I wasn’t at the allotments last Wednesday, because I was attending a Charity Comms seminar in London. That didn’t hold the volunteers back though. In a fit of energy and enthusiasm, they went from just marking out the beds and paths for the Heritage Garden, to actually digging it all out. It was a cold day and not the best conditions for digging, but everyone worked hard and when I got there this week, I was amazed by what they achieved. It’s a simple thing, but everyone is very excited about these two new projects, and the new lease of life that the Foundation has breathed into the allotments.

Our next open Work Party will be on Saturday 6th December from 1:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. We will be working on the Climate Change garden that day, erecting trellis to screen off the new compost bins we have made from recycled pallets (reduce – reuse – recycle!) and also moving boulders into position to make the beds for the plants.

Anyone is welcome to join us on the day. For further info. give me a call on 01245 443073.

Here are a few photos of the work in progress:

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Allotments Diary – November 2008 Update

Over the past couple of weeks Charlie and Tommy have built new compost bins at the back our site, using recycled broken pallets.  Rose and Tommy have dug over one of the vegetable plots and we now have onions, garlic and broad beans in to grow over the winter and as an experiment we’ve also put in a packet of Mustard seed – just to see what happens!

Everyone has been involved in preparing the sites for the new Heritage Vegetable Garden and the Climate Change Garden, and these ares are now cleared and covered over with weed matting, ready for the structure to be created in the coming weeks.  Charlie is drawing up a shopping list of plants, which will include some fruit trees for the Climate Change Garden and an old English variety of Pear, which will be the centre point of the Heritage Garden.

The poly tunnel has been cleared and cleaned and the whole site is now looking much tidier.   Tommy did a great job on sorting out the shed this morning, and has made new tool racks so we can at last get the tools up off the floor and readily accessible for use.  Trudy has washed and sorted all the plant pots and trays and the broken ones have been discarded, with the good ones safely stored for the next growing season.   Meanwhile Brendan has been busy erecting our two new greenhouses and preparing the beds inside them.

Tony popped along this morning and we were pleased to see him after a break from being at the allotments.  Together with Trudy he made a good job of weeding and tidying the herb garden.  The next job over in that corner will be to thin out the strawberries and get the fruit beds ready for next season.

Over in the wildlife area, the patch on the pond liner is doing it’s job and the water level is slowly rising.  As you may recall, the pond was vandalised a couple of months ago and we had to try and effect a repair.  Charlie’s efforts with the rubber patch and sealant seem to have done the trick.  We now have to clear some of the oak leaves from the water.

Although as you can see, we have all been really busy, there are still plenty more jobs to do.   We will be holding our first Saturday volunteering session on 6th December from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.   Anyone can come along and join us – just wear some old clothes and some sturdy shoes.   Our aim for that day is to get the infrastructure for the Climate Change garden in place – so we’ll need to put up the trellis screen in front of the compost bins, plant the fruit trees and create our two new beds, bordered by boulders and stones – so it’s going to be a day of bending, lifting and carrying, but it will be good fun too.   I hope as many people as possible can come and share the work – and the satisfaction – with us.  If you’d like any more information about this, or our Wednesday volunteering sessions, email richard@wildernessfoundation.org.uk

I’ve put together a gallery of photos taken today, so that you can see how the site is being transformed.  Thanks as always to all our volunteers for their hard work.

More news next month.

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Allotment Diary – November 2008

While it was a very wet August and our tomatos are running late this year, the conditions for the courgettes have been great and as a result we have a bumper crop of fresh organic courgettes that are being shared out amongst the staff and volunteers.  Our runner beans are also ready for picking and it’s time to life our beetroot too.  I took one home last night to cook and pickle and am looking forward to enjoying it with my sandwiches at the office in coming months.

The sad news is that during August both of our sheds on the allotments were broken into.  It’s sadenning and frustrating that mindless acts like this (nothing was stolen – just the shed doors and locks damaged) can deter people from investing time and energy into projects like ours.   We remain undeterred and both sheds have now been repaired, thanks to the efforts of Brendan, our most loyal volunteer.   This incident formed part of a wider range of attacks at allotments sites across the town, with at least one shed burned down on each of the town sites.  So, with just a couple of broken locks and a damaged wooden frame, we really got off quite lightly.

On a more positive note, we have trialled growing hops this year and Charlie and the teams efforts are now coming to fruition.  Charlie plants the hops in one of the raised beds, which we use to increase user accessibility to the site.   They really took to their new home and have spread rapidly upwards, and now outward, across the planter and the hops themselves are looking stunning (as seen in the picture, right).   I have no idea whether we will have enough or they will be suitable to produce a Wilderness Beer, but it will be fun trying!

The raised flower beds were created last year from a grant, with the award based upon creating better access for disabled people.   Over the winter months we want to further extend acess for disabled site visitors and are investigating ways  of improving the paths around the allotments to make them suitable for wheelchair access.   We are also putting together plans to redevelop the plot adjacent to the existing raised beds, providing an extended working area, with additional seating for breaks and quiet reflection, complete with a specimen of the much-maligned “water feature”!  I will bring you further updates as plans develop.

Down at the site today we are erecting the first of our two “new” greenhouses.  A local resident, who could no-longer manage her own garden, kindly lets us buy them at a considerably reduced rate, because she knew that we would take good care of them and make the best use of them too!   It’s this kind of thinking, together with the looks on the faces of the kids when they finish their session each week, that make all the back breaking work worthwhile.

We still need more volunteers to help us, so if you have a few hours to spare each week and live in the Chelmsford area, please get in touch.

Oh and in closing, just to say that our Pumpkins are coming on well and will be ready in time for Hallowe’en.  More on that in next months diary.

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A wet month on the allotments, but still bumper crops

On 9th July, Charlie and I had an early start and ventured down to the local DIY warehouse and filled our trolley with compost, organic slug pellets (they’ve been at the veg!) and a few new tools – some of our spades and forks have seen better days and with some new equipment our volunteers and school groups have been ploughing into the site with gusto. Thanks to everyone who helped us unload the truck at the other end and have put the new purchases to good use.

This coming Saturday, 19th July we have an Open Working Party at the site for the day and all our Friends and Supporters are invited to join us in preparing the site for National Allotments Week in August. We will be joined by a group from the Christian Festival in the morning, and among a number of jobs we hope to accomplish, repairing the leak in the wildlife pond is quite high on our list. During the afternoon we will be joining with the Melbournes Allotments Association for a social event, bringing together all the site holders to enjoy time with one another, along with a buffet tea and Strawberries and Cream. In the Marquee there will be a plant stall, allotment produce for sale and of course the teas. A nominal fee of £1.50 is being charged to cover expenses.

I’m off to the allotments shortly to meet with Dave Grundy from Moulsham High so he can see first hand some of the work that is being done, thanks to their support.

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Allotment Diary – July 2008