hand - not as hard as it sounds and great for the waistline!

Not "seed shed" but Trading Store

5/2/2014

Ashford Allotment Society has been contacting local gardening groups to invite them to join the bulk buying scheme. The more members they have, the better the scheme will operate. However, calling it the "seed shed", as we have got into the habit of doing, has led to a certain confusion. After all, the only time there are any seeds in it is when orders are being collected. "Do they sell other things?" we were asked.

Now anyone who's seen the old sign will know it was originally called the Trading Store, a much better name and one which makes its purpose clear. So, though it may still be affectionately referred to as the "seed shed", all entries on the website from now on will give it the proper, dignified name of Trading Store.

Allotment rules in France!

5/2/2014

Posted on our facebook page (Ashford Allotment Group) : Christine from Henwood found this account from an Englishman living in France. READ IT and consider how lax our council is in comparison!

"Those of us who are urban dwellers often yearn for a garden. I have been on the waiting list for an allotment for a while, and have now got one! Deposit paid today (165 euros) and I will get a bill for the rent (125 euros approx annually). It comes with a shed, a pump and water butt, a perimeter fence and a locked gate. Anyone else have or had an allotment and have any advice for me? Here are the rules:

You may not live in the shed ("la gloriette")
You may not keep animals permanently on site.
You may not park a vehicle on site.

Think that sounds reasonable enough? Not quite cottoned on that he is paying a deposit of about £150 and an annual rent of about £110? Read on!!!

William Road flooding update

5/2/2014

Southern Water have confirmed there is a blocked drain somewhere, and certainly there is a problem with the drainage from the lock-up garages. However, as the whole site is so poorly drained, drainage officer Steve Parish thinks the answer may be to lay a proper land drain to take excess water off the site. Whether this would deal with the problems caused by flash floods is less clear. A ditch to take water from the back of the gardens in Musgrove into the main ditch on the playing field would be a relatively inexpensive and permanent solution.