Tag: BALGA

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BALGA Open Day 2024

We are excited to invite you to our Open Day 2024 in celebration of National Allotments Week.

Event Details

Date: Saturday, 17th August 2024
Time: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Location: Tapps Garden Centre, Wallington Road (opposite the Clothall Road allotment site)

Come and join BALGA, your local community-run allotment and leisure gardeners’ Association. Benefits include:
🍈 Access to discounted prices at our members’ shop
🫑 An annual flower and vegetable show with the Baldock Horticultural Society
🍐 A discounted seed scheme via Kings Seeds and the National Allotment
Association
🥬 A bi-monthly newsletter to keep you up-to-date
Come and speak with us to find out about getting an allotment or becoming an Associate Member. Learn about Seed Saving.

Refreshments are available at Tapps Garden Centre.

 

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National Allotments Week

Celebrate National Allotments Week: August 12th – 18th

For over two decades, National Allotments Week, initiated by The National Allotment Society, has been a cherished tradition that encourages allotment holders across the UK to open their gates and showcase the beauty and benefits of their sites. This week-long celebration highlights the social, health, and environmental advantages of maintaining allotments.

This year, National Allotments Week will run from Monday, August 12th to Sunday, August 18th, with a special focus on biodiversity. Throughout the week, we will be sharing fantastic content from our expert partners and ambassadors, offering valuable tips on how to encourage pollinators and wildlife on your allotment.

Join BALGA’s Special Event to celebrate the week

As part of the festivities, BALGA (Baldock Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Association) will be hosting a special event on Saturday 17, August. While we are eagerly awaiting confirmation of the event location, we promise it will be an informative and enjoyable day for all attendees. Members can collect their seed catalogue.

Stay tuned for updates on the venue, and in the meantime, prepare to celebrate and learn how to make your allotment a haven for biodiversity.

Why Allotments Matter

Allotments are more than just patches of land for growing vegetables and flowers; they are vibrant community spaces that bring people together. They offer numerous benefits, including:

  • Social: Allotments create a sense of community and belonging, providing a space for people to connect, share knowledge, and support each other.
  • Health: Gardening is a fantastic way to stay active and enjoy the outdoors, which can improve physical and mental health.
  • Environmental: Allotments promote sustainable living by encouraging local food production, reducing food miles, and supporting biodiversity.

We invite everyone to join us in celebrating National Allotments Week and to explore the many ways in which allotments contribute to a healthier and more sustainable world. Keep an eye out for more details on our upcoming event and get ready to immerse yourself in the wonders of allotment gardening.

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Reduced seed Potatoes

The BALGA Members’ Shop has a sale on seed potatoes. They’re reduced to £1 per kilo.  The Members’ Shop is open every Sunday from 10am – 12 pm.

If you’re a new plotholder, why not get started with some seed potatoes?

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Working Party at NR February 2024

We had a working party at North Road on Thursday, February 22nd, to bring two plots back into use. A big thank you to the eight members who helped put the rubbish into piles ready to be removed or put on a bonfire. I know lots of you emailed back to say you couldn’t help on that date. We will need a couple more working parties to bring this plot back into use, so please look out for the next date. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Please, can we kindly ask members not to dump any further rubbish in this area because it will cost the Association more money to remove the rubbish where the money could be better spent to improve the site’ facilities.

 

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BALGA AGM 2024

We had our Annual General Meeting on January 2024 at the Community Centre in Baldock. Along with the formal business, we heard reports from various committee members about the work we completed last year.

The winners of the Best Kept Allotment Competition were awarded  their certificate and trophy by Counsellor Muir. Please see the pictures below of the tenants receiving their certificate, trophy and gift voucher for the Members’ Shop.

Adam H – Best Plot Overall
Stephen D – Best Plot at North Road
Terry and Melody –  Best Newcomer at North Road

Mick Camp, Alison Gentle, Jon Jones and Phil Charsley were all re-elected onto the Committee.  We welcome Ian Rees and Sarah Bassett who were voted onto the Committee too.

Despite the problems we’ve had with the lock at North Road, it was agreed by those present from the North Road site that the lock on the gate should not be replaced for the time being.

Membership fees would be increased from £6 to £7 for 2024/25. Allotment rents would stay the same. 

BALGA had received over £2,000 from the North Herts Lottery. This would be used to provide solar security lighting for the sites and a box for food bank donations at North Road.

An update was given on the progress of bringing back in to use 30 half-plots at the North Road site.BALGA had been liaising with Urban & Civic on the provision of allotments and expanding the facilities at the current sites as part of the expansion of Baldock.

The Committee was given the go ahead to look into changing BALGA from an unincorporated association to a co-operative. There will be more information on this soon. 

We would like to thank everyone who attended the AGM, and we look forward to sharing our progress this year.

 

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Potato Weekend 2024

This year we are once again running a pre-ordering service for members so they can place orders online for seed potatoes. Orders are placed on a ‘click and collect’ basis and are dealt with in the order they are received.

Once you have made your order, a committee member will reply within 3 days with the amount you owe. Payment is made on collection from the members’ shop or BACS before collection. Please specify the date you wish to collect your order in the order form below and it will be picked and bagged ready for you on that date.

All stock is subject to availability and stock levels are updated on a weekly basis.

Note: BALGA reserves the right to put back into stock any items not collected within 7 days of the specified collection date.

Chitting Potatoes!

If you wish to order more than one variety in each category, please use the ‘Additional Potato Order’ sections on the form.

Any additional requirements or comments, please add these to the ‘Additional Information box.

Once you have chosen your varieties, don’t forget to select a collection date before clicking ‘Submit’. A copy of your order will be emailed to you. Please print off a copy and bring it with you when you come to collect your order.

Prices are as follows:
Seed potatoes – £1.30 per kilo
Onion sets – £0.70 per 200g
Shallots – £0.70 per 200g

Click here to create your order. 

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Compost Sunday

This to let you know that the BALGA shop will be open this Sunday 4 February for compost sales. There will be a special offer this Sunday on Bloom & Grow peat free compost (the price will reduce as you order more bags)
  • 1 bag       £5
  • 2 bags     £9
  • 3 bags     £12
  • 4 bags     £15

Baldock honey will also be on sale.

The shop will then be shut until Potato weekend 24/25 February.
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Best Kept Competition 2023 – The Results

Third time lucky, and the final round of judging for this year’s Best Kept Allotment competition took place at the beginning of August. We had to postpone it twice due to the poor weather. Two independent judges scored the 21 shortlisted plots for Best Plot Overall and the shortlisted 6 plots for Best Newcomer 2024. The judges had a difficult task this year as it was a closely fought contest.

Adam H (CR47B) scored the most points at Clothall Road and is the Best Plot at Clothall Road. Stephen D (NR39) scored the most points at North Road and is the best plot at North Road. Congratulations to Adam H, who scored the most points overall and will be awarded the Basil Byrant Cup. Winners will receive a £25 voucher to use at the Members’ Shop. Presentations will be made at the 2023 AGM.

 

Here are the results for the newcomers. Lesley F (CR37A) scored the most points at Clothall Road and is the Best Newcomer at Clothall Road. Terry and Melody M (NR24) scored the most points at North Road and both are the Best Newcomer at North Road. Lesley will be awarded the Frank Conway Cup and Terry and Melody will be awarded the John Gray Cup at the 2024 AGM. In addition, the best Newcomers will receive a £10 gift.

 

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists. The pictures of the winning plots can be found in this article, and bigger versions on the website. Hopefully, this will give you some inspiration for next year!

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Raised Beds

The Baldock Rotary Club needed some space to start some trees for the new woodland in Baldock. We didn’t have any plots available to help them, but we did have some raised beds that needed repair.  Once they had removed all of their trees, they repaired all of the raised beds, so we can now let them to prospective tenants.

The raised beds are ideal for those with mobility challenges or a disability. They are elevated, making it easier to reach and tend to plants.

If you are interested in a raised bed, please fill out this form here. 

 

 

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Water usage

Watering helps to keep our plants alive but not necessarily to thrive as they would with decent rains. Water use on both sites has obviously increased considerably but I remind you of some steps that can help ‘stem the flow’.

  • Ideally water early morning or late evening
  • Concentrate on crops that really need water – those newly sown or planted and top up when needed.
  • Mulch around plants to help prevent evaporation
  • Dig a hole a spade’s width and depth, fill it with manure or other organic matter, place a little soil on top, and water well before planting out tomatoes, courgettes etc., similarly, a trench for beans etc., leaving a shallow depression around plants to keep the water where it is needed.
  • Overwatering can be counterproductive. Plants can become lazy spreading their roots near the surface where watering supplies them rather down to find moisture to make a stronger root system and plant.
  • When watering is necessary, better to give a soaking once a week rather than a dribble each day.

Affinity Water recently sent an email to inform us that they’re seeing above-average water use. They pleading customers to use less water to reduce the demand to make sure there’s enough water for essential use throughout the summer period. They advised customers to use a watering can to water plants instead of a hose saving 80 litres of water at a time.

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