Whetstone Stray Allotments Newsletter June 2017
June Newsletter
The May Plant Sale
2017 Plant Sale
The Annual Plant Sale is our kindest tradition, due to the generosity of all those who contribute their time, plants and cakes to make it a success. We are sorry it was too busy to keep a list of everyone who contributed this year, so we will just have to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who did their bit to keep this great Allotment tradition alive.
Special mention to the Community Plot Group who contributed most of the plants; Stephen B for the interesting medicinal herbs he donated, and to all of our wonderful bakers.
There are plates still in the Trading Hut for the bakers to collect, and it would be greatly appreciated if small plant pots could be returned to the Community Plot, so that they can contribute more plants next year!
The Plant Sale raised £181.00 for plants, and £49 for refreshments. We will decide how to use this money at the AGM.
Committee update
The Minutes of the most recent Committee Meeting are in the Members Area of the Website.
Brigid (Secretary) and Les (Rents Officer) will be standing down at the AGM in November. If you are interested to know more about either of these roles, with a view to starting in November, please get in touch to discuss.
Air quality
Andrew Newby has contributed a very interesting article about air quality tests he carried out in Barnet. It’s great to know that the air on our site is clean – another health benefit of being on the allotments. Sadly, the air in the local area is not so good.
The article can be found on our Air Quality in Whetstone page.
Bonfires
Bonfires are NOT allowed at any time during June. We had a complaint from a very nice chap in Ridgeview Road last month, who knew the bonfire rules. We hope he won’t have to complain again.
Are you interested in forming a Vineyard Group?
Les and Georg have given up the vineyard on Holden Road Field, after considerable improvements they made to it. Georg is offering the winemaking kit free of charge to any group, who are keen to take on the challenge of continuing to develop the vineyard and improve the wine.
Gate Key
Some people are having problems with the padlock on the gate. The lock does work but may require some patience. We checked with the locksmith, who said that it would be very difficult to sort this out without causing a lot of inconvenience. If the lock continues to be a struggle, we can change it in October, but meanwhile, please persevere if it doesn’t open first time.
Lost Keys
Please get in touch if you find a bunch of house keys (no keyring).
Found Key
If you have lost a single key, with a broken key ring, it is in the Trading Hut.
Trading Hut Shop
The Shop is open in June on Sundays from 10:30-11:30am. The Price List has been updated to include heavy duty, blue stripe, ground cover at £1.00 per metre (two metre wide).
Tips for June
Tomatoes – feed with diluted liquid tomato feed once a week starting from when the first flowers show (feed is available in the Trading Hut Shop).
Watering : During June you will almost certainly start to water your crops. Watering is one of the hardest gardening tasks to get right, and one of the easiest to do wrong! In all watering tasks, aim for a good soak when needed, rather than a quick blast regardless.
Water the base of the plant not the foliage (which will attract slugs/ could cause sun damage to foliage), use a can with a rose or a very gentle spray on seedlings and young plants.
Weeding : use a hoe on warm, sunny days, or hand pull between rows.
Community Plot
Thank you to Sylvie and David who are regularly watering the Polytunnel and Plot.
The Community Plot is growing wildflowers from seeds provided by Grow Wild, and as part of this project we were visited by Lis Rolls, a Grow Wild mentor. She noted how much better our seeds have done in the pond/ pollinator garden area, where previously there was only nettle and bramble, compared with the area in front of the new fruit trees. She advised us to sow wild flower plug plants, to fill the gaps. If you are interested in growing wild flowers on your allotment, you may want to visit the Grow Wild website for inspiration and advice:https://www.growwilduk.com/ and you are also welcome to visit the Community Plot.
Barnet Seniors
You may be interested in the Barnet Seniors Newsletter, which is available here.
If you would like to receive the BSA Newsletter regularly, please contact Neil at distribution@barnetseniors.org.uk.
Get in touch
Please get in touch with any ideas for the Newsletter. The deadline for the Newsletter is 4 days before the end of the month.
We would also love to hear from anyone who would like to add artwork, information or any other ideas to the Members Contributions area of the Website. Children’s contributions would be especially welcome.