Plot Post

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE LICHFIELD AND DISTRICT
ALLOTMENTS AND HOME GARDENS SOCIETY
SUMMER 2010

Chairman: Pat Barden (Moggs)
Treasurer: Mark Harrison (Moggs)
Secretary: Josie Allen (Home Garden)
Editor: Pat Barden (Moggs)

PLOT POST

I hope you find something of interest in this issue, as usual please bear in mind that I am no expert, I'm just trying to give useful information to the experienced as well as encouragement to our many new allotmenteers.

SHOW INVITATION

This is your personal invitation to our Summer Show which will be held on Saturday 21st August at the Curborough Community Centre, Reynolds Close, off Weston Road. We have included schedules and entry forms with this PP, staging takes place between 9.00am and 11.00am and the show is open to the public at 2.00pm.

I make no apologies for asking you to support your society by at least coming along during the afternoon, better still it would be very much appreciated if you would show some of your produce. The truth is we need more exhibitors to show their flowers and vegetables or enter the domestic classes, otherwise the long term future of the show is in doubt. Please look upon it as your way of giving a little something back to your Allotment Society.

VISIT TO RHS WISLEY

You may be aware that we have being trying to improve and develop a social side to our Society for those who are interested. Last years Summer Show was a success and we followed that up with a new format Social Evening during January which also seemed to go down very well if the numbers attending were anything to go by.

The latest event was a trip to The Royal Horticultural Society Gardens at Wisley during late May. By all accounts everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day out and found the gardens wonderful on what proved to be just about the best day of the year to date as far as the weather was concerned. The question on many peoples lips was "Where are we going next year," so in response to the trips success and whilst we have nothing definite in mind at the moment we will try and offer something similar next summer.

CUTWORM DAMAGE

Have you noticed your young plants either being completely severed at soil level or a more established plant that suddenly looks very sick and droopy, if you have then the damage is likely to have been inflicted by a "Cutworm". I've lost carrots, cabbage & leeks so far this year but many other crops are also vulnerable.

This pest which appears common this year is not a worm at all, it's a dirty brown subterranean caterpillar of certain nocturnal moths which emerge at night and feed on the stem sap and often sever the young plant completely.

The only good news is that we know what it is, the bad news is that there is very little we can do about it. There are no soil insecticides available and the only advice I can find is to cultivate frequently as close to your plants as possible without damaging them and keep your plot as free from weeds as possible.

SITE ISSUES

I must take this opportunity of thanking our plot holders for their efforts, to my mind our sites have never looked so good. However, for the very few that transgress I must stress our collective responsibility to keep our sites as tidy and well groomed as possible, with this in mind please note the following few points;

• All unwanted materials including soil & turf must be kept within the boundary of your own plot. Old wood, wire and bricks etc must be taken to the Council Tip and not dumped along the tracks, up the banking or in the trees.
• The official pathways between plots must be maintained at the correct width and neither dug up or let grow into the plots, ( use a line if necessary to get a clean edge).
• Please keep on top of the weeds, nothing annoys your neighbours more than flowering weed heads blowing from your plot onto theirs.

CORRESPONDENCE

As you are aware we like to send out various bits of correspondence throughout the year in order to keep everyone informed about the society's news & events. Clearly, we want to keep our costs down and you may be able to help us with this.

* If you received this Plot Post via the postal service then it means we have no email address on our records for you. If you have an email address then it would be helpful if you would let us know what it is, you can email either Josie at josieannallen@virginmedia.com or myself at pat.barden@sky.com with the details.

TO BED OR NOT TO BED?

Before we look at the "bed system" let us review the traditional plot.

The plants are grown in rows with strips of bare earth between each row so that the grower is able to walk along for weeding, feeding, harvesting etc. The spacing between plants and the rows is sufficient to enable the plant to grow to it's full potential, by this method the longest beans, the largest onions and the heaviest cabbages are produced.

Unless you want to grow bigger vegetables than your neighbour or win prizes at our annual show (not necessarily a bad thing) then this traditional plot may not be the best method for you. It is extremely laborious. The continual tramping down of the soil means that the whole plot has to be dug over every autumn, not to mention the bare pathways and large spaces encourage weeds which in turn means regular hoeing. This is obvious to every gardener who has tended an allotment - less obvious is the fact that the overall crop yield can be less than the harvest from using a bed system.

The Bed System:

The basic principle is to create a series of rectangular beds divided by narrow permanent paths. These paths can be grassed (not recommended) or a layer of weed suppressant material can be laid and covered with gravel or bark chippings. The beds should be narrow enough for the centre to be reached from either side and ideally run north to south.

The yearly round begins in Autumn or early winter when a layer of compost or manure is added to the beds, this can be forked in or you can let nature do its work for you. There is no need to dig deeply as we have not walked on the earth in these beds. When planting the beds then the spacing is the same in each direction, this is quiet close so that the leaves of mature plants touch each other and this is where the potential higher yields originate from. Looking after the crops is a simple task made easier by not having walkways between the rows and the fact that the closeness of the plants smother most weeds.

What type of Bed:

When I first acquired my allotment a few years ago I started using the "flat bed" system. This is the easiest to create but I found over the years that the soil level increased over the boards from adding compost/manure and it became more and more difficult to keep the beds and paths separate. I decided my beds needed walls! This year I have invested in a few used scaffold boards and now half my plot contains sixteen raised beds.

There are various other materials that can be used to create raised beds, you can buy kits made of various materials e.g. plastic, wickerwork, timber, these tend to be rather expensive, there are railway sleepers, bricks or blocks and even pressure treated planks (these would probably last longer than scaffolding boards but they obviously cost a lot more and we cannot be sure what chemicals have been used in their treatment).

Sizes:

The recommended minimum size for beds are:- at least 4 inches high by 4 feet wide and to a length that suits. As an example two 13 ft scaffold boards would give you an 8 inch high bed, 4 ft wide and 9 ft long.

Anyone wishing too have a go at the raised bed system can obtain old scaffold boards from Neil on 07749241569 at £4 each delivered to your site & plot. Remember these are used boards and not perfect but they are generally in good condition (health & safety law to thank for that).

Ack: Ian Hickinbotham

SITE REPRESENTATIVES

Each of our sites has one or more reps, their details are given below. Please make sure that you know your rep, we are there to help resolve any problems or queries that you may come across, if a query cannot be answered then you can be sure it will be taken to the monthly committee meeting for further consideration. However, please remember that your site rep is just a volunteer trying to give a little back to the society so that we can all get the most out of our precious plots.

Site	Representative	Telephone
The Moggs	Pat Barden	255306
Beacon Street	Bob Bishton	418127
Netherstowe	Alan James	432575
	John Smart	300370
	Ian Hickinbotham	268941
Cherry Orchard	Derek Oakes	253852
	Philip Terry	258647
Christchurch	Tony Priddle	684210
	Heather Rourke	255991
Dovehouse Fields	Dulcie Monroe	411985

GENERAL

Don't forget to come along to the Show, myself and the rest of the committee will be very pleased to have your support and I feel confident that you will enjoy the experience.

Pat Barden