Allotment plots in Baldock
Did you know you can register with a website called Blightwatch and it will send you alerts when weather conditions increase the chance of blight on your crops? You can choose up to ten postcode areas to cover the surrounding areas and registration is free.
BALGA received an email alert this morning advising that a Hutton Period Alert was affecting a nearby postcode. Visit the Blightwatch website for more information.
Yes, it’s that time of year again! The annual judging for the Best Kept Allotment Competition will be taking place towards the end of this month. A small panel of committee members from each site will judge all the plots and select the best 10 plots from each site.
Plots are judged and scored as follows:
Overall condition of plot – 20 points
Good workmanship – 20 points
Quality and variety of crops grown – 30 points
Ingenuity used to improve growing conditions – 15 points
Originality of layout and planting arrangements – 15 points
The shortlisted plots will then be put forward for final judging by an independent judge in mid July and they will determine the best plot on each site.
Each site winner will receive a prize of a £25 voucher to be spent at the members’ shop. Of these two, the plot gaining the most points will be declared the overall winner and the tenant awarded the Basil Bryant Cup.
In addition a separate independently judged competition will select the Best Newcomer for a new tenant in their first year of cultivation. All those tenants taking on their plot after 1 May 2018 are eligible for this competition. The winner will receive the Frank Conway Cup.
Have a look at the winner of Basil Bryant Cup last year and his plot. I’m sure this will give you some inspiration.
After a successful start to the trading year, we only have a limited amount of seed potatoes left in stock now with many varieties having already sold out. In order to clear the remaining stock we have halved the price of the seed potatoes in the members’ shop down to 50p per Kg.
There’s still time (just) to get your seed potatoes, onions and shallots planted out so why not come to the members’ shop this Sunday (10am-12pm) to take advantage of the half price seed potatoes?
We’ve also reduced the price of the remaining onion sets by 50%, down to 20p per 200g.
If you’ve just taken on an allotment, now is a good time to prepare an area and plant some seed potatoes. It’s a good way to break up the soil AND enjoy a harvest this summer.
The members’ shop is open every Sunday 10am-12pm. Click here [Link removed] to see a full list of potatoes as well as more information about each variety.
Thank you to everyone that came along to our Open Day on Saturday. Despite the initial downpour just before we were about to open, we had a successful day with two new tenancies agreed at Clothall Road and several visitors wanting to look around both sites.
We’ve had a few enquiries about getting an allotment over the last week and we are pleased to announce that we are now fully tenanted at our North Road site and have a waiting list in operation on that site.
If you’ve been thinking about getting an allotment, we still have 1 full plot and 2 half plots at Clothall Road (14/05/19).
Now that our sites are almost full we have imposed a notional boundary of approx. a 5 mile radius around Baldock for accepting new allotment tenants so that we can give priority to Baldock residents.
Click here for more information about getting an allotment.
Spring is here with warmer days, lighter evenings and daffodils and tulips blooming. April can be a busy month with seeds to sow and jobs to do around the plot. The lighter evenings also help as there is more time to work in our gardens or plots! April is also a good time to cut the grass and weed regularly and plant perennials for the summer months.
If your daffodils or tulips have finished flowering, now is the perfect time to deadhead the old flowers. This is important so all the energy can go in to the bulb to produce good flowers next year. You should also allow for the stems and leaves to die back naturally. Once the foliage has died back naturally, you can lift it and store it dry and plant it again in the autumn. Of course, if you would prefer, you can leave them in the ground. I plan to lift mine to make more space to grow other crops.
Now is a good time to plant out second earlies, salad and main crop potatoes. Some seed companies suggested waiting to plant main crop as there is no rush to plant them out. You can dig a trench 6 inches deep and place the seed potatoes inside the trench about 12 inches apart and 3 ft between the rows. Main crop potatoes should be spaced at least 18 inches apart to ensure larger potatoes. Or why not try the no dig method? To do this use a dibber to make a 6 inch hole and drop the seed potato into the hole. Click here to find out more information about no dig potatoes. Potatoes are hungry plants and it’s best to plant in well-rotted manure or compost. It might be a good idea to add fish blood and bone, which can be found at our members’ shop for £0.70 a kg. Click here for more information on the fertilisers we sell in the members’ shop and how to use them.
Sweet peas can be planted out in the middle of April. Sweet peas like rich soil, so it’s a good idea to plant in rotted manure or compost and provide them with support to get them off to a good start and you will be rewarded with many flowers.
Now is a great time to harvest the first of asparagus. We’ve had some cold nights, especially at North Road allotment site and its important to protect the asparaus spears by covering it with a fleece. If you want to plant asparagus, April is the last month you can do this. Dig a V shape trench about 8 inches deep and 30cm wide. Create a mound of compost about 7 inches high along the bottom of the trench for the crowns to rest upon. Cover the roots with soil and press firmly and water well. April is the time to harvest spring cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, kale and any remaining leeks you have.
Grass paths or lawns will need to be mowed this month. Resist the temptation to cut quite low, like you would in the summer. It’s much better to mow the lawn quite high to even the grass and when the weather warms up next month, you can cut lower. This will result in a greener and healthier lawn.
Now is a good time to prune cherry and plum trees as they’re growing. You should do this once the leaf buds have opened. Click here to find out how to prune plum trees. Click here to find out how to prune cherry trees.
You should also harden off young plants before planting them outside. Bring the plants outside in the day when it’s warm outside and bring it back in again at night. This will allow young plants to slowly accustom to lower temperatures. Alternatively, cold frames and cloches can be used by opening them in the day and closing them at night.
Now is a good time to plant flowers such as lilies, gladioli and dahlias. Make sure you have good drainage, especially if you’re putting the bulbs in pots or containers because they may rot. Bulbs are usually planted down three times their height and one bulb apart, but it’s best to check the instructions your bulbs came with. Make sure you plant in compost or well-rotted manure. Why not stagger your planting to enjoy blooms all summer?
April is a good time to get ahead and start your seeds. I’ve already sown courgettes and pumpkins indoors and chard and spinach outdoors. See a list of seeds you can sow this month. Click here to have a look at the sowing and harvest chart.
Sow indoors
Sow outdoors:
Click here to see a full list of seeds you can sow this month.
On Saturday 6 April, we had a working party at our North Road allotment site. It was great to see such a good turnout of members giving up their spare time. Some of the volunteers were responsible for clearing up the site by strimming the grass paths and removing weeds to make the site look tidier. We also cleared up the front of the allotment site by removing rotted wood and weeds from the raised beds.
A ramshackle old shed was taken down and another team of volunteers cleared the resulting area of bramble and other rubbish. A well-rotted-down compost area in one corner was then taken apart and spread over the ground to create a new fertile area for the tenant to grow on. The tenant was very pleased and grateful to the working party for giving her extra growing space.
Another old shed was taken down and removed from another part of the site. A lot of rubbish was removed and the contents either burnt, recycled or disposed of.
A third team worked on a plot where there was a large elder tree trunk that needed removing. It took the whole team to carry it to the bonfire! It was a job well done though and will make this plot more attractive to potential new tenants.
A big thank you to everyone that helped with the working party. These working parties are essential to keep maintenance costs for our sites as low as possible. The more work we can do ourselves, the better!
After a successful few weeks of trading, we have sold out of even more varieties and have limited stock of some of our first earlies, salad potatoes and shallots. It’s not too late to buy your potatoes, onions or shallots, but as we are selling out of certain varieties, you may want to buy your favourite variety as soon as possible at the members’ shop to avoid disappointment.
We have sold out of Casablanca, but Swift is a good alternative because it produces large tubers and it’s one of the fastest maturing first early potatoes.
Setanta is a good main crop potato which you might not have tried before. It is blight resistant, high yielding, has good drought tolerance and is ideal for roasting and mashing. Why not try this as your main crop potato?
We trialled pre-packed potatoes in 2.5kg bags this year and they have proved to be very successful with nearly all the bags sold. We still have Cara, Kestrel and Setanta available in pre-packed 2.5kg bags, although the Cara and Kestrel pre-packs are nearly gone.
With all the poor weather we’ve been having, it’s a great time to buy potatoes and let them chit until you’re ready to plant them out. The members’ shop is open every Sunday 10am-12pm or click here to take advantage of our pre-order form to save time as your order will be ready for you on collection. Click here to see a full list of potatoes still available as well as more information about each variety.
Finally, winter is beginning to recede, we can now begin to sow seeds and plant outdoors. However, we must take in to consideration the weather we had last year. With the freezing temperatures and snow from the Beast from the East! Traditionally, March is a good time to plant out your first early potatoes that have been chitting away. It’s best to do this at the end of the month but check the ground is not too wet and take in to consideration anything Mother Nature has in store for us.
If you have bought some onions and shallots from the members’ shop, now is a good time to plant them out. Make sure that you cover them with netting to protect your onions and shallots from the birds. I have learnt the hard way! They love to pull them out of the ground! If the ground is too wet, it might be better to plant onions or shallots in small pots or seed trays with multi-purpose compost in a greenhouse or in a cold frame to get them started.
If you have not bought your onions or shallots sets yet, we still have some in stock that you can buy any Sunday 10am-12pm at the members’ shop. Click here to find out more information on our current stock.
If you have over wintering brassicas, it’s a good time to give them a feed of sulphate of ammonia. Sulphate of ammonia is a fast-acting nitrogen fertiliser which encourages leafy growth. This is particularly useful for the brassica family as well as lettuce, spinach, rhubarb, leeks and onions. I added one handful (45g) per square metre, mixed it in to the soil and watered it.
Sulphate of ammonia is available in the members’ shop for £0.80 per kg.
Seedlings can get quite leggy if there is not enough light at this time of the year. It’s good practice to wait until mid-March to start sowing your seeds, unless you have a grow light.
In March, you can sow the following seeds outdoors:
Sow undercover:
Sow indoors
March is a good time to prune your roses. Roses can be pruned quite hard to promote vigorous growth. You can find some good advice on how to prune your roses here. Once you have pruned your roses, give them a feed with rose fertiliser to give them a head start. We sell rose fertiliser in the shop, click here to see more information.
After a successful few weeks of trading, we have sold out of some varieties and we have limited stock with some of our first early potatoes. It’s not too late to buy your potatoes, onions or shallots. Order your potatoes as soon as you can to avoid disappointment, as some varieties are nearly sold out.
We have sold out of Golden Gourmet shallots, but we still have plenty of Red Sun shallots. Why don’t you try Red Sun shallots instead because they have a tasty distinctive flavour with red skin and will store for months.
We have sold out of Desiree and Setanta is a good alternative to Desiree because it’s blight resistant, high yielding, has good drought tolerance and they’re ideal for roasting and mashing.
It’s not too late if you have not bought your seed potatoes. The shop is open every Sunday 10am-12pm or click here to take advantage of our pre-order form. Click here to see a full list of available potatoes and more information about each variety.
Come and visit our development of the shop! We have installed extra shelving to improve the display of stock and to make purchasing more efficient.
To make shopping more efficient, we have pre-weighed bags of Vermiculite Fine, Vermiculite Medium, Perlite, Growmore, Fish Blood and Bone and Pelleted Chicken Manure. We have the following volumes available pre-weighed:
You can get your pre-weighed bags from the shop, which is open every Sunday (during the growing season) 10am-12pm. If the volume you’re looking for is not available pre-weighed, we can weigh out your chosen amount. To see a full list of our products in the shop, please click here.