Cavendish Allotments

Pictures from the 2010 Social Day

On the 20^th of June, 2010 we held one of the most successful Social Days yet. Loads of plot holders came down and spent a lovely afternoon eating, sharing and talking. Thanks to the Committee for all their hard work organising and running the event.

What do people think about having an autumn BBQ event? Let us know in the comments.

See a slideshow from the day on flickr

20 June 2010 | Category » Events | Comments [0]

CAVENDISH ALLOTMENTS SOCIAL DAY - 20 June 2010

We hope you’ve seen the notices at the site for the Social Day on Sunday 20 June, from 1pm. All plot-holders, and their families and friends, are invited. There will be a barbeque (bring your own burgers, steaks, sausages, etc), with savoury dishes, desserts, cakes and drinks for sale at very reasonable prices. There will also be a sale of plants and garden-related items.

If you can donate anything eatable or usable, it will be gratefully received. If you wish, talk beforehand about food donations to Michael (plot 16) or Harald (plot 24). If you have plants or equipment, please bring them on the day.

Many thanks.

We hope to see you on Sunday the 20^th.

14 June 2010 | Category » Events | Comments [0]

Do You Need A Bin?

We have arranged with the council to deliver some bins to the site. They will be size 330 litres, £12 each. Please add you name on the list in the Notice Boards

14 June 2010 | Category » News | Comments [0]

Looking Ahead To Summer

If you are clearing out a shed or garage, please don’t throw away items which someone else might find useful. Keep anything garden related to donate to our summer social event. If it’s difficult for you to store it, contact a committee member. It may be able to go into the garage.

14 June 2010 | Category » News | Comments [0]

Allotment Grower Plus

The Adrian Hall Garden Centre in Feltham has set up a scheme to provide for bona fide allotment growers a range of products used for the growing of produce and the cultivation and maintenance of plots. For registered members, these will be at prices lower than those offered to the general public. For example, all outdoor plants (fruit, vegetables, bedding plants) and pots and containers are 15% less; tools, growing media, seeds, bulbs, fencing materials, screening, meshes and netting, fertilizers and chemicals are 12.5% less. And there are many other items at between 12.5% and 5% discount. You can register by getting a form and information pack from the centre (Snakey Lane, Feltham TW13 7ND), or call 020 8751 7600 or visit www.adrianhall.co.uk and click on the Allotment Grower Plus logo. Give Michael Thierens’ name and address as the contact. Once registered, you’ll get a card, which must be shown at each transaction to claim the discount. You can also phone or email to check stock and prices or request information.

14 June 2010 | Category » Advice | Comments [0]

EFFICIENT ON-PLOT COMPOSTING

An information sheet on optimum-value composting on the plot has been compiled from that supplied by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Planning), Garden Organic, Richmond Environment Dept and other organisations.

• Site the bin on soil, in a fairly sunny place if possible. Bury the bottom edge a couple of inches below soil level to deter rats. It may be useful to have a little space in front of the bin so you can tip out and rake through the contents when they are composted.
• A mixture of ‘greens’ and ‘browns’ works best. Greens include: soft prunings, grass cuttings, thinnings, unwanted vegetables, fallen fruit, chopped up twigs, fruit and vegetable peelings and crushed eggshells, but not cooked food which will attract rats. Greens break down fairly quickly and provide moisture and nitrogen.
• Browns include: broken-up egg boxes, torn-up cardboard, scrunched-up paper bags, screwed-up or shredded bank statements. Bedding and excrement from vegetarian pets like hamsters, rabbits and gerbils can be added sparingly but not from meat eaters like cats and dogs. Browns rot down more slowly but provide carbon and fibre and allow air pockets to form within the mixture.
• As not all of these materials are available from the plot, people sometimes bring them from home. Wood ash, old straw and hay and small amounts of untreated wood sawdust can also be added.
• Avoid large quantities of any one item (especially grass cuttings) and mix everything together within the bin every now and then. Add a little water whenever the mixture looks too dry and/or leave the lid off when it’s raining.
• Add material at all times of the year and as you add more, that below will sink. Mixing it up keeps it aerated and can speed up decomposition.
• Autumn leaves are best put into loosely tied, punctured black plastic bags as they take a year or even two to decompose. Then add to the bin or dig in as a soil conditioner.
• Perennial weeds such as bindweed, ground elder, creeping buttercup and couch grass won’t be killed in a bin. But they contain valuable plant foods so put them into an inside out plastic sack with the top folded down and leave them to rot. Then add to the bin.
• Activators can speed up the process of composting. Comfrey leaves and nettles are good. Many people have success with QR, a natural and economical product obtainable from Chase Organics. Human urine is also a good activator.
• It will take a year or more for everything to break down. Good compost has a pleasant earthy smell and is dark brown with a crumbly texture. If you don’t want to wait a year, tip all the contents out onto a large plastic sheet. If the lower levels have turned to compost, rake this out, take out any large or twiggy bits and bag it. Put the semi-composted material back into the bin and then start adding fresh stuff.

14 March 2010 | Category » Advice | Comments [0]

Communal Composting On Site

Over the last couple of years, a composting area has been established in the NE corner. Several bays, now covered, have received green waste from our plots. Gently stewing, it will in time turn into rich compost. It is hoped that two new bays will be opened soon.

However … however … If the area is misused, the wrong materials included, thick branches and twigs put in, waste left on the ground instead of put on top of the bays, indigestible things like glass, metal and plastic added, it won’t be compost - it will just be an earthy pile of rubbish. Unfortunately, in spite of hard work by a few people, and the information about the bays’ use given in our newsletter and on notice boards, this is what is happening. Though most people do use the bays properly, just a few don’t and their actions damage the whole area. It must be stressed, the NE corner is NOT a dumping ground. So now, the committee has proposed a number of guidelines towards encouraging a better use of the area. Some of these are given below. Your own ideas and comments are very, very welcome.

• Have at least one compost bin on your plot and put as much as possible into that. (See ‘Efficient On-plot Composting’ elsewhere in this newsletter.) The council is soon to make on-plot bins mandatory and the committee is ordering some inexpensive bins. (See ‘Do you need a bin?’ elsewhere in this newsletter.).
• Use the NE corner only for what you can’t put into your own bin. Don’t include plastic, polythene, metal, netting, glass. These go into the wheelie bin.
• Put material on top of a bay, not on the ground. If a bay is covered or roped off, it’s not to be used.
• Perennial weeds like bindweed, creeping buttercup and couch grass should not go into the bays. Put weeds into a plastic sack, turned inside out, on your plot and leave them to rot down in that.
• Shake off soil on roots so as little as possible goes into the bay.
• Despite the winter rain, the heaps are still dry inside. So every time you add anything, pour on a bucket of water. Buckets will be left there and there’s a nearby tap.
• Wood. Chop up thick twigs, branches, planks, etc. on your own plot. Last year, wood tied into bundles and left for people to take away for firewood was eagerly and quickly taken away. We will let you know later where the holding area for firewood bundles will be.

It is hoped that following these guidelines will improve the NE corner composting area for the benefit of everyone. And perhaps you could you give an hour or so occasionally to help maintain the area? Notices will be put up giving the dates of forthcoming working parties. Just turn up - your help will be much appreciated.

14 March 2010 | Category » News | Comments [0]

You Will Compost! And That's An Order!

Well, not quite yet. But MPs and others have commented recently that millions of tonnes of food waste have been going into landfill. That’s a shocking waste of the food itself, is a huge addition to the volume of waste and is a lost opportunity for composting it in order to return it to the earth. There is an EU target to halve the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill by 2013. If not met, Brussels could exact a fine of millions of pounds.

14 March 2010 | Category » News | Comments [0]

Allotments: making room to grow

RICHMOND Council is considering measures to improve its allotment service and meet the growing demand for plots.

It will also be considering measures to ensure that people who hold allotments make reasonable use of them, as neglected plots would be welcomed by other residents who will appreciate and look after them properly. Cllr Jeremy Elloy, chairman of the Council’s overview and scrutiny committee, which will discuss a draft strategy for running allotments, on Wednesday 23 September, said:

“Allotments in Richmond upon Thames are hugely popular and as such we have waiting lists of residents who would love to have one. While most people who have plots take great care and make fantastic use of them, there are a small minority who don’t look after them allowing them to become overgrown and unused. This is unfair on so many folks in our borough who are clamouring to get a plot. We also know that some plot holders are simply unable to maintain their allotments as they used to, perhaps because of old age and infirmity.

Continue reading "Allotments: making room to grow" »

20 September 2009 | Category » News | Comments [0]

Allotment demand leads to 40-year waiting lists

• For every UK allotment plot there are 30 applicants
• Allotment owners ‘save £950 a year’ growing their own

Allotment accessibility is declining as consumer interest grows

Demand for allotments has reached such heights that in one London borough would-be gardeners will be waiting 40 years for a patch of land, it emerged today.

Latest research commissioned by home insurer LV= (formerly Liverpool Victoria) also revealed that for every UK allotment plot there are 30 people waiting to get their hands on one - providing evidence of our recession-fuelled enthusiasm for homegrown produce and the desire of many city dwellers to embrace “the good life” by getting back to the land.

Applicants are typically looking at an average wait of three years, although in some areas it will probably be decades before these green-fingered hopefuls are finally able to harvest the fruits (and vegetables) of their labour.

The research named the London boroughs of Camden and Islington as areas where plot availability is particularly problematic, with waiting times estimated at up to 40 and 25 years respectively, suggesting that a Camden resident who registers for a plot after finishing university might just get to access to it by the time they retire.

— from The Guardian 2 June 2009

10 August 2009 | Category » News | Comments [0]