Tag: BALGA

Posted on

Compost Sunday 2021

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.

  1. Select the type(s) of compost you wish to purchase
  2. Click here to Email tradesec@balga-online.co.uk with the items and quantity you wish to purchase together with your name, address and telephone number.
  3. We will confirm your order with the total amount due and give you our bank account details so you can pay for your items
  4. Once your payment has been received, we will give you an approximate delivery time.

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).

Posted on

Delivery Service January 2021

We are now offering a delivery service to members for the following available types of compost:

  1. Select the type(s) of compost you wish to purchase
  2. Click here to Email tradesec@balga-online.co.uk with the items and quantity you wish to purchase together with your name, address and telephone number.
  3. We will confirm your order with the total amount due and give you our bank account details so you can pay for your items
  4. Once your payment has been received, we will give you an approximate delivery time.

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).

Posted on

Autumn Delivery October 2020

Autumn planting onion sets, shallots, garlic and flowering bulbs are now in stock and are available every Sunday until the end of the growing season (November).

We have the following varieties available:

Onion Sets (£0.70 per 200g)
Senshyu Yellow (limited availability) 
Senshyu onions are a large round onion with a white flesh inside with a mild flavour that would go nicely in a salad.
Red Winter
Red Winter is a good quality large onion that can taste quite sweet. Red onion sets are prone to bolting but this particular variety has excellent resistance to bolting and pests and diseases.

Shallots (£2.10 per 250g)
Jermor
Jermor has a shiny brown skin with a pinkish flesh. This is a good sweet variety to try.

Garlic
Elephant garlic (£0.70 per clove)
Elephant garlic is not a true garlic, but produces stems like leeks and the large bulbs have a mild garlic taste that is ideal for roasting.

Flowering bulbs
Why not plant some flowering bulbs in your garden and allotment for some spring colour?
Mixed daffodils – £0.90 per 500g
Mixed Garden Tulips – 10 bulbs for £2.00

Hope to see you at the shop on Sunday. Remember to keep a social distance, especially if there are more than six people at the shop.

Posted on

Successful Onions!

In the past, I had not been successful with onions or leeks because of the allium leaf miner. The adult flies appear from March to April and September to October and will feed on the leaves of your allium plants before laying her eggs. It attacks all members of the allium family. You can tell the female fly has fed on your leaves because you will see lines of white dots on the leaves on your alliums. The eggs will hatch and become larvae (small maggots) that will tunnel in the foliage, stems and bulbs of the allium plant exposing the plant to diseases and rotting.

So at the end of last year I thought I would protect my plants using insect mesh to stop the allium fly laying eggs on my allium plants. Back in October last year Monty Don on Gardeners’ World said to try planting onion sets in modules in the greenhouse as it will give the onions a head start and avoid cold and wet weather. I knew the allium fly would be unable to access the onions in the greenhouse over winter so I gave it a try.

In April, when the soil had warmed up, I decided to plant the onion plants out. I knew the allium fly could lay her eggs in April so I covered it with insect mesh (which is available at the BALGA Members’ shop).

Finally, it was a success! Have a look at the picture below:

Remember, there is no chemical available that will stop the allium leaf miner so it is best to use insect mesh in March-April and September-October. Perhaps you can try starting your onions in modules this year? It could give you a head start to the season next year and harvest onions early than usual!

Miles

Posted on

Half Price Onions and Potatoes (July 2020)

Our potatoes and onion sets are now half price! 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. We’ve also reduced the price of the remaining onion sets by 50%, down to 30p per 200g.

Now is the perfect time to plant potatoes for a ‘second cropping’ especially if you fancy serving new potatoes up with your Christmas dinner. Click here for more information on planting Christmas potatoes.

The table below shows our current stock levels in the shop. As you can see, after a very successful delivery service and click and collect service, we have very few potatoes left. So why not come to the members’ shop this Sunday (10am-11am) to take advantage of the half price seed potatoes? Alternatively, you can make a click and collect order, click here to find out more information.

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.

Posted on

Christmas Potatoes

I know it’s a little too early to think about Christmas but if you fancy serving new potatoes up with your Christmas dinner, now is a good time to plant seed potatoes. There is no need to chit the seed potatoes because they will grow rapidly in the warm soil. They will be ready from September/October but you can leave them in the ground until Christmas Day. Make sure you earth up in October after the first frosts to protect them from any further hard frosts. I tried it for the last couple of years with great success and I know Mick (Chairman) does it each year. It’s a great way to enjoy fresh potatoes on Christmas Day!

Saxon is a good variety to try for a second cropping because it produces uniform long oval-shaped potatoes with a good yield. Saxon is somewhat floury potato and is excellent for baking and chipping.  ‘Winston’ is another variety that is good for a second cropping because it’s quick to grow and is excellent for roasting and mashing. Perfect for Christmas Day!

Seed potatoes are currently half price at £0.50 per kg. You may have pulled up onions and garlic and this a great way to fill the empty space. So why not come to the members’ shop this Sunday (10am-11am) to take advantage of the half price seed potatoes? Alternatively, you can make a click and collect order, click here to find out more information.

Posted on

Watering your Plot

Who would have thought after such a wet winter that we would now be so desperate for rain? 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 of you on 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 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.

Mick (Chairman)

Posted on

Shop re-stocked June 2020

Since starting the delivery service and then the click and collect service, we have had many orders and it has been a successful couple of months trading. Last week, our shop was starting to look quite empty with most products selling out.

Before Delivery June 2020
After Delivery June 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fortunately, as you can see from the pictures above, we have had a delivery from our supplier and our shop is now fully stocked! This is great news as compost is selling out of shops quite fast and our products are considerably cheaper than garden centre prices!

Click here if you are a member and you’d like to make an order.

Posted on

Availability of Potatoes and Onion Sets May 2020

After a very successful delivery service, we only have a limited amount of seed potatoes left in stock with many varieties having already sold out. If you do not have any seed potatoes planted yet, there is still time to order some seed potatoes from the Members’ Shop.

Why not try a different potato variety this year? We have a main crop variety called ‘Markies’ which is perfect for chipping, but it has an advantage over Maris Piper because it has better blight and disease resistance. Another good variety to try is second early ‘Saxon’ as it has uniform long oval-shaped potatoes that produce a good yield. Saxon is somewhat floury potato and is excellent for baking and chipping and has good resistance to drought and after cooking discolouration.

As you can see from the table, varieties are selling out, so why not do an online order to receive your potatoes? Click here to read the details on how to make an online order.

Legal Proudly powered by WordPress