2019 Newsletters

Newsletter 01 Dec 19

I am delighted to let you know that we have two new and very keen plotters who have taken over Plot 23! A big welcome to Stuart and Lisa who have joined SPAA. This means that we only have one plot and a half plot available, with a further 2 plots being held back for pernicious weed treatment in the spring. Do you know anyone who would like to rent a plot? If so, please put them in touch with me.

Many thanks to Reg, Terry, Brian, Nick and Amy and various members of the Coulter family (!) who gallantly turned up to last weekend’s working party to spread soil on the main path to fill in the mole hills. We hope that over the winter, the grass will grow back through to form a more level surface. Please still take care when walking on the paths.

Christmas is fast approaching and the Committee would be pleased to see you on Thursday 5th December at 9pm at The Crown, Swallowfield to celebrate a successful year on Calico Field! All are welcome!

December is not necessarily a month to write off on your allotment. You should still have a host of vegetables to harvest and still a few jobs to do before you turn your thoughts to Christmas preparations. Will you be eating your own Brussels sprouts, cabbage, parsnips and potatoes on 25th December? The prospect is a tasty one!

SOW garlic cloves, plant rhubarb sets and bare rooted fruit bushes and canes, but only if it is not too wet or cold. HARVEST celeriac as you need them and dig up the last of your Jerusalem artichokes. Harvest kale and cavolo nero as you need them and your carrots too, if they look as though they might get frozen hard in the ground. Store them in a frost free shed in trays of moist sand. You can leave swedes in the ground until the end of the month but harvest them before they become woody.

JOBS FOR DECEMBER:

Continue winter digging if the ground is not too frozen or water logged.
Cover your parsnips with a layer of straw to protect them from frosts.
Check brassicas for slug damage and support your Brussels if they are getting unsteady.
If you didn’t do it last month, winter- prune gooseberries and thin established blueberry and currant bushes, removing about a third of older wood on blackcurrants.
Check your infrastructure for rotting fence posts; check stakes, wires and ties.
Give your pots, seed trays and equipment a wash to prevent the spread of diseases.
And finally, sit down by a roaring fireside to plan your crop rotation for next year!

Newsletter 01 Nov 19

This month, we have a welcome and quite a few thank yous to give. First of all, we are delighted to welcome Donna Toomey who has taken up Plot 21. She has taken up Ed’s former plot, so well done to Donna for already making a good start before the weather turned so wet! I know she will be made to feel at home at Calico Field.

We have a big thank you to give to Ed, whose generous donation to SPAA from the sale of his shed and compost bin has raised a fabulous £75 for our funds. Donations like these actually make a big difference to our financial position, so many thanks, Ed!

Many thanks, too, go to the intrepid volunteers who turned out for our latest working party: Sue and Bill, Brian, Nick and Amy, Tracy, Reg, Terry, Duncan and Liz. The water troughs were emptied for the winter, the tap in the carpark was mended and the main job of clearing one of the vacant plots was completed. The Committee is really grateful to those people who turn up to help. Not only do they get a well deserved coffee and a large piece of cake, but they immediately qualify for entry into the annual selection for the Winner of the Best Kept Plot! (one of the criteria for winning is to help out at a working party!).

The next Working Party will be on SATURDAY 23rd NOVEMBER 9am to noon when we shall be transporting spare soil from Plot 1 on to the main middle pathway in an attempt to level the ground and get rid of the mole hills. This path has become a real hazard so if you can spare any time at all, we should be grateful if you could lend a hand, please.

The Committee has decided that mower and generator training will be given at every working party so that, by the new season, everyone will be trained. Please note that you will not be allowed to use the equipment without this training; this is for H&S reasons and to ensure that the machinery is long-lived and we don’t have to spend funds on costly repairs. You don’t have to book in; just turn up for a working party session. This training will be an annual requirement from now on.

Have you thought of using your own electrical equipment by plugging in to the generator? The generator produces mains electricity so that you can bring your own mower, hedge cutters or strimmer and use them as you would at home.

Christmas Drinks on Thursday 5th December from 9pm. Come along to The Crown, Swallowfield for a festive gathering with the Committee. We’ll be pleased to see you!

And before that, here are a few reminders about what you could be doing in November on your plot:

Sow broad beans in the ground if your plot is not prone to being waterlogged in the winter. Plant garlic cloves and rhubarb sets (or again, wait till the spring if your plot is too wet.) Manure rhubarb well but don’t cover the crowns. Plant bare rooted raspberries and blackberries, currants and gooseberries. Harvest your Jerusalem artichokes, autumn and winter cabbages, cauliflowers, spinach, Swiss chard, autumn raspberries and curly kale. Lift turnips and swedes before the ground becomes frozen. Lift leeks carefully with a fork. Parsnips taste better after a frost!

JOBS FOR NOVEMBER:

Remove all dead, diseased and finished crops.
Take down bean supports; weed, dig and manure your beds.
Mulch celeriac and globe artichoke crowns with straw.
Protect cauliflowers by curling the leaves over the heads to protect from frost.
Prune gooseberries and currants, cutting out dead, diseased or damaged branches and removing crossing stems from the centre of the bush.
Prune the oldest stems of blackcurrants by a third down to the ground.
Keep your brassicas well netted!

Newsletter 01 Oct 19

I hope you are enjoying the early part of the autumn. The relatively mild weather didn’t prevent a ground frost from catching the low lying courgette plants and the last bush beans, however. That’s all part of the joys and frustrations of having an allotment and we have to be thankful for any crops we have been able to harvest which haven’t been eaten by pests or singed by the heat over the summer!

October is really a month for tidying up and thinking about preparing for next year. It’s also the start of the new rental cycle so you should have paid your ANNUAL RENT by now. If you have forgotten, please do so immediately!

We shall be sorry to say goodbye to Ed on Plot 21 and Graeme on Plot 16. We thank them for their company and all their support for SPAA. We hope to see them at our Open Mornings, perhaps! Neil is giving up Plot 3 and has a shed for sale. If anyone would like to purchase it, please let him know or contact me directly. We welcome any newcomers so if you know someone who is interested in a whole or half plot, please put them in touch with me or any member of the Committee.

WORKING PARTIES: Many thanks to Caroline and Nick, Brian, Duncan and Ian for attending the evening working party on Monday 16th September. The public footpath adjacent to our site was trimmed and the brambles reduced which will make it more pleasant for ramblers. It is part of our remit to keep this section clear. Our next one is on Saturday 19th October 9am-12 noon. A list of jobs for the team event and for individuals to complete on their own will be displayed. Please note that TRAINING for the mower and the generator will also be given at this time. If you have not done the mower training, you will NOT BE ABLE TO USE THE MOWER next season. Other training sessions will be available later in the year. The main gate padlock code will be changed on 19th October and a newsflash sent after this date to let you know the new code.

WHAT TO SOW IN OCTOBER: If your plot is not too boggy, you can sow overwintering broadbeans in the ground. Try peas and early summer cauliflowers in pots or modules. They will need to be kept under cover eg cloches, over the winter. Plant garlic cloves this month or in November but they do not like to be waterlogged so this depends on your plot.

WHAT TO PLANT: You can plant new, bare rooted currants and gooseberries now and you could split your rhubarb and plant the separate crowns this month.

WHAT TO HARVEST: Pick the last of your outdoor tomatoes before the frosts. The same goes for your capegooseberries but leave them as long as possible to intensify the sweetness. Harvest your melons grown in the polytunnel. Autumn lettuces will be ready for picking or cover them up with fleece or a cloche to prolong the season.

JOBS FOR OCTOBER: Earth up Brussels sprouts to stop them falling over; lift the last beetroot and potatoes; you could start to lift your carrots and other root vegetables although parsnips taste better after the first few frosts have happened. Mulch celeriac, globe artichokes and parsnips. Start to clear your plots of dying vegetation: cut back asparagus ferns when yellow and remove any yellowing leaves on brassicas. Remove your bean poles and preserve any seed pods for sowing next year or drying indoors to use in stews.

If you still have a glut of cucumbers, try making this CUCUMBER RELISH. It’s a good way to use them up. You will need: 4 cucumbers, 2 large onions and 1 small red pepper, all very finely chopped/minced; 2-3 teaspoons salt; 8oz (250g) sugar; 20fl oz (625mls) wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon cornflour, 2 tablespoons water; 1 teaspoon dry curry powder; 1 tablespoon mustard seeds. Method: Place the chopped vegetables in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and leave overnight. Strain. Place them with the sugar and vinegar in a pan and bring gently to the boil. Boil for 45 minutes to one hour. Blend the cornflour and the water together in a bowl, add the spices, then add to the mixture in the pan. Cook for a further 20- 30 minutes. Pour into clean, sterilised jars and cover. This recipe makes 4-5 pounds (2-2.5 kilos).

Newsletter 01 Sep 19

September is upon us and your renewal is due! You will shortly be receiving a RENEWAL notice by post for the year ahead. This runs from 1st October 2019 to 30th September 2020. A full plot stays the same price at £45 and £10 for the maintenance fee, £55 in total. A half plot costs £35 in total. Please pay by BACS if at all possible and by 30th September at the latest. Details are given in the letter so please follow the instructions. Many thanks!

AGM: If you would like a copy of the minutes, please let me know if you would like me to send these to you by email.

POLYTUNNEL: Please clear out any finished crops and old plants by the end of September to avoid the spread of disease.

WORKING PARTIES: We are holding extra working groups. Please read the notice on the main gates for dates and times. The next one will be held on MONDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER 5.30PM ONWARDS. Please come along to help do those Autumn jobs, even if you can only spare a short time. A list of tasks is on the whiteboard in the shed. This will help us keep on top of the little jobs which can become massive if left. If you cannot attend, remember you can do your bit at a time convenient to you. The list of jobs is posted up. A big thank you to Reg, Terry, Ian, Helen, Duncan, Brian and Tim for turning out yesterday to tackle hedge trimming and path-laying by the side of the polytunnel. We are now looking much smarter round the shed area too. Well done and many thanks!

FUTURE SPAA PROJECTS: At the next committee meeting, we are discussing ideas raised at the AGM which were put forward by members. We hope to draw up a priority short list; more details will follow and we shall be canvassing your opinions!

WHAT TO SOW OR PLANT IN SEPTEMBER: Oriental leaves and spinach, lettuces, radishes and rocket and spring onions. Plant out spring cabbage seedlings, onion sets and new strawberry plants.

JOBS FOR SEPTEMBER: Tidy up and compost old leaves and vegetation. Keep on top of the weeds. Think about sowing green manure to keep them down. Harvest any remaining onions; lift all your potatoes by the end of the month and store them dry in special sacks; cut off some of the leaves of pumpkins and squashes so that the sun can reach the fruit. Carry on watering and feeding until you are ready to harvest. Pick all remaining tomatoes by the end of the month, even if they are green, and ripen them at home. Alternatively, make lemon and green tomato marmalade! Delicious!

Newsletter 01 Aug 19

AGM NEWS: We had a reasonable turnout for a quorum, in spite of competition from the tennis! The following officers were re elected:

Chair- Ian Swan
Treasurer- Terry Trinder
Secretary -Claire Hamilton

The following Committee members were also re elected:

Reg Granados
Duncan Hamilton
Nick Kolpin.

Thanks were given to Greta Strikuliene who stood down.

There are still spare places for more Committee members so, if you have a few hours to spare, we would definitely welcome you. We would also be delighted to co-opt you for events etc, so please do let me know if this is something you could consider.

The meeting covered a preview of the new website, kindly constructed by Nick, and a discussion over how to spend our funds for the benefit of Plotters. The Committee will be consulting you over your choices for future projects, some of which would need Lottery funding. More details will follow.

Don’t forget the Working Parties on SATURDAY 31ST AUGUST 9.30-12 and MONDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER from 5.30pm.

There have been some enquiries about manure delivery. We received the first delivery free and then paid for the second delivery. If you were at the AGM, you will have heard that this is not sustainable for the future, as current resources will not allow us to continue this funding. However, the Committee has a list of local suppliers, so please contact us if you need some.

August is a time of plenty! Hopefully, you should be harvesting many of your crops and perhaps seeing your way to planting up the gaps left from harvesting your broad beans, onions and shallots. You still have time to sow some more lettuces and salad leaves as well as planting out some overwintering crops such as Brussels sprouts, spring cabbages and winter cauliflowers.

WHAT TO SOW IN AUGUST: It is still possible to sow some varieties of carrots as well as spinach or Swiss chard if it is not too hot for them to germinate. Try Spring cabbages and turnips, winter radishes and kohl rabi too for a final flourish before winter.

WHAT TO PLANT OUT: Winter and spring cauliflowers, kale and sprouting broccoli. Plant new strawberry plants, either from your own runners or bought ones. It’s advisable not to plant new strawberries in the same ground for at least 3 years. Planting through a plastic sheet will help suppress weeds and keep the heat in over winter.

WHAT TO HARVEST: Potatoes: continue to harvest the second earlies and pick French and Runner beans. Harvest the last of your broad beans and when they are finished, cut the stalks down to ground level but leave the roots in to replenish the nitrogen in the soil. Harvest sweetcorn when the tassles go brown or black; continue cutting the heads of sprouting broccoli and calabrese before the flower heads open. Pick lettuces and spinach leaves regularly and water the plants daily to prevent them bolting. Keep your eye on the courgettes, marrow and squashes so that they don’t turn into giants (unless you want them to!)

If you have plants in the polytunnel, watch that the cucumbers don’t turn yellow. If they do, remove them and compost them immediately. Start to pick your blackberries and the last of your summer fruiting raspberries. Inspect your blueberries regularly and make sure you get there before the birds do!

JOBS FOR AUGUST: Dry off garlic, onions and shallots by leaving them in the sun for a few days. Check the supports of your climbers. Water beans regularly in dry weather. Tie up tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, as these plants continue to grow at a manic rate!

Prune gooseberries and currants lightly and do it again in winter. Prune down to the ground your summer fruiting raspberries and tie in the new canes which will fruit next summer. And finally, use up the last of your well rotted compost before you start to fill up the bins again in the big autumn clearing!

Newsflash 17 Jul 19

At the AGM, amongst other items, 2 issues came up to which I should like to draw your attention: The first is WORKING PARTIES. It was suggested that we should try having a working party every month in the growing season, on different days and at varying times to enable more of you to attend and to keep on top of the jobs that need doing. Please find below the schedule for the next 3 months:

Sunday 28th July 3-5pm
Saturday 31st August 9.30-12pm
Monday 16th September 5.30-7pm

Please try to drop in for some or all of these sessions as we need your help! A schedule of jobs, big and small, will be put up in advance.

The second issue is a HEALTH AND SAFETY one: Please take extreme care on site as the mole hills have caused uneven paths. The committee is expecting to receive a delivery of topsoil to help rectify the situation but, in the meantime, please watch your step!

Newsletter 01 Jul 2019

This is a reminder that SPAA’s AGM will take place on Friday 12th July 2019 at 8pm in The Rose Room at Swallowfield Parish Hall. Refreshments will be provided. This is an opportunity for you to make your views felt, ask questions of the Committee and find out what plans are being made for the future. I warmly encourage you to come and meet your fellow plotters and maybe put yourself forward to become a committee member yourself! We need a minimum of 5 people.

Here is the Agenda for the AGM:

Apologies
Approval of Minutes and Matters arising from last year’s meeting
Annual Report from the Chair
Financial Report from the Treasurer and Approval of Accounts
Election of the Committee
Future purchases and equipment
Website
AOB

The minutes from last year’s meeting are available. Please email secretary@swallowfieldpaa.org.uk for a copy. There will also be copies available at the meeting and a copy will be posted up in the shed at Calico Field. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

How are you getting on with your crops? You should be starting to harvest some of them now and reaping the reward of all your hard work! July is the month for regular watering and weeding. Try not to let the weeds overrun your beds and pick your harvests as they ripen, except for outdoor tomatoes which you should try and leave on the vines for as long as possible.

Don’t forget, please, to mow round your external perimeters too, as you are responsible for keeping clear the smaller paths that our contractor cannot access.

WHAT TO SOW IN JULY: There is still time to make final sowings of fast growing varieties of peas, beetroot and carrots, as well as continuing to sow salad crops. Now is the time to sow certain cabbage varieties for next spring and transplant out any Brussels sprouts, winter cabbages and autumn cauliflowers that you have sown. You can still plant French beans, kale, leeks and sprouting broccoli and sow Swiss chard.

WHAT TO HARVEST: Towards the end of the month, and depending on weather conditions, you could start to harvest your onions, garlic and shallots. Lift them in dry conditions and spread them around to dry off. Pick strawberries regularly and once they have finished, remove old foliage, cut off the runners and use them to make new plants. Remove the straw too.

JOBS FOR JULY: You could try spraying your runner bean flowers to encourage them to set; water them regularly; pinch out the tops of the plants once they have reached the top of the canes to stop them becoming top heavy. Pinch out the side shoots of tomatoes and the growing tips as soon as four or five trusses have formed. Feed tomatoes and peppers regularly with a liquid feed. If necessary, continue to earth up potatoes and do the same with brassicas, to stop them falling over. Cover up the heads of cauliflowers with their leaves to keep the heads white. Lightly summer prune gooseberries, white and red currants by cutting back to 5 leaves all this year’s new side shoots, other than new growth which you want to develop into branches. As soon as your summer raspberries have finished, cut the fruiting canes down to the ground. Tie in the new canes. Tie in new canes of your blackberries.

Finally, check for pests of all kinds and keep your seedlings and fruit netted! Enjoy July!

Newsletter 01 Jun 19

How lovely the Calico Field looks in the early evening sunshine as we appreciate the longer days and the warmer temperatures! June is a month when we can hope to have seen the last of the frosts and enjoy planting out those tender seedlings that we have been nurturing for months! Many of the plots are looking wonderful. I particularly notice the bees in the flowers which some of you are growing. That’s good for all of us from a pollination point of view! Thank you!

June is also a month of intense activity as sowing continues and harvesting begins! Try to be ruthless about weeding and assiduous in watering; spinach will bolt too soon if it suffers from drought, and beetroot and herbs do better if kept moist. If you want to sow crops for a continuous supply, sow in small batches throughout the month; thin the seedlings and keep weed-free for best results. Sow seeds in the cool of the evening to aid germination.

WHAT TO SOW OUTSIDE: Beetroot, broccoli, carrots, courgettes and squashes, a second wave of French beans, kale, kohl rabi, peas and pumpkins, runner beans, swedes, Swiss chard, turnips and winter cabbage.

WHAT TO PLANT OUT: Aubergines will do quite well if the summer is warm. Plant out by the end of the month but keep them well watered and mulched. Chillies and sweet peppers need hardening off before planting out but you could always grow all three of these exotic vegetables in your Polytunnel space. If you have grown leek seedlings, plant them out now by dropping them individually into a deep hole made with a dibber and then fill up the hole with water, allowing the soil to backfill by itself; there is no need to give them any more help! Protect young courgette plants with a cut off plastic bottle to prevent them being eaten by slugs. Plant out sweet corn in blocks to aid pollination; outdoor tomatoes can go out now too, but make sure you stake them and protect them with cut off plastic bottles for extra heat.

WHAT TO HARVEST: spinach leaves, early potatoes, young broad beans and shallots, peas, radishes and lettuce. Finish harvesting your asparagus by the end of this month (some say by 21st June). Cut the spears regularly before they become woody. Do the same with rhubarb and then let the plant recover for next year. Pick strawberries regularly and enjoy!

JOBS FOR THE MONTH: Pinch out the tips of broad beans to discourage black fly and also cucumbers; support runner beans and thin seedlings. When your tomatoes under cover have formed the first tiny fruits, feed once a week with a high potash fertiliser and pinch out the side shoots that grow in the ‘V’ between the leaf stems and the main stem. Continue to earth up potatoes. Feed asparagus when you stop picking the spears but leave the plants to grow until they go yellow in the autumn when you can cut them down. When your strawberry plants have finished fruiting, cut off any runners or use them to make new plants. Summer prune gooseberries, redcurrants and whitecurrants by cutting back to five leaves all this year’s new lateral shoots unless you want to keep them to develop new branches next year. If summer pruning is done before you pick the fruit, it may encourage the fruit to swell. Remove raspberry suckers. Keep an eye out for pests of all kinds: carrot fly, blackfly, caterpillars, aphids, slugs and pigeons!! Use netting or fine mesh to keep some of the predators at bay!

Newsletter 01 May 19

OPEN MORNING

Did you know that preparing for our Open Morning on Saturday 11th May is a key point in the Allotment Association’s annual calendar? Any funds that we can raise help to pay our rent to the council, the water bill, insurances and other infrastructure and maintenance. Without this top up, our subscriptions would need to be raised. A joint effort together benefits all of us. So we hope to see as many of you as can make it on 11th May, between 10 and 12 noon.

An exciting morning awaits! There will be refreshments, a plant sale, a tombola and a raffle. The Mad Hatter will be organising a hat trail and hosting a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party for children, helping them make and decorate paper hats. It’s a chance to meet your fellow plotters and exchange tips on your latest horticultural successes! Why not come along and support this event?

For this event to be a success, we need to advertise it as widely as possible. Please could you take a few fliers from the shed (they will be left in your pigeon hole) and persuade your family and friends to turn up. Can anyone help deliver leaflets to the Spencers Wood/ Arborfield areas? Please let me know if you can help.

We welcome donations in the box for the tombola (tins, cans and bottles) and these will be collected regularly.

If you have spare plants or seedlings, please leave these items in the polytunnel on Friday 10th May, CLEARLY LABELLED AND MARKED SPAA. Cakes and homemade biscuits may be brought on the Saturday morning or left in the shed on Friday evening for collection. A big thank you to all those who have already committed to helping set up (from 7am on Saturday) and to running a stall. Your assistance is very much appreciated!

We hope that the Open Morning will be hugely successful.

WORKING PARTY

Very many thanks to the committee and to Liz (plot 17), Caroline (plot 5), Amy (plot 9A), Sue and Bill (plot 19) and Brian (plot 20) who turned up last Saturday to put a bark path round the polytunnel. This looks very smart and will prevent us falling into the holes created by the moles! More useful cutting back of brambles on the perimeter edge was also done. Thank you again for braving the weather which, in fact, turned out dry.

PADLOCK UPDATE

This appears to be an ongoing issue which we are trying to resolve. When SPAA was set up, each member had their own key for the key type padlock on the gate. When this padlock jammed or was vandalised, another 30+ keys had to be cut each time the padlock was replaced, and this proved far too expensive. It was decided to revert to a code type padlock of which we have had 3 in succession, the most expensive being £36. All 3 did not see long service, due to the code defaulting to a new and unintentional one when plotters have scrolled the numbers. This has resulted in the locks being cut off. The latest padlock, previous to the one currently fitted, was a Squire unit costing £27.99 and this only saw 6 weeks’ service before it malfunctioned. If you relate the cost of replacing padlocks to the annual plot charge, it is obvious that this is unsustainable for the Association to keep funding, so it was decided to try a more inexpensive lock. The padlock situation is most frustrating for all and it would be appreciated if someone could suggest a better idea or a reason why the locks, all from reputable manufacturers, keep breaking down.

In the interim, when setting/unsetting the code on the padlock and it is found that the numbers do not rotate, squeeze the shackle a little, which releases the number ring.

SPAA policy still remains that it is advisable to lock the padlock when you have entered the site for safety reasons, especially for a lady on her own.

GENERAL REMINDERS

Please clear up any dog mess. We welcome pets but let’s keep our site clean. Please take care when entering the car park area. Hard breaking and acceleration scuffs the surface and damages the membrane underneath the gravel. Please weed the area under your section of staging in the polytunnel. Many thanks!

WHAT TO DO THIS MONTH

May is always a tricky month as sudden frosts or cold, wet spells can wreak havoc on seedlings planted out without protection or can slow down germination for seeds sown in the ground. However, there are rewards to be had from the first early harvests: asparagus (but don’t cut if you are still in the first couple of years), and baby globe artichokes. These can be boiled or microwaved whole in lemon juice and water. Try it – delicious!

SOW OUTDOORS UNDER COVER: Beetroot, cucumbers, French and runner beans and sweet corn. SOW OUTDOORS: Beetroot, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, carrots, French and runner beans, kale, kohl rabi, lettuces and rocket, peas, spinach, spring onions, swede, sweet corn, chard and turnips. Why not sow your lettuce between your sweet corn to make the best use of space? Sow your sweet corn in blocks, not rows, to aid pollination.

Don’t forget to harden off seedlings before planting out and protect them with netting or similar!

JOBS FOR THE MONTH: Put in your pea sticks and bean canes. Support broad bean plants with string and canes to prevent them falling over. Earth up potatoes. Cover strawberry plants with cloches if you want an early crop but remove the covers in the day time. Reduce the number of raspberry canes in your rows and prune out less vigorous shoots to allow in the light and air. Thin out seedlings eg carrots and beetroot. Keep weeding and watering!

Newsletter 01 Apr 19

Thank you to all of you who responded to my request for help in planning for our OPEN MORNING on SATURDAY 11TH MAY, 10-12pm. If you have any small tables or chairs that you could lend for our refreshment area, or a gazebo, we could still do with a few more to seat people comfortably. And don’t forget to sow some seeds ready to sell as plugs or small plants, as these were very popular last year. Keep an eye out for the May newsletter which will contain final instructions and delivery times for all these things! Many thanks indeed!

Calico Field is starting to look very smart again as the plots are beginning to be worked, dug and fertilised. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the weeds which are popping up everywhere with this warmer weather. Don’t let them take hold! The mower has been serviced and is ready for use. Please remember to mow the paths adjacent to your plot perimeter. The main alleys will be mown by a professional.

WHAT TO SOW IN APRIL: April is the month for sowing rather than harvesting, either indoors or outside. You can sow most root crops outdoors now (carrots, parsnips, turnips), and sow outdoors into your prepared and warmed seed beds (broad beans, Brussels cabbages, calabrese, cauliflowers, kohl rabi, leeks, lettuces, onions, peas, radishes, spinach and Swiss chard.)

Vegetables to sow outdoors, but under cover, include beetroot, cucumbers, lettuce, rocket and other salad leaves. Why not use your space in the Polytunnel to sow aubergines, celery and celeriac, chicory, chillies and peppers, courgettes and squash, cucumbers, kale, marrows, pumpkins, runner beans, sprouting broccoli, sweet corn and tomatoes? Any spare plants can be sold at the Open Morning or exchanged with your fellow plotters!

Why not have a go at growing melons? Sow one seed per pot, cover them with a plastic bag and keep them somewhere warm eg an airing cupboard or propagator. When the seedlings appear, move them into the light on an indoor windowsill or in a heated greenhouse. If we have another fantastic summer, you will stand a good chance of having some delicious fruit for your effort!

JOBS FOR APRIL: Continue to prepare your seed beds. Prick out your seedlings and pot on once they have developed their first true set of leaves. Harden off young plants during the day but bring in at night time to protect from frosts. If you have a cold frame or cloches, open them up in the daytime and close again at night. Water your newly planted seedling and keep on top of the weeds. Earth up your new potatoes and start saving twiggy cuttings to use as pea sticks. If you want to get ahead, put up your bean canes while the ground is still soft. Don’t forget to pull up your brassica stumps when you have finished harvesting as leaving them in the ground can encourage diseases. Cover and feed your strawberries but remove cloches in the daytime to encourage pollination. If you see black centres in the flowers, your strawberry flowers are frosted. Cover with a cloche to encourage more flowers to grow.

And when you have done all that, perhaps think about attending the talk by the Horticultural Society on April 11th, hosted by Swallowfield! This time, the subject is ‘Ponds’.

Newsletter 01 Mar 19

I hope you have been able to enjoy some of the unseasonally warm weather; it has certainly encouraged me to sort out my seeds for sowing! The sunshine has turned the committee’s thoughts to our May Open Morning, which is our main fund raiser for the year. Please put the date in your diaries now: SATURDAY 11th MAY 10-12pm. This year’s theme will be HATS! including a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party and hat trail for children with associated craft activities. There will be plants and produce stalls, refreshments, a raffle and a tombola. So we need your help to make this a success. Could you supply any of the following? * Gazebos * Small tables and chairs for the refreshment tent * Cakes and homemade biscuits * Jams and chutneys * Bottles/cans for the tombola * Plants (courgettes and strawberry plants, rhubarb and flowers, – plugs and cut flowers – all these things proved very popular last year). Please contact secretary@swallowfieldpaa.org.uk if you can help provide any of these items.

If you are sowing seeds now, please could you sow a few extra for the Open Morning and label the plants well in advance, so you know what the varieties are. If you would like to be more involved, we shall be grateful for any assistance on the day, for example, doing a stint in the tea tent or selling cakes and plants. Please let me know what you are sowing, baking or making! Many thanks!

OTHER NEWS: A second load of manure has been delivered. A laminated schedule for Swallowfield Horticultural Society will be displayed on the notice board in the shed. They are advertising a series of talks throughout the year and the shows. The next talks are on 14th March at Shinfield Infants School at 7.30pm on the subject of Potatoes and on 11th April on Ponds. There is also a Spring Show on Saturday 30th March at Swallowfield Parish Hall from 6pm.

MARCH: WHICH SEEDS TO SOW NOW: OUTDOORS: Broad Beans, cabbages, (summer, autumn and red), leeks, lettuces, onions, parsnips, peas, spinach, spring onions, sprouting broccoli. OUTDOORS UNDER COVER: Beetroot, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, summer radishes, rocket, turnips INDOORS: aubergines, Brussels, celeriac, celery, chillies and peppers, cucumbers, globe artichokes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes. VEGETABLES TO PLANT OUTDOORS: Asparagus, cauliflowers, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, onion sets, rhubarb, shallots.. FRUIT TO PLANT OUTDOORS: blackberries, gooseberries and currants, grape vines, raspberries and strawberries. HARVEST the last of your parsnips and Brussel sprouts, winter cabbages and celeriac. JOBS TO BE DONE: Get ahead by digging your trenches for beans, fill them with compost and leave for a few weeks. Cover existing strawberries with cloches to encourage early flowering. Continue to prepare your beds for planting!

Newsletter 01 Feb 19

We have had a typical icy start to the month of February- with more snow showers forecast – and I was just starting to enjoy doing a few jobs outside Many of you took advantage of the milder weather to get ahead with mulching your plots, courtesy of ACC Contracting, our local, very helpful friends, who will shortly be delivering a second load of manure to Calico Field. I will let you know when the next delivery happens.

The Working Party on 19th January was well supported with 13 gallant helpers tackling the briars in the hedgerow (only another mile and a half to go!!), sweeping out the sheds and uprooting the invasive shrubs on Plot 12. Huge thanks go to: Reg, Caroline and Nick, Ian, Nick and Amy, Helen, Duncan, Sue and Bill, Brian and Ed for their hard work. They did a great job, sustained by hot drinks and plenty of cake!

Pest Control: thanks to Reg for continuing to supply and put down the poison intended for the rats and mice. This seems to be quite effective. Please let us know if you see any continuing activity on your plot.

Thoughts are turning towards our annual MAY OPEN MORNING This is our main fund raiser which contributes to buying and maintaining new equipment, amongst other things. More details plus a firm date will follow soon. If you have any good ideas for a theme or for new activities or for a change of format, please do let a Committee member know. Please could you start to think about GROWING EXTRA SEEDLINGS or making extra cuttings to be sold on the day on our plant stall. Thank you.

WHAT TO DO IN FEBRUARY:

As February usually turns out colder and wetter than December, it’s a good idea to be a little patient, otherwise you could end up wasting time, effort and money on sowing crops too early, only to see them rot off, get frosted or get eaten by slugs and other pests. However, if the weather and soil conditions improve towards the middle of the month, you could consider:

SOWING OR PLANTING OUTDOORS: broad beans, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, peas, rhubarb sets and turnips. It’s best to do this in warmed seedbeds which have been covered up with cardboard or plastic (remember that you must not use old carpet as per our terms and conditions). It’s not too late to do this now for a slightly later sowing.

SOWING INDOORS: a good tip is to sow broad beans and peas in lengths of old plastic guttering which must then be kept indoors (eg in the Polytunnel). When they germinate to about 3 inches (8cms), you can slide them out straight into their outdoor position in pre-drawn drills without pricking them out or disturbing them in any way. You can also sow these seeds indoors: Brussel sprouts, globe artichokes Kohl rabi, leeks, lettuces, onions, radishes, rhubarb, salad leaves, spinach, sprouting broccoli and tomatoes. Most of these seeds will need a minimum temperature of between 5 and 10 degrees and globe artichokes and tomatoes will need to be in a heated propagator of at least 18 and 21 degrees respectively. These early sown tomatoes would then be best raised in a greenhouse or in the Polytunnel. Lettuces can be planted out under cover of cloches or fleece in March, as can onion seedlings and leeks which can be transplanted outside in March and April. Always refer to the back of the seed packets for guidance about sowing and correct temperatures.

Potatoes should be chitted this month. Spread them out in egg boxes, or similar, in a cool, light room so that the shoots can sprout. If the shoots are pale and weak, then the room might be too warm or too dark. If you have finished the list of jobs, you could always turn your compost heap by forking it over, watering it if it seems dry and then cover it again; this activity is guaranteed to warm you up!!

Reminder 16 Jan 19

This Saturday,19th January, there is a working party at Calico Field from 9.30am – 12pm. The tasks to be done are as follows:

Remove shrubs from Plot 12
Remove brambles from where the bricks are stacked and restack bricks afterwards
Clear out and tidy the community shed

Please come equipped with heavy duty gloves and pruning shears. CAN ANYONE LEND THEIR STRIMMER? We need one with a brush cutter for preference. ( It can be attached to the new generator for usage.)

Refreshments provided! Hope to see you there.

Newsflash 11 Jan 19

Today we had a delivery of MANURE to Calico Field. This is donated by ACC Contracting whose parents have horses and who live very locally. We are very grateful to Matt Drew for coming with his trailer and delivering off this good quality supply. As this is from a free source, there will be no charge and everyone is welcome to use it. No need to feel you have to rush over straight away; as soon as the pile goes down, we have been assured that ACC Contracting will bring us some more!

You may like to take a look at Matt’s website as he offers plenty of other services which might be useful to you, including tree work, ground clearance, fencing, firewood and metal welding, to name but a few!

Newsletter 07 Jan 19

A happy and healthy New Year to you! Christmas seems a long time ago already but those Plotters who turned up for a get together at The Crown enjoyed each other’s company.

Update at Calico Field

At the beginning of December, RAT BOXES were positioned on Plots 2, 9A, 12, 14 and 22 as well as two in the Committee shed. Many thanks to Reg for organising this and for checking them regularly. To help us eliminate these varmints, please could you clear away any RUBBISH, especially piles of old wood, in which rats love to build their nests.

On the same theme, would the person, one of a party of three, who offloaded old wooden planks at the allotment site on Saturday morning please contact Reg because you left an article behind which you may find useful.

We are due for a delivery of MANURE shortly. More details will follow.

SPAA working party

Can you lend a hand on SATURDAY 19th JANUARY 2019 between 10am and 12pm? Our aim is to start to clear the Nature area of invasive shrubs. Bring a spade or fork and pruning shears. Even half an hour of your time will be of great help. Refreshments provided!

I hope you have enjoyed reading the SPAA articles written by Helen (Plot 10) in the Parish Magazine and the Swallowfield Parish Newsletter. Thanks go to her for the lovely photos and recipes as well as for her detailed reporting of events at Calico Field.

Well, it’s not impossible to do some useful jobs in January unless it’s very cold and wet and the soil is waterlogged. If your plot is so wet that when you walk on it, the mud sticks to your boots, don’t bother trying to dig it. You will just compact the soil. Stay at home and look at all the catalogues that are already arriving through the post and plan your crop rotation and planting options. When the manure arrives, spread this over your weeded beds and let nature do the rest.

HARVEST your curly kale and pick your Brussels from the bottom up as they start to mature. Pick and eat them before they get too big. Lift any remaining swedes; harvest your leeks, Jerusalem artichokes and parsnips as you need them. Keep all your brassicas netted and check regularly for holes!

If you have space at home, SOW INDOORS or UNDER COVER the following seeds for early crops or to get ahead of the growing season: broad beans or peas in pots; radishes and winter salad leaves.

PLANT new rhubarb sets or divide old crowns but not if your soil is waterlogged. January is also the time to start to force the new shoots by covering up the plant with a forcing pot or straw.

WINTER PRUNE gooseberry and currant bushes if you didn’t do this in the autumn, cutting out diseased, damaged or dead branches and freeing up the middle of the bush. For blackcurrants, remove any branches causing overcrowding and take out up to a third of the oldest stems cutting them off at just above ground level.

If you are feeling really loose-endish, you can wash and sterilise your pots and seed trays using a weak solution of detergent.