March 9th 2010

At last I have been able to get to the allotments. The weather during the day has been bright and sunny although we are still having hard frosts at night. The ground remains frozen until well into the afternoon but despite this plotholders have been busy digging, spreading compost and getting ready for planting. Broad Beans that were sown before christmas have suffered in the cold wet weather but there is still plenty of time to sow more seed and onion sets can now be put in as they can stand the frost. At home it is very tempting to start seed sowing but I think it is still a few weeks too early umless you have a heated greenhouse. I have sown my chilli seeds and they are on a south facing window sill in the house. I would like to sow my tomato seeds in the same way but I am only allowed one window sill!

February 24th 2010

I last wrote that the snow had thawed and things looked none the worse for their frosting. Last week we had more snow and this time it was very large flakes of wet snow and it has done a lot of damage. The cage in the photo below is now a mess of tangled poles and netting as the weight of the snow caused it to collapse and lots of fruit cages have either collapsed or had the netting split. I have not been able to get down to see the damage for myself but hopefully the weather will get warmer soon and some damage repair can take place.

The AGM takes place tonight, it is usually well attended but a lot of members are suffering with colds and flu so numbers may be down this year. I am unable to attend but my trusty messenger Ray will no doubt give me full details tomorrow.

Some good news of sorts. James Gregory (ex secretary) saw a fox wandering through the plots the other day. This will be good news if the fox likes the taste of rabbits. There are more rabbits than a fox could eat but it would be great if the natural food chain could reduce our biggest pest.

January 18th 2010

The snow has thawed from around thornbury and plotholders are already back tending their plots. There is plenty of winter vegetables to harvest, leeks, parsnips and all types of brassicas which are looking none the worse for their recent frosting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although I still have not been able to visit the allotments I am told that Dave Makepeace has been busy putting the fence along the south wall to try and keep the rabbits out. Let's hope it works. The cold spell should also have killed off some of the unwanted bugs that seem to reappear year after year.

Another annual event in the gardeners calender has just been reached. The seed potatoes are now available and can be put to chit. care has to be taken to keep them free of frost but I am sure the time will fly by between now and the end of march when they can be planted. Now is also a good time to plant broad bean seeds although I usually bring mine on in pots ready to plant out in late February. For really keen gardeners tomatoe and chilli seeds can be sown in propogators to get an early start to the season but the plants will need to stay on a warm light window sill until April.

January 9th 2010

A belated happy New Year to all. Unfortunately I am having a few health problems and have been unable to update this site as often as I should. I have also not been able to get to the allotments recently however I have been getting updates from friends who have ventured out.

At the moment Thornbury is in the grip of the most severe weather that we have encountered for about twenty years. We have had a prolonged spell if sub zero temperatures plus about 9" of snow.This may seem of little significance to residents of Siberia or Alaska but we are just not set up to cope with these conditions and we cannot get hold of dynamite to get our parsnips out of the ground.

Since November a couple of things of note have occurred. A large ash tree in the playing fields next to the allotments has fallen over (it may have been the weight of snow on the branches) and landed across some of the plots in the bottom corner. Fortunately no damage was done to any crops or sheds and Dave Makepeace has been busy with his chainsaw clearing it. We also had another series of shed break ins although nothing appears to have been stolen.

On the wider front it looks as if Margaret Powell will have some of the pressure taken off her from people wanting allotments. A farmer in Oldbury on Severn has kindly allocated one of his fields for use as allotments. A total of 136 plots are available and this should more than satisfy the local needs. The coordinator for these allotments is Pete Mainstone a well known local ex policeman who I am sure will do a stirling job. Hopefully we can get together and assist each other in a common cause. People wanting an allotment should contact Pete, unfortunately I have no contact details but I am sure our Town Information centre will be able to help.

Hopefully it will not be too long before my next update and I am hoping to find a 'volunteer' to take some photos of the allotments covered in snow.

November 11th 2009

Once again we had a successfull Allotment Supper at the Anchor Inn at Oldbury on Severn. About fourty members attended and as usual the food was superb. After dinner was finished Dave Makepeace congratulated everyone on such a successfull year and showed the Thornbury in Bloom Special Commendation Cup that we had been awarded. Ray Fulker then entertained everyone with his review of the year coupled with a selection of his very worst jokes. We are easily entertained and Ray was greatly appreciated. As Sue Aitken was present at the supper we asked her to present the cup to the committee again so that we could record the event on photographs. The photographs will be shown on The Photo Gallery as soon as possible.

Ray has been busy this week, he was a guest on Radio Thornbury with Sue Aitken when she presented her Gardening and Wildlife programme. During the two hour programme Ray and Sue talked about the allotments, the plotholders and even played a song sung by Renee Bellamy, a plotholders wife.

Allotmenteers have been busy this week helping the Thornbury in Bloom team with their bulb planting. Around twenty thousand snowdrops and bluebells were planted along a section of Thornburys Streamside Walk and over one thousand daffodil and narcissus bulbs ahve been planted along the wall of the allotments. The bulbs planted along the wall of the allotments are planted in memory of Lorrette Thorne, a plotholders wife who passed away last year. The money collected at her funeral in lieu of flowers was donated to Thornbury in Bloom who thought the spring bulbs would make a fitting memorial to a lady who loved gardening.

 

 

November 1st 2009

All the pumpkins have been harvested and used for Halloween and the mild weather continues. As usual at this time of year debate rages about what time Broad Beans should be sown. Some plotholders have already sown their beans but some traditionalists insist that they should be sown on bonfire night-November 5th. As for myself, I wait until March as I find that sowing before Christmas I lose a proportion of the crop to wind and frost and those that survive crop only a wekk or so earlier. There is one definate advantage to early sowing and that is that it tends to reduce the attack of blackfly.

We have also been planting garlic and japanese onion sets. Garlic needs to be planted now as it needs a period of cold weather to help it grow. I have heard that this can be assimilated by putting the garlic bulbs in the freezer for a few days. I hasten to say I have not tried this.

Thornbury FM, our local radio takes to the air again tomorrow for the next month. Sue Aitken will be hosting a gardening and wildlife programme each Monday around lunchtime. Sue will be havinf guest co-presenters including our own Ray Fulker who will talk about the allotments and other local subjects. The programme can be found on 87.7 FM or if you live anywhere else in the world you can listen via your computer by searching on Thornbury FM and following the links

October 18th 2009

It looks as if our Indian Summer is coming to an end. The last month has been unseasonably warm and dry although it is raining today. The ground at the allotments has been really dry and we have even had to water some new fruit bushes as they looked distressed. The late season sunshine has meant that we have a record crop of chilli peppers althyough I dont know what we will do with them all. The root vegetables all look strong and we have had our first leeks of the season. Autumn fruit is looking good with apples and pears ripening and autumn raspberries in abundance. As i have said before it is such a shame that so much fruit is wasted where it is not picked.

We are looking forward to the Allotment Supper which is held at the beginning of November. It is an opportunity to sit and talk about the previous years successes and failures. Our failures this year have been fennel which went to seed and once again havingn poor germination with the butternut squash. This is two years running I have failed with squashes next year  will pay them special attention

September 22nd 2009

Today is the last day of summer and we are lucky enough to be in the middle of a dry and warm spell which has helped in the start of clearing up the plots. The runner beans are finished and most of the summer flowers are past their best with the exception of Mervyn Tombs dahlias and crysanths which as usual look an absolute picture.

Mervyn Tombs not only grows fantastic flowers at the allotments, his home garden was good enough to win a prize in the recently held Thornbury in Bloom presentation evening. Gill Leaper and Chris Prince also won an award and several other plotholders were involved in award winning projects. The biggest surprise of the evening was that our association was presented with the Thornbury in Bloom Special Commendation Cup. We are really proud to receive this award as several of our members have put in quite a bit of work behind the scenes for Thornbury in Bloom and it also shows the community spirit shown by the plotholders. Peter Bird picked up the cup on our behalf and I believe Dave Makepeace will have the pleasure of polishing it.

I have been away for a few weeks and we returned to find that the badgers had helped theirselves to our sweetcorn. In spite of it being fenced off the badgers managed to roll on the corn to knock it down and then eat all of the cobs. They may have left us with a few kernels. In spite of losing this crop we have done very well this year, the brassicas have been good and the beans prolific. We have just started to harvest swedes and parsnips to go along with the flourishing carrots and tuscan kale. We also have a magnificent crop of chilli peppers and hanging basket tomatoes which are benefiting from the dry spell.

With autumn upon us plotholders will have more time for social activities and our committee are working hard on the events for the future.

 

August 27th 2009

Autumn has appeared early this year, this week has been quite windy and it is definitely cooler in the mornings. The flowers in the hanging baskets are still full of colour but are slightly bedraggled and there are lots of leaves blowing around.

The soil is very wet and the summer crop are not ripening very quickly. We have chilli peppers, capsicums and tomatoes that could do with another few weeks of sunshine perhaps there is still time for an Indian Summer.

We have had no news from the police about the stolen shed and break ins although i have heard that there has been quite a few outbuildings broken into around Thornbury.

Fruit is now coming into season, apples,pears and plums are ripening and as usual it is a shame to see so much fruit being wasted where it is not being picked.

August 19th 2009

The bean picking continues. Runner beans and dwarf beans are still abundant and it has been a year of very heavy crops. These beans sell for over £1 a pound locally yet allotmenteers are giving away tens of pounds most days. Other crops are doing well but the dreaded blight has now hit us. Luckily it's quite late on in the potato season and so cutting off the tops will save them. No such luck with tomatoes where the only solution is to destroy the whole plant. Even the the tomatoes in the trough on the gate have been hit so they have had to be taken out. My hanging basket toms seem to have escaped and are cropping really heavily.

Last weekend one of our local garden centres had an 'Allotment Special' and asked if we could man a stand to talk to people about allotments. As usual Dave Makepeace put himself forward and he was assisted at different times by Ray Fulker and Peter Sage. They talked to quite a few members of the public about different subjects and were able to publisise next years Open Day. Of course, they were not able to offer any hope of anybody getting an allotment in Thornbury but they could point people in the right direction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 6th 2009

The wet weather that we have had over the last couple of days have given thieves the opportunity to operate at the allotments. We have had spates of shed break-ins in the past but this year a shed has been stolen. Dot Culverhouse owned a plastic shed, quite large, and this has been emptied of its contents and taken away. The thieves must have used a truck of some sort and took the opportunity to do it when the rain was so hard that no one would be around. Dots' plot is at the bottom of the allotments so it must have taken some time to take it away. We are hoping that our friends in the Sheltered Flats opposite may have seen something.

Several sheds have also had their padlocks cut off but nothing appears to have been taken which leads us to believe that the culprtits were after high value things such as rotavators. The local police are on the case.

August 3rd 2009

The National final judges of britain in Bloom visited the allotments yesterday as part of their tour of Thornbury. There were plenty of members and children present to talk to the judges who seemed quite impressed with the community spirit that we have at Daggs. As well as looking at the allotments generally they were interested in our recycling, composting and use of water.

We have had a mixed bag of weather lately which has meant that the crops are really bumper this year. Lots of rain and the occasional hot day has seen runner beans growing as you watch them and we have more courgettes and squashes than we can handle. The weather has caused lettuces to run to seed and some varieties of cabbage have split but vegeatbles are so prolific at this time of year that we can afford to waste some.

July 21st 2009

Today was a very important day for the people of Thornbury. The Judges for the regional section of the Britain in Bloom competition visited the town. They could not have chosen a wetter day. As they were interested to see what we get up to at the allotments several members met them and explained some of the things we do. They were very interested to hear how we recycle many things and we think they were impressed by the enthusiasm of the membership. The judges also talked to some of the pupils of Gillingstool School who showed them around their plot. It is such a pity that the sun didn't shine so that they could see thornbury in its floral glory.

July19th 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Sunday the annual BBQ and presentation of awards took place. In spite of the rain everybody enjoyed themselves and Margaret Woodford who presented the awards on behalf of the Town Trust did not get too wet. Peter Sage was presented with the Salver for the Best Kept Allotment and Sara Cant won the Janet & Tony Lines Trophy for the Best Newcomer. Photograghs of some of the prize winners can be found on the Photo Gallery

July 16th 2009 

A lot has happened in the last week or so. We have had the Best Kept Allotment and Scarecrow competitions and our annual NGS Open Day. Competition results can be found on the members page.

The Open Day was once again a great success. As well as having an enjoyable day we raised £1257 for the NGS nominated charities. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the visitors flooded in, many of us were hoarse from talking to so many people. Anne Harrison and her helpers on the tea and cake stall raised the magnificent sum of £355, there were a lot of hungry and thirsty visitors. The plant and produce stall organised by Kath Makepeace made nearly £220 another magnificent effort. There are far to many people to mention individually but all round it was a great team effort

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 5th 2009

What a difference a couple of weeks makes! I have been away for a short holiday and on my return everything has gone mad. The crops are looking magnificent and we are harvesting as quickly as we can. We have picked about 20lbs of gooseberries from one bush and we will be eating cabbages for the forseeable future. Last night we ate freshly picked peas, calbrese, potatoes, carrots, turnip and beetroot which all had a taste that only veg growers know. We also have the salad crops of lettuce, spring onions, green peppers, various herbs and courgettes, talk about five a day! In a few more days the runner beans will be ready, something that every gardener looks forward to. I think that friends and neighbours will have to help us out with this veg as it is such a shame to freeze them as they never taste the same. Blackcurrants are benefitting from the hot sunny weather and they will be ready next week so jam making is on the horizon.

Allotmenteers are putting the finishing touches to their plots ready for both Open Day and the Best kept Allotment Competition. The Open Day takes place next Sunday July 13th at 2.00pm.

June 12th 2009

Thornbury High Street is starting to look very floral as hanging baskets and flower troughs are now being displayed. This is a big year for Thornbury in Bloom as it has been entered in the national competition. The Allotment Association has donated £200 to the Thornbury in Bloom committee which will be used for some floral displays at our end of the High Street.

Outside of the association a couple of  allotmenteers wanted to make invidual contributions and have tidied up the top of Poulterbrook Lane and put a vegetable manger on the gates. Irwins reclaimed timber was used to make a trough which has been planted up by our resident flower expert Mervyn.

The judges will probably look around the allotments and I am sure that they will be pleasantly surprised to see how some of the edge plotholders have planted up the hedgrows and made displays around trees and sheds.

June 4th 2009

Arrangements for our National Garden Scheme (Yellow Book) open day are not in full swing. The Open Day takes place on Sunday July 12th and is well worth an afternoon out. As well as looking at the different allotments there will be Cream Teas to be had and lots of plants and produce on sale. There will also be story telling to entertyain the young children giving parents the opportunity to look around unhindered. The £3 entry charge goes to various NGS charities.

June 1st 2009

Summer has at last arrived in Thornbury. The last few days have been hot and sunny with temperatures in the lower twenties. The whole allotment site looks a picture of beauty with the bright greens of new plant growth and the colours of early summer flowers. We hope to be picking our first broad beans to eat with our new potatoes this week, the taste of which is hard to beat.

We are still having big problems with the wildlife. Allotmenteers have adopted a siege mentality against the rabbits. Rabbit proof fences are rapidly being erected around plots but we seem to have a breed of super rabbit that can chew through or jump over the fencing. Merv Tombs protected his brassicas with a full size cage only to find that he has now been invaded by moles, his chrysanths are also being eaten and Merv is not a 'happy bunny'. We are still seeking a solution.

May 17th 2009

It has been a couple of weeks since I have been able to get to the allotments but I have been kept up to date by colleagues. The rabbits are getting beyond a joke, they are even eating the runner beans as they appear through the ground. One of our newer members,Gilbert Robson, is developing a harmless rabbit trap. So far he has had rabbits taking the bait but they keep escaping, he says that he does not know what he is going to do with any rabbits should he eventually catch them!!

The 'Best Newcomers Prize' has been awarded, the results can be found on the members page. The standard was very high as usual, this is really good news as it shows that the people who get plots after a wait of several years are keen to get full use from their new plots. I hope to have photos of the prize winning plots as soon as I can get down to the allotments.

This year is the 250 year anniversary of Kew Gardens and our association is hoping to organise a visit to the gardens very soon if their is sufficient interest

May 2nd 2009

Time flies by, it's May Bank holiday weekend already and the weather has been fine all week. At the start of the week Sue Aitken and her allotment correspondant Ray Fulker presented the Gardening and Wildlife programme on Thornbury FM. Ray gave a complete run down of what's happened at the allotments and a preview of this years Open Day. If you live outside the Thornbury area you can listen to Thornbury FM on your computer.

The rabbits are particularly troublesome this year and a lot of people are losing young plants. In the last week several members have lost their parsnips and the rabbits are finding onions very tasty. The rabbits and pigeons can be kept at bay by netting the crops and a lot of people have put plastic fencing around their plots which keeps out the rabbits, badgers and pheasants. We try to live in harmony with our wildlife but sometimes the relationship can get a little strained

April 18th 2009

This time of year is just about the busiest in the gardeners calender. It is a time of planting and sowing, although one still has to be aware of cold night temperatures. The potatoes are now showing through but they are fine as long as the foliage is kept covered with a layer of earth and beetroot and carrat seedlings are showing through. It is still too early to plant out tomatoes and members of the cucurbit family although with plenty of plants to spare it is worth taking a chance with a few. One of the advantages of having a plot at Daggs is the generosity of other plotholders. No plants go to waste and I have already been given sprout, calabrese and lettuce plants that someone had left over. Hopefully I can return the favour with some of my spare plants.

All of the fruit trees are now in blossom and provided we dont get a hard frost it looks as if it is going to be a bumper year for soft fruit. We of course need bees and insects to pollinate the fruit and there is a lot of discussion in the press about the lack of bees.

April 6th 2009

Another glorious weekend has just passed. Potato planting and root vegetable seed sowing is now going ahead all over the allotments. The plots at the top of the site could really do with  some rain as the ground really drains well. The forecast for the week shows that we will be lucky to get through untill Friday without any rain and the temperatures will be a little cooler than of late.

The 'Shed Shop' is now open on Sunday mornings. The rabbits and pigeons seem to be particularly hungry at the moment so the sales of netting and support piping are going well. We sell quite a variety of gardening 'things' at about cost price which is of real benefit to our members. The price of Growmore has rocketed this season, I believe it's something to do with a phosphate mine in Russia. However our treasurer Mike has purchaced about 75kg at a good price and is now busy bagging it up into 1kg bags. Good physiotherapy for aged treasurers

 

March 30th 2009

British Summer Time is now with us and we are due to have a week of sunshine although the nights are still cold. There has been plenty of people at the allotments over the weekend and Dave Makepeace, fresh back from his holiday has cut the grass on all the paths. The wall repair has been completed as has the water leak that we had on the top path earlier in the week.

I don't think that I have seen the allotments looking so good at this time of year. The bright colours of the spring bulb are really enhanced by the contrasting dark rich loam of the freshly dug allotments. Bean sticks have started springing up around the plots although it will be a few weeks before the beans are planted and Mervyn has planted out his Sweet Peas ready to give his usual magnificent floral display

March 18th 2009

What a glorious week it is has been. Warm, sunny and dry and lots of us have taken advantage of it. As well as plenty of digging it has been weather for socialising so we have drunk lots of tea and coffee and some us sat out at lunchtime eating bacon & sausage sarnies. It is good to see so many children helping parents and grandparents (see childrens page). We are making the most of it, winter could return next week!

The wall that the car crashed through is being repaired. By coincidence the stonemason is the son of Doug Thorne who won the best kept allotment award many times but has since given up his plot due to ill health.

March 13th 2009

This winter has been the coldest for a number of years and it seems as if spring is still some time away. Most people are ready to start planting but it is still too cold. . Some have taken a chance and put in early potatoes, they should be OK as long as we don't get a severe frost.

In spite of the cold Howard Yeomans and Heather Witham were able to take their baby daughter Elsie for her first visit to the allotment (see childrens page). I am sure Elsie is going to be a regular down on the plot.

We are told that repairs will start soon to repair the wall where the car 'flew' over last month.

February 26th 2009

Last nights AGM was attended by over 50 members matching last years record attendance. As well as the normal AGM business (see members page) it was also decided to continue having an NGS Open Day in 2010. This was almost unanimously backed by the members present who felt it would be worthwhile continuuing. Apparantly we are expecting a coach load of visitors from an allotmet in Swindon to this years Open Day. We look forward to meeting them..

Anither decision that was passed without exception was to donate in the order of £200 to Thornbury in Bloom for their 2009 campaign. The committee will sort out the finer details of our donation

To visit the Thornbury in Bloom website click the following link Thornbury in Bloom