Allotment plots in Baldock
The BALGA Members’ Shop will re-open on Sunday 18th April 2021 (10 am – 12 pm).
The BALGA Members’ Shop will open on Sunday 18 April 2021 and every Sunday thereafter until 21 November 2021 (subject to any future COVID restrictions). The Shop will be open from 10 am until 12 pm. Please observe a social distance.
The price list can be found by clicking here and clicking ‘BALGA Shop 2021 current price list March 2021’ button on the page.
Potatoe sales have been very successful. We’ve sold over 90% of our potatoes. Potatoes are selling fast and it’s not too late to make an order, but it’s better to do it sooner rather than later. Members can click here to place an order for seed potatoes, onion and shallot sets.
We have sold out of even more varieties and we have limited stock with some of our main crop and second early potatoes. It is not too late to buy your potatoes or onion and shallot sets, but we are selling out fast and you may want to buy your favourite variety as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
You may want to try Premiere as your first early potato because the variety is resistant to blight and common scab and they are ideal for frying.
Did you forget to plant garlic in the Autumn? We have garlic that is bred for Spring planting. It would need planting straight away, but members can make an order by clicking here. Garlic is not on our pre-order form, but you can request it in the “Additional notes” or email our Trading Secretary by clicking here.
We would usually start the season with Compost Sunday at the BALGA Members’ Shop. However, due to COVID-19, we are offering a delivery service for BALGA members on our latest compost that has just arrived (please see below).
We are in a limited supply of Humax Multipurpose 60l because they are reformulating it to create a peat-free compost. If this is one of your favourite types of compost to use, then we recommend you make an order as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. However, Gro-well Multipurpose 60l at £5.00 makes a good alternative because it’s similar in quality.
Deliveries can only be made to addresses in Baldock. For members living outside Baldock, arrangements should be made with Stewart (the Trading Secretary) for convenient delivery to the member’s allotment plot or to one of our allotment site gates for Associate Members (non-plot holders).
On Monday, the government announced that as of Wednesday 13 May, garden centres would be permitted to open. To keep our members as safe as possible, we have decided to operate a click and collect service. Once you have made an order, you will be given an allocated time slot to collect your items from the shop between 10am-12pm on Sundays. Note you need to be a BALGA member to take advantage of the service.
If you would like to purchase items, please follow this process:
Or click here for our price list on the shop page
To keep everyone safe, please observe a social distance. If your potatoes have been affected by the frost and you wish to purchase more then we have some varieties available. Click here to see the available potatoes and onion sets.
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.
There is a new Corona virus page accessible via the Main Menu with longer more direct pieces of key information and shorter News posts like this to highlight breaking new information.
You will be able to search for information using the Category COVID-19.
Feedback welcome .
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.
Did you know we have a box of gardening magazines at the shed? They are there for members to borrow, read and return at their leisure.
If you have any old ones you no longer need, feel free to drop them off in exchange.
Please note however that as space is always at a premium BALGA reserves the right to periodically dispose of any magazines in the box to keep the shed tidy.