Allotment plots in Baldock
This is the first post in a proposed attempt to keep BALGA members up to speed with the many changes the committee expect to arrive in the coming weeks.
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We all know that global warming is widely reported to be a growing threat to our planted, with several contributing causes identified. Amongst these is our continued use of peat as a growing medium in our horticulture, with the result that we are all being urged to use less of it or indeed eliminate its use altogether, with some institutions already doing so from next year.
BALGA now stocks two recommended types of peat free compost, the quality of which has improved considerably. Typically peat free is made from a combination of constituents in varying proportions-primarily composted green material, composted bark and wood chips and coir (the latter a bi product from coir) and loam, to which appropriate nutrients and PH control are added. Some use other alternative materials.
Of the two we stock, one is out suppliers Gro-well’s own brand, produced for them by Levingtons, and contains just bark, wood chips and coir composted and graded to a fine tilth that can be used for seed sowing. It has received good reports and costs £6.00 for a 60l bag. The other, under well known Clover brand, also contains some green material making it a little courser, but still popular and costs £4.00 for 40l. At 10p per litre for either, the cost is 20% to 25% more than peat based equivalents. So you have the choice peat based or peat free.
Our traditional shop opener of the year, Compost Sunday will be held this Sunday, 2 February, at the members’ shop in Football Close.
Come along from 10am – 12pm to get your compost for the season at considerably lower prices than garden centres.
Below is a full list of what is available.
Following on from the AGM and as a result of more demand for peat-free compost, we will be stocking new two varieties of peat-free compost this year. One from Clover which contains green compost (40l for £4.00) and the other from Gro-well which contains bark, wood, fibre & coir (60l for £6.30). We also have a few bags left of Growise peat-free multipurpose compost which is on sale for just £2.50.
The Kings Seeds orders arrived in late December. All individual member orders are collated by some of the committee into one big order which is placed with Kings Seeds under their allotment association seed scheme. When the seed packets arrive they need laying out and checking to make sure the order is correct; no mean feat as the images show!
The seed packets are then sorted so that each individual member’s order is filled. Members can then collect their orders from the chairman.
Being able to take advantage of the Kings Seeds scheme is one of the benefits of being a member of BALGA; the prices of the seeds are considerably less than you would find in a garden centre and are also lower than Kings Seeds regular seed catalogue. Members can easily save the cost of their annual membership through their seed orders alone.
Membership to BALGA is open to all; you don’t have to have an allotment to be a member of the association. We usually place a second bulk order after our AGM each year so any new or existing members who haven’t placed an order yet can still do so. Catalogues will be available for collection at the AGM on 20 January.
The last few remaining daffodils bulbs left unsold from the members’ shop were planted around the notice board and in the raised beds at our North Road Site in December. Hopefully they will make a lovely display of colour in the spring!
We planted the daffodils about 4 inches deep, or double the size of the bulb, and about 4 inches apart. Daffodils can stand some crowding, but it’s best to keep them at least 3 inches apart. Planting daffodils too shallow will cause floppy stems that will break in the wind and too deep will cause the bulb to not flower or surface.
We will show you the flowering bulbs in Spring and I’m sure they will brighten the allotment site up.
BALGA decorated and exhibited a Christmas Tree at the annual Christmas Tree Festival in St Mary’s Church, Baldock.
Every year local schools and community organisations fill the church with festive trees and Nativity scenes. We called our Christmas tree ‘The Growing Tree’. It was decorated with fruit and vegetables, some of which had been grown on our allotments in Baldock.
The church committee wrote a card that said “our Christmas tree was inspirational and it was admired by many.” We left some leaflets out for the public to take and were pleased a fair number was taken.
Thank you to the members that donated vegetables and fruit for us to use and to St Mary’s Church for allowing us to exhibit our tree.
There is still time to get your onion sets, shallots and flowering bulbs before the shop closes at the end of the season (24 Nov). Many gardening websites suggest that November is the perfect time to plant garlic and tulip bulbs, so why not come to the members’ shop this Sunday (10am – 12pm) and get some planting done before the weather changes.
It’s always nice to see things growing over the winter and it makes the plot look nice when the weather is so poor and there is little else growing.
As you can see from the table below, we have very limited stock of some varieties. If these are your favourites, then please come to the members’ shop this Sunday before they are sold out. We also have a handful of elephant garlic cloves left.
The members’ shop will now only be open on 17 November and 24 November before closing for the winter at 12pm on 24 Nov.
I started to garden organically when I had my first plot in 1972. I was inspired by buying a copy of the book ‘Grow your Own Fruit and Vegetables’ by Laurence D Hills. Laurence was the founder of The Henry Doubleday Research Institute, which is now known as Garden Organic.
The great advantage of organic growing to me is that I know there are no herbicide or pesticide residues in the food I grow. I do, of course get bug and fungus attacks, but by and large nature sorts these out with a little help. I grow comfrey and use this to make a liquid feed. This is the only fertiliser I use for tomatoes etc. I do use chicken manure pellets, as well as horse manure and homemade compost. If I have serious bug infestation, I use garlic spray, click here to find out more.
Generally, I do not use fungicide. I used to use Bordeaux Mixture, but that is no longer accepted as organic, except by French wine growers! My only exception is when potting up and planting out courgette and squash plants, as they are susceptible to damping off, a fungus issue. However, my solution is just to water well with fresh tap water, which has just enough chlorine in it to kill the fungus.
There is plenty more information as well as tips and advice on organic gardening on the Garden Organic website.
I also belong to the Heritage Seed Library, part of Garden Organic, and have been saving seeds for many years. Some seeds, like peas and tomatoes are easy to save because they do not cross. Others, like squashes cross readily, so you are never sure what will grow from saved seed. I always have surplus tomato seeds, so if any BALGA member wants to try a heritage variety, click here to send me an email.
Phil Charsley (General Secretary)
Summer may be winding down and we may be enjoying bountiful harvests, but now is the time to start thinking of the next growing season and this means the planting of autumn onion and shallot sets and garlic.
The members’ shop took delivery of the autumn sets a couple of weeks ago and this year we have available:
Onion sets (60p per 200g) :
Shallots (80p per 250g) :
Garlic (70p per head)
You can also sow broad beans in the autumn and Broad Bean Aquadulce is the ideal variety for growing over the winter months. There are packs of 200g for £1 available in the shop.
This year we are also trialing the sale of assorted narcissus and tulip bulbs. The narcissus are available for 90p per 500g and there are five varieties of tulip available; the price for these being £2 for 10 bulbs.
The members’ shop is open every Sunday until the end of November.
Thank you to everyone who came to our Open Day at Tapps Garden Centre on 17 August. It was good to see so many members coming along again.
A good number of seed catalogues were handed out to members. Taking advantage of buying seeds in the Kings Seeds’ catalogue is a great way for members to save money on their seed purchases for next year. If you haven’t got your catalogue yet, you can pick one up every Sunday morning during September and October at the members’ shop in Football Close.
Click here for more information on national seed scheme from King Seeds.
We also had a couple of people seeking plots and their names have been added to the waiting list. We had a number of displays showing our work this year and a possible expansion on North Road allotment site. With the increasing demand for allotments and waiting list, we will be exploring this possible expansion.
Once again, thank you to everyone that came to our Open Day. If you have any ideas for next year, please email publicity@balga-online.co.uk