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July 15th, 2010
With St. Swithun’s Day fast approaching I am sure I am not alone in hoping for rain……not for 40 days and nights of course but 3 or 4 (nights) would be very nice. In this country we have reputation for being preoccupied with the weather and none more so than those of us who garden or have allotments. The weather has been particularly testing this year but we rise to the challenge and hope that we can keep our crops alive until, inevitably, the rains come and everything takes off and grows as it should. Of course I have a particular motive for wishing for an immediate change – our Late Summer Show to be held on 14th August at Hersham Village Hall. The focal point of the show is vegetables and fruit and we could all do with a little help to produce our best but I know that on the day I will be amazed by the quantity and quality appearing on the show benches. As in recent years we will have produce and cake sales at the show and all contributions will be very welcome.
This coming weekend (18th July) Elm Grove allotments will hold an Open Day and everyone is welcome. It is an opportunity to have a look at what goes on at Elm Grove and to be able to talk to fellow gardeners/allotment holders over tea and cake. Rob Chisholm will have his honey and hive products on sale and there should be surplus produce for those of you who don’t grow your own. Please make an effort to come along and bring family and friends.
Looking back to earlier this year, it was good to see so many of you at the AGM and even more who came along afterwards to listen to Paolo Arrigo speaking about his company Seeds of Italy. It was an excellent talk and there are already signs on the allotment of new and unusual varieties of vegetables grown from his seeds.
A new departure for this newsletter is recipes provided by one of our new members Liz. The idea is to come up with recipes to help use the inevitable surpluses we have throughout the growing season and we are kicking off with Summer Broad Bean Salad and Courgette and Chorizo Frittata. There will also be the occasional recipe leaflet at the Trading Hut – a good reason to pop in during the summer months. Looking ahead to Christmas (sorry to mention that word but we only have two newsletters each year and the next is not until February!) we hope to repeat the success of last year by holding Open House at the Trading Hut one Saturday morning in December. The date hasn’t yet been fixed but later in the year there will be a notice in the Trading Hut and details on our website.
A new venture for us this year has been working with the children of Year 2 at Ashley Primary School. They visited Elm Grove allotments in September last year and we were invited to take it a stage further by showing the children how to grow vegetables in raised beds in the school grounds. Each week we have a different group of pupils and it has been a delight helping them to sow seeds and watch the resulting plants grow into vegetables - at least those the pigeons leave alone. The broccoli plants lasted under a week – six healthy plants went in one Thursday and by the following one there wasn’t a leaf to be seen! But it all part of a learning curve. One thing we have learned is that children love watering – mostly themselves and each other and just occasionally the plants. If any parents are reading this our apologies for sometimes sending home some very wet children!
Finally, an appeal for help. As you know the Society is run by volunteers and quite simply we could do with a few more either on a regular basis or to help out from time to time. I know you all have busy lives but if you can spare just an hour or so please get in touch with me – I would love to hear from you! You can either call on 01932 225753 or send an email to me at society@wadags.co.uk .
Pat Brine