summer 2010 dig it newsletter

8/9/2019 Summer 2010 Dig It Newsletter

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water is plentiful and we can grow and harvest much of our own fruitand vegetables in fertile soil, relatively easily.

As you already know, BAC will feature in two Britain in Bloom

competitions, and the judging will take place on Tuesday 20th

July &Monday 26th July 2010. I know you will do your best to ensure thatour plots look wonderful before the judges arrive, and if you cancome along to any of the forthcoming working parties, that would bemuch appreciated.

And finally, we shall be having our Summer BBQ bash on Sunday 1stAugust. Please make a note in your diaries.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

John Hazzard(BAC Chairman)

Welcome to new plotholders

We have welcomed several new BAC members to the allotmentsthis year and hope that they all enjoy their time as members of the

allotment community. If new members have any queries please feelfree to ask a committee member. Lots of information is available inHut 2, which is the information centre for BAC, on the notice boardand on the BAC website, but for gardening queries the best sourceof answers is your fellow allotmenteers. Just ask!

Visit by Shropshire Organic GardenersWe are privileged to have been asked by the Shropshire OrganicGardeners group to be the venue for their July Garden Visit. On the

afternoon of Sunday 25th

July they will come for a tour of the site andthen for a wander around on their own and to talk to membersworking on their plots. They want to see a good allotment site inaction - we can certainly provide that!

Natural England Big Wildlife Garden

In the first week of May I informed Natural England of what wasbeing achieved on the BAC site both on the plots and in the Green

Spaces. Our original assessment in 2009 resulted in us beingawarded a Bronze Award but this recent assessment gave us a


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Silver Award. Look in Hut 2 to see the certificate. I think we shouldall pat ourselves on the back!

The Natural England Big Gardens website is the featured site for

this newsletter. Just type inwww.bwg.naturalengland.org/and youwill find so much of interest and if you want you can ask to receivetheir monthly e-mail newsletter.

BAC WebsiteDont forget to keep an eye on the BAC website,www.bowbrookallotments.co.uk where you will find all you need toknow about the allotment site.

Here you can find the site rules, look at some photos of the site, findout what birds have been spotted around the allotments eachmonth, and find out about aspects of the Green Spaces initiatives.

Competitions

Scarecrow Competition - We would like as many scarecrows aspossible to appear on the plots by BAC BBQ Day, on 1st August.Plotholders can then enjoy a wander around the site to see their

fellow allotmenteers attempts. We shall have awards for the bestscarecrows, one for children of school age and one for children up to100yrs of age. Please build your scarecrow during July and labelhim/her clearly with the names and ages of participants.

Veggie Competitions. Please encourage children to sow/plantsunflowers, pumpkins/squashes and marrows plus any root veggiesready for veggie competitions in the autumn. The dates

judging/weighing will be dependent on the weather - keep an eyeout for e-mails and notices on the information boards. There will beawards for primary aged children and secondary aged children.Categories will be the tallest sunflower, heaviest pumpkin/squash,heaviest marrow and ugliest and funniest root veggie. Adults areencouraged to take part just for fun and hopefully we can put on acheerful display in the autumn.
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Worth a Visit - Attingham Park Walled Garden

Owned by the National Trust and set in the grounds of AttinghamHall, the walled garden has undergone major development in the

last few years and is still changing. It is an easy 4 miles drive fromShrewsbury.

You can take a 500 metres stroll through beautiful woodland on aflat chipped bark path or on a hard surfaced path running almostalongside it. Thus those with mobility problems will find it easy to getto. If you are feeling energetic you can take the Mile Walk or if youare feeling even more energetic there is a longer circular walkthrough the deer park and woodlands passing the walled garden

just before returning to the car park, tearoom and second handbookshop. The deer often allow a close view as they graze underthe trees of the parkland. (a map of walks available at the entranceis most helpful)

Access the walled garden through the bothy and you are greeted byan inner walled area with glasshouses and some small bedsbeautifully edged with woven willow. The glasshouses have beenauthentically restored.


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The view from the bothy door.

This small garden area does not prepare you for the surpriseawaiting you as you access the main walled garden through a gatein the far corner. This large area is divided into 4 distinct bedsdepicting Georgian, Victorian, 20th Century and 21st Century stylesof productive gardening as well as a pig enclosure, a bed forperennial veg and other features to discover. There are helpful signs

throughout.


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Another doorway from the small walled area leads to the orchard.This is a place with such atmosphere with the sound of bees, hensand birds feeding off insects amongst the fruit trees. Walks cut intothe longer grass meander through wild grasses and wildflowers and

take you past the henhouse, the beehives, the insect hotel andcarved wood sculptures. Here there are also conveniently placedpicnic benches. The walled garden also features an imaginativeplay areas for the children with items based on gardening artifactsand buildings.

So make sure you do not miss out on a visit to this wonderfulexample of a restored walled garden which is so close to home andhas so much to offer. and of course there is Attingham Hall itself!


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We met some weird characters while we were there ..

Me and My Plot - From the Naughty Corner!

Easter 2010 has arrived, and we have now had an allotment for 10

months. We are hoping for a year of success with our produce, withadvice from experienced gardeners here at BAC. We planted our


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for casseroles anyway! I must write down what I order next year.

We have friends and family who visit us on Plot 62, so we send themon a tour of the BAC site and they are truly amazed at what has

been achieved. So we should all be proud to belong to the BAC site.

The Trading Post is impossible to pass by without looking to seewhat is there. My pumpkins failed but low and behold I found a veryhealthy plant there. So a big thank you to whoever left it there - itsdoing very well.

Well, may we wish everyone good luck in their harvest this year. It ismaybe time for us to ditch the L plates now. Hopefully! We willnever forget all the kindly advice given and we wont stop asking.

PS We have just discovered that bumble bees are nesting in ourcompost heap. What a privilege!

(Doreen and Philip, Plot 62, aka The Naughty Corner)

I couldnt do without ..

I simply couldnt do without my Haws watering can, which I havenow been using for over a decade.

My model is made of plastic coloured British Racing Green to a

really old established design. The originals were made of


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galvanised steel and first manufactured in 1886. The design isalmost unchanged but there has been a size reduction. Theprofessional gardeners of the late 19th Century and early 20th had tobe so strong to carry out their duties so could manage a 3 gallon can

but later the company reduced this to 2 gallons as they believed thatmen had got weaker. The can was designed by John Haws who in1885 obtained a patent to improve the design of watering cans, thencalled waterpots. Haws was determined to improve on these Frenchwaterpots. The patent stated that

This new invention forms a watering pot that is much easier tocarry and tip, and at the same time being much cleaner, and moreadapted for use than any other put before the public.

Johns son, Arthur improved the design further when he added anoval rose with fine holes in a brass plate which meant that a finespray could be achieved so even the smallest of seedlings could bewatered. This can be seen on the above photo of my can.

The Haws watering cans are still made in the Midlands and althoughmost are now plastic the galvanised models are still available. Manygardeners of today still reckon that this is the most beautiful andeffective design of watering can ever. I have to agree!Composting Potato PlantsI have been asked if it is safe to put potato plants on the compost

heap after harvesting. The answer is that it is perfectly safe to do soas long as your plants are not suffering from the dreaded blight. In


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fact they are a useful component as they are lush, providingmoisture and nitrogen.

Look out in the near future for an article on our website about

composting in general, which I am part way through composing.Also we shall soon be creating a composting display area on thesite.

Companion PlantingI have been asked to write an article about companion planting buttime and space has meant putting this on hold until the next Dig It!.For now look at the Gardening with Wildlife Gardening forWildlife article on the website where I included a little on this

subject.

The Royal Welsh Smallholder and Garden FestivalIn the past we always found out about this show after it hadhappened but we kept a close eye on the gardening magazines inearly 2010 to make sure we caught it in time. So on 16th May we setout on a fine morning for a drive down to Builth Wells, a drivethrough ever-changing but always beautiful Welsh landscapes. Theshow runs for 2 days and is open from 9:00am till 6:00 pm which

may seem a long day but to see everything you need the time.

It has to be said that it was much more a smallholders show than agardening show, but if you like to see poultry, goats, sheep and pigsin show condition then it is worth the visit. There is a flower tent withsome good nurseries in attendance and plenty going on in the ringsuch as sheepdog trial demonstrations.

In the show rings smallholders showed off their prize animals andput them through their paces in front of the judges. This onepig-handler proved very popular with the crowds.


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Few show visitors could walk near this little pack of porkers withoututtering a few Aahs.

So, although we were disappointed by the paucity of the gardeningelement of the show we really enjoyed a good day out. If you do gonext year, a word of advice. Wear good, comfortable footwear asthere is a lot of hard surface to walk on.

The things we do for BAC!


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boxes has now overtaken my shoe collection in bulk.

One word of warning though - her plot is in London so some of thetiming of sowing seeds for example are out of line with ours. In April

she notes Ive been in a veritable frenzy of sowing and potting-onthis week, now that Im absolutely certain that winter is truly overand all danger of frostis passed.

It is an enjoyable and informative read though once you adjust toShropshire seasons. My copy is now in the BAC Library in Hut 2 somembers can read it whilst on their plots.

Or so I have heard

Quotations to amuse or inform (or both even!)As our orchards have now been planted we have a few orchardrelated quotes to start with ..

What can your eye desire to see, your nose to smell, your mouth totake that is not to be had in an orchard. (William Lawson 1618)

The qualities apples combine, range from innocence and perfectionto sensuality and corruption, with more than a hint of spice, acidity

and a certain amount of bitterness. Somehow, these are balanced inthe roundness that appeals to the hand and touch, almost as muchas the tongue, the eye and our feelings about colour. (JaneMcMorland Hunter)

Ever since reading Snow White, I have never quite trusted brightred apples. (Jane McMorland Hunter)

Alys Fowler finished off her TV series The Edible Garden with thewords, I have not just grown food, Ive grown happy!

And how about this for a corny poem from a postcard written in theearly twentieth century by Donald McGill who described himself as acomic artist!


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The Lotment Love-letter

I am so melon-cauli dearSince you have bean away

The thyme has seemed so very longI pine for you each day

No sugar beets your sweetnessDont turnip your nose at meBut take this 18 carrot ringand lettucemarried be.

Green SpacesWe have certainly moved a long way forward in the early months of

2010. Working Parties carried out many developments to the site.(see the next issue of Dig It! for photographs of the workers

in action.)

Fruit trees are now planted on the site in two orchards and a fruitavenue, the orchards have been named Woodcote Orchard andCrowmeole Orchard after the farms bordering the allotments. Fulldetails of the orchards and of each variety of fruit tree planted are onthe BAC website.

Picnic benches are positioned around the site to provide places tosit and rest or chat. These are proving very popular indeed!For the younger members of the BAC we have created a willowdome, a maze spiral and the young Explorers Garden which willdevelop into a sensory garden.

None of this would have been achieved without the help of memberswho have attended our Working Parties. We extend our thanks to

them.

Some of the nest boxes around the site have already beencommandeered by our resident birds and bees are laying in theinsect shelters. There has certainly been a huge increase in thenumbers of birds on site and the number of species has increasedtoo. Keep an eye on the notice board in Hut 2 and add yourspottings to the list and write your nature observations in theNature Note Book provided. Monthly lists of birds seen on site areon the BAC website.


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We are pleased to note that the local community is showing interestin BAC. Already in 2010 the Young Explorers Pre-School grouphave visited us and the Eco Group from the local United ReformChurch toured the site. Following a preliminary visit by members of

staff from the hospice we look forward to visits this summer. In lateJuly members of the Shropshire Organic Gardeners Society will bespending an afternoon with us as one of their monthly garden visits.

We know from feedback from such visits that the friendliness andwarm welcome given by BAC members is greatly appreciated. It isnoted by several visitors that there is something special about oursite and a regular comment received is that the site has a realcommunity feel to it. This is something for us all to feel proud of.

Wildlife on the Lotties - Robins and WrensWe are privileged to be visited by both Robins and Wrens atBowbrook but the while the Robins make themselves known to usthe Wrens move around much more secretively. The robin sings tous as we garden, and ever the opportunist he grabs at any grub orinsect we disturb. The wren however lurks around our compostheaps and around the pool. He becomes most obvious when hebursts into song, performing strongly and loudly with the tune

delivered at great speed. The song is too loud and powerful for thisdiminutive bird said by some to be our smallest bird whereas othersgive that accolade to the Goldcrest. They robin and wren are boththe gardeners friend consuming many pests for us.

We had a Robin at our old lottie in Monkmoor who, being aforward-looking fellow with a modern outlook, only put in anappearance when we started up the petrol engine of the mower orrotavator. If we used just manual tools we never saw him. He woulddive into the path of the machines to grab any insect we disturbed.Many gardeners have their own stories to tell of their own specialrelationship with a Robin. If you have such tales please send themto me and we can include them in the next edition of Dig It! When wefirst took over our plots last year there were one or two Robins onthe edge of the site mainly in and around the hedgerow nearalongside plots 59-62 but now they are to be seen and heard all overthe site, accompanying us as we garden and appreciating the bugswe disturb as we turn the soil.

I have an old edition of the book, The Private Life of the Robinwritten by David Lack back in 1943. This was a book full of


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revelations as before its publication the life of the Robin wassteeped in folklore. Lack was the first ornithologist to publish the factthat both the male and female sported a red breast. Up till then itwas believed that the red breast appeared just on the male. It was

also at one time thought that Robins metamorphosed into Redstartsin the summer, probably because they keep a very low profile duringthe moult. And of course before we knew about migration this ideaconveniently explained where Redstarts disappeared to during thewinter - they became Robins.

We are used to Robins being the gardeners friend but it is only inthe UK that this is true for elsewhere even just across the channel inFrance they are secretive woodland birds - more like our Wrens

really.

2010 International Year of BiodiversityIt is rarely mentioned that 2010 is the year designated by the UnitedNations as the International Year of Biodiversity. Biodiversity hasbecome a term bandied around by politicians many of whom seemto have little idea of what it actually is. so let us look at the definitionprovided by the IYB itself,

Biodiversity is the variety of life on earth. it is essential forsustaining the natural living systems or ecosystems that provide uswith food, fuel, health, wealth, and other vital services.It is the bestdefinition around but I do wonder why wealth is seen as a vitalservice. Allotments such as ours have a key role to play for weproduce food, improve our health and help to sustain natural history.On their website the IYB state that humans are part of thebiodiversity too and have the power to protect or destroy it.Currently, our activities are destroying biodiversity at alarmingrates. We can hope that within the realms of the BAC we arebucking this trend by protecting biodiversity and not destroying it. Ibelieve we are.To find out more about the IYB have a peruse of the websitewww.biodiversityislife.net.

But what can we do as gardeners in our small patches? The key isto grow as wide a variety of plants as we can, as in this way weincrease the variety of life above and below ground. It is important toobserve our gardens and come to understand its intricacies - the

plants we grow and the life they help sustain. Above all though wemust care for the soil.
http://www.biodiversityislife.net/http://www.biodiversityislife.net/http://www.biodiversityislife.net/


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Amphibians AppealThe Shropshire Amphibian Society is keen to receive records offrogs, toads, slow worms, grass snakes, adders and smooth,

palmate or great crested newts from anywhere in Shropshire. This isbecause currently they are so badly recorded and the society wantto be able to understand them more fully and protect them moreefficiently. Allotments are good places to spot reptiles andamphibians.If you do see an amphibian or reptile at BAC please record yoursighting by visiting www.NaturalShropshire.org.uk or call Fran on01743 252578. Dont forget to jot some notes down in the BACNature Notebook in Hut 2.

Information CentreOver the last few months Hut 2 has been transformed into aninformation Centre. The BAC library is now established there andlots of information is available on the notice boards. We hope youenjoy using this facility.

Seed Swap and Trading PostAs a way of preventing waste and encouraging sharing, we have set

up a Trading Post outside the toilet building and a Seed Swap box inHut 2. If you have seeds to spare even part packets please placethem in the Seed Swap box for others to use and similarly if youhave spare plants please use the Trading Post. These two initiativesare already proving very popular with lots of movement of goods.

Recipe for the Summer - Beetroot Chutney

Ingredients 3lb Beetroot 1 Large Onion

1 Large Cooking Apple 12ozs Sugar2tspns Ginger Level tspn Salt1 Pint vinegar

Method 1 Cook Beetroot and dice into small pieces2 Peel and dice onions3 Peel and dice Apple4 Put into large pan and add sugar, salt, gingerand vinegar

5 Bring to the boil and simmer until ingredientsare soft
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6 Fill jars and label.

(Useful tip - the cheapest clip top glass jars come from Charlies!)

(Alison - BAC Secretary)

Next EditionThe next edition ofDig It! will be released in the Autumn of 2010. Please

send contributions [email protected] leave a paper copy

in Hut 2. We would like your recipes, photographs, garden visits, book

reviews, informative or humorous garden related quotations, your ideas on

fruit and veg cultivation etc.

Malc Mollart (Editor of Dig It!)
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

summer 2010 dig it newsletter

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