September 2006

Editor: HeatherJenne hjenne@blueyonder.co.uk 0117 973 3451
Date: Sep 2006
Correspondence to : Registered Office, 2 Kennel Lodge Road, Bower Ashton, Bristol BS3 2JT

Chairman’s Comments

Rent for year commencing 1st October 2006

Your bill for the year 2006/7 is enclosed with this newsletter. Please note that, as in previous years, if you do not get your payment to the Treasurer by the 31st October ’06 you will be surcharged a further £3.

Make cheques payable to ‘Hotwells and District Allotment Association’ (or HW&DAA). Remember to sign and date them. Please
write your Site and Plot Number on reverse.

The Treasurer prefers to receive cheques by post but, if you want to pay cash, he will be available to collect cash payments at:
Alderman Moores Store 1030 - 1130 on 8th Oct 06 and Bower Ashton Store 1030 - 1130 on 15th Oct 06.

If you do not pay by the 14th November 06 your Tenancy is automatically terminated and your plot will be re-let. There are NO exceptions to this rule!

Annual General Meeting

The next AGM will be held at Ashton Gate School on Thursday 18th January 2007. Please be seated by 7.30 pm, when the President will open the meeting.

Agenda

1. To Approve the Minutes of the AGM held on the 23rd February 2006
2. Matters Arising from the Minutes
3. Chairman’s Report
4. Treasurer’s Report
5. Election of President
6. Election of Committee
7. Any Other Business

Rent for next year, commencing 1st Oct 2007

Notice is hereby given that Plot Rents for the Allotment Year 1st October 2007 to 30th September 2008 will be as follows:-

Large Plots £42
Medium Plots £32
Small Plots £22

Fires on Allotment Sites

There have been complaints about fires from people living near sites to the Council Allotments Office, the Housing Department and Environmental Health Department. Smoke obscuring vision on a public highway is an offence and smoky fires can provoke asthma attacks, so these are two ways in which badly managed fires are antisocial to our neighbours. Please abide by the
notices on the site gates so that we are not open to criticism. I am sure it is only a minority who cause the problems, but these few are enough to raise the possibility of legal action against the Association.

It is only fair to give you all warning that the committee may therefore have to ban fires on all sites.

Smoke from damp or green waste is the main problem. You can all help by stepping in when you see a fire giving off a lot of smoke – if the plot holder is present, please mention the problem and suggest they delay the fire till the material has dried off, or take it off site to dispose of. Please do not take offence if this is pointed out, as it may be easier for someone
else to see the problem from a distance. If (as is regrettably sometimes the case, and strictly against the terms of the Tenancy Agreement) the plot holder is not present, please put the fire out.

Bristol Flower Show-Allotment Fair August 06

This year the standard of Allotment displays were overall higher than last with some innovative themes and displays, and a large variety of good looking vegetables, fruit and flowers. The judges spent ages agonising over their decisions and in the end awarded 2nd and 3rd prizes to fantastic displays by Alderman Moores and White City. Their tables showed a store building
silhouette and the water cycle (with real water!). The Meadows and Kennel Lodge1 (with a drought-buster quiz and a green / cycle theme) were ‘Highly Commended’. [KL2 and BA did not display this year but we all hope to see their ideas next year]

Bristol Best Kept Allotment and Most Innovative Allotment

Nigel Perkins [AM78] was awarded First Prize for both ‘Best Kept’ and ‘Most Innovative’ allotment for the whole of Bristol. When presenting him with his cups the Lord Mayor pointed out that this is an incredible achievement as Nigel is in only his second year as an allotmenteer. Bearing in mind the bramble-laden overgrown state of his plot when he took it over and the
fact that he is in full-time employment, his dedication is still more impressive.

St Fiacre, patron saint of the spade

Joe Bell [AM263/264] has kindly brought to my notice that 1st September was St Fiacre’s day. He left his native Ireland for France in the AD600’s and Bishop Faro of Meaux gave him a piece of land to found a monastery but imposed a troublesome condition: the monastery could only occupy as much land as could be dug by one man in one day. Fiacre took up the challenge with his trusty spade and, when the sun set, he had turned the sod of no less than 9 acres! A hermitage (strictly men only) was founded on the site. He had a reputation as a gardener and grower of fine vegetables, eclipsed, apparently, only by his phenomenal powers in curing haemorrhoids.

In Memoriam

David Mcbain [AM186] passed away after a courageous fight against illness. With only one leg and with the assistance of a devoted son, he regularly tended his plot for the past 18 years. We will miss his cheerful presence.

Mr K Hellicker, known as David, [WC 15/16] was also 18 years on his plots, which he kept immaculate and provided his extensive family and friends with all their vegetables.

Both funerals were attended by other members as an acknowledgement of their popularity.

Bob Franks

From your Editor

Manure

Little Grange Riding School have currently got a nice lot of horse manure stacked up ready for delivery, by arrangement, at a
time to suit (£16 for 25 bags,. £19 for 30 bags). Don’t forget the police horses’ manure, horse manure from Church Path
Cottage, horse manure from ‘Ed’ (see notice on site gates), and the cow manure available from Charlie Bloyce, Apart from Ed,
all details were on December 06 newsletter – email me if you’ve lost it and want another copy.

Thanks

Emily Williams would like to thank everyone who donated produce for her stall at Goldney House on Aug.6th. It raised a fantastic £150 for Amnesty International.

Tips + Dilemmas

Getting rid of Horsetail / Mares tail - Reminder

Deal with this in the autumn, after crops have been gathered in from the area concerned, and while the horsetail foliage has not died back (you need the plant to take down the poison as it drags goodness down from its leaves to its underground storage system).
Choose a dry windless day, preferably in the evening to reduce evaporation. Shield any adjacent plants.
Do not pull out or trim the above ground growth but bruise it with the back of a spade. Drizzle the solution of Rootout dissolved in water onto the growth. Give it a good soaking. (Be sure that you never use the container for anything other than herbicides - particularly if it is plastic! - in fact health and safety would probably say it’s best to get rid of it afterwards).
Leave for 2 weeks. Then, lightly rake out the surface 'thatch' of dead Mares tail and other weeds. Take the MT remains off site and bin them to eliminate any chance of them regenerating. Apply second dose of Rootout as before.
Leave the ground fallow for 8 weeks after which it can be dug over and planted.

Any good varieties???

Please let me know if you have used any good varieties that you think other people may like to know about. I’ll kick off with the revelation of Borlotti beans (climbing French bean type). With this bean you don’t eat the pods, but leave them so the seed inside swells. The pods ripen to a gorgeous mottled red, the seeds inside are a delicate cream with red marbling like small birds’ eggs. They taste delicious fresh (boil for 10 – 15 mins) and make a good thickener in soups. You can also leave them on the plant to dry (or harvest + dry at home) and then use them like other dried pulses.

Courses

WEA

do a couple of courses at Windmill Hill City Farm suitable for new allotmenteers. Learner enquiries: 0845 4582758 http://www.wea.org.uk/
Gearing up for Gardening (this course will get you ready for tasks you can do in your own garden and introduce propagation and planting techniques) Tuesdays 7 – 9 pm 10 meetings from 19.9.06
Gearing up for Gardening (this course will introduce you to practical tasks for the autumn and spring vegetable and flower gardens)
Weds 12.45 – 2.45 10 meetings from 20.9.06

City of Bristol College

– see site gates (or their booklet) for courses and contact number. Here’s how to claim
their plot rental discount incentive. Note that this only applies to the official plot holder, not to helpers.
1. Enrol for the course and pay the course fee.
2. Go to the Council Allotments office (next to the Colston Hall) with your receipt / proof of enrolment (to prove
you’ve enrolled on the course) and with your HWDAA Tenancy Agreement (to prove you are a plot holder and to show when you became a tenant). If you’re a more established plot holder and have lost your Tenancy Agreement, take the invoice being sent out with this newsletter – it’s sufficient proof of your status as a plot holder for a half rent refund.
3. The allotments office will then refund you the 2006/7 plot rental (if you have recently become a plot holder), or half the 2006/7 rental (if you are not so recent)

Filton College

is running the RHS Certificate in Horticulture course at Bristol Zoo Gardens (a wonderful venue). It started 17th September 2006 and there were spaces: phone 931 2121 (The RHS Certificate in Horticulture is a very good and thorough overview of all aspects of gardening - including the scientific basis for doing what you do, as well as the practical side of things. (and quite hard work!)).

Seasonal Recipe

Beetroot and orange salad – a delicious combination!
Mix together 2 oranges, peeled, pithed, sliced and quartered + cooked beetroot (about 3 times as much as the orange)
+ vinaigrette + seasoning.