News

February Working Group completes many urgent tasks

February Working Group completes many urgent tasks

The February Working Group completed lots of very valuable tasks when they met at Calico Field on Saturday 24th February 2024. Many thanks to all those who took part – Lucinda, Linda, Reg, Claire, Duncan, Caroline, Nick, Jane, Alison, Neil and John.

Moving the mountain

Moving the mountain

The seemingly impossible task of moving a mountain was achieved by a small hardy group of plotters on Tuesday 13th February 2024! During 2023, ground works to help improve the drainage on the Calico Field, the site of the SPAA allotments, left a large mountain 

Loofahs scrub up nicely!

Loofahs scrub up nicely!

Two plotters are very pleased to have successfully grown loofahs this year and are now looking forward to putting them to use as dish scrubbers! A challenge has now been laid to other plotters to come up with more loofahs or other exotic plants!

SPAA Open Morning 2023 celebrates the Coronation

SPAA Open Morning 2023 celebrates the Coronation

On Saturday 13th May 2023 Plotters at the SPAA Allotments welcomed visitors to the site to see what we are growing, buy plants and raffle tickets and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and homemade cakes. Despite the gloomy wet weather in the days 

SPAA Open Morning on Saturday 13th May 2023 from 11am to 1pm

SPAA Open Morning on Saturday 13th May 2023 from 11am to 1pm

SPAA will be holding our 2023 Open Morning on Saturday 13th May from 11am to 1pm. Do come and join us! To celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III, we will be theming the Open Morning “Of Cabbages and Kings” and many of the stalls 

Swallowfield Spring Horticultural Show

Swallowfield Spring Horticultural Show

The Swallowfield Spring Horticultural Show will take place in the Swallowfield Parish Hall on Saturday 25th March 2023 between 2pm and 4pm. If you wish to enter the show, entries will be staged between 11am and 12.30pm and judging will take place from 12.30pm. Entry 

Allotment floods after heavy rain

Allotment floods after heavy rain

The SPAA Allotment has suffered badly from flooding during November 2022 – possibly the worst flood we have seen on the site. With a long hot dry summer and now heavy rain, what else will the weather throw at us!

New raised beds built at SPAA

Three new raised beds have been constructed near the communal sheds for use by families with children, or any gardeners with reduced mobility. The beds are easily accessible from the SPAA car park and will be filled with compost donated by Re3 Grow. The beds 

Open Morning 2022 in glorious sunshine!

After a two year gap because of the pandemic, we finally held an Open Morning at the Swallowfield Allotments on Saturday 14th May 2022. In glorious sunshine, and with tables groaning with plants grown by the plotters and home-made cakes, we threw open the gates 

Open Morning – Saturday14th May 2022

Open Morning – Saturday14th May 2022

After a two year break because of the Pandemic, we are delighted to announce that SPAA will be holding an Open Morning on Saturday 14th May 2022 from 11am to 1pm. Our theme this year is the ‘Plotters’ Platinum Party’, celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. 

SPAA seed swap ready to use!

SPAA seed swap ready to use!

SPAA’s very own seed swap system, for plotters, is now up and running and ready to use! Harminder has very kindly organised a seed swap area in the open shed. In it, plotters will find a Seed Swap box with sections for packets of seeds. 

Plots have a riot of colour for September!

Plots have a riot of colour for September!

As well as a huge variety of fruit and vegetables, plotters are growing flowers to encourage bees and provide some cut flowers to take the colour home. Here are some of those beautiful flowers:

RHS launch Planet-Friendly garden campaign

The RHS has launched a Planet-Friendly garden campaign which will be of value to all gardeners. How many of these are you doing? The campaign includes ten easy gardening tasks which will make a real difference to the environment and biodiversity. Tasks include growing fruit, vegetables 

SPAA celebrates 10th birthday with a BBQ party

SPAA celebrates 10th birthday with a BBQ party

Plot holders gathered for a BBQ Party at the Calico Field site, on the evening of Saturday 24th July 2021, to celebrate TEN years of successfully growing and harvesting fruit and veg across the Allotments. Founded in 2011 by an intrepid group of enthusiastic local 

SPAA working group completes a big spring tidy-up

SPAA working group completes a big spring tidy-up

A group of plot-holders spent a busy morning on 22nd May giving the communal areas of the Allotment a big spring tidy-up. Paths were mown, the polytunnel was swept and weeded and a major effort was put into clearing the significant growth across the plot 

SPAA celebrates TEN years

SPAA celebrates TEN years

This week the Swallowfield Parish Allotment Association celebrates TEN years since it was opened to plotters. This photo shows the main organisers of SPAA who worked so hard to get the Allotments set up – l to r (back row) Reg Granados, Terry Trinder and 

Spring 2021 arrives at the Allotment

Spring 2021 arrives at the Allotment

Spring 2021 has arrived at the Swallowfield Allotment! There is a buzz of activity as plotters clear away the winter debris from their plots, dig over the ground and spread out manure across the beds. Buds are appearing on the fruit trees and brightly coloured 

SPAA Open Day 2019 shows the allotments bursting with fruit & veg

SPAA Open Day 2019 shows the allotments bursting with fruit & veg

The SPAA Open Day in 2019 was bursting with our fruit & veg

Help needed for Swallowfield parish daffodil planting

Saturday 10th December 2022 across the whole of Swallowfield Parish.