Allotments
The Society manages the allotment site adjacent to the Trading Hut. Click for map.
News
The worst spring weather for many years got us all off to a very late start to this season. Then to cap it all there were several days of hard frosts in May stopping our potatoes in their tracks and drastically reducing the early strawberry crops. Nature has a way of catching up and I am sure by now everything is back to normal with maybe just the runner beans still a bit behind compared to recent years.
I don’t like to use this column for giving growing advice but the following couple of tips might be helpful. In the last two to three years leeks have been attacked by the Leek Moth caterpillar. Unfortunately you only become aware of it when shredded and holed leaves begin to appear long after the damage has been done. This pest is too new for any advice to be found in gardening reference books and so unofficially I would recommend spraying with the Ultimate Bug Killer once in May and again a couple of times between August and October. .
How many times does this happen to you? You have a perfect pot grown plant which you then plant into either the garden or the allotment and then at best it stops growing for a while and at worst looks like its had a shock and takes ages to recover. When planting in future make a much bigger hole than you need and fill it with potting compost. By planting in this way you allow the roots to gradually become adjusted to their new environment and your plant will then carry on growing unchecked.
Allotment availability has continued to improve thanks to WADAGS and Walton Charity. Since we joined forces two years ago an additional 143 five rod plots have been recovered from the brambles and are now all tenanted and being well looked after. Although there is still potential to recover more plots on both Terrace Road and Burhill we have ground to a halt through lack of funds. On the positive side we are preparing proposals for both sites and submitting applications for Lottery type funding.
An Apiary has been built on the Rydens Road site and will be managed by Rob Chisholm the WADAGS Apicultural Advisor. At the moment there are only five hives in residence but Rob will be adding a number more in the autumn. This pioneering venture is hugely appreciated by the allotment tenants and WADAGS is grateful to Walton Charity for allowing it.
As many of you will have seen in the local press the scouts from the American School in Cobham undertook a project on Rydens and Home Farm for which they fund raised about £600 to provide a large manure store, notice boards and to do a massive clear up of years of accumulated rubbish. Another team of boys will be back in September to do some landscaping on Rydens and to build roadways and parking areas on Home Farm.
A final footnote for those allotment tenants who think their rents are too high. Runnymede has announced that in future they will be charging £70 for a five rod plot! The current rate for Elm Grove is £18 and £20 for Walton Charity plots of a similar size.
John Brine
Allotments
Walton and Hersham have always been regarded as highly successful fruit and vegetable growing areas. In the 1920's and 30's much of the surrounding area was still occupied by farms and market gardens as well as numerous allotment sites. Even as recently as 1938 there were 16 separate allotments sites and no doubt many more "Dig for Victory" sites sprang up for the duration of WWII. Walton and Hersham still has the largest number of allotments than in any other part of Elmbridge. Walton Charities provide four sites, Terrace Road, Rydens Road, Home Farm and Burhill with about 280 - 300 plots occupied. The fifth site is Elm Grove which is leased from Elmbridge Council by the Society to provide allotments for its members. The site is situated a few minutes walk from the town centre and has 48 full size plots (90' x 30') which are mostly divided into half or quarter plots for over 70 plotholders. The site is now fully occupied with a waiting list but vacancies do regularly occur and so waiting time is never too long.
Materials and skips
The society generally provide skips at the beginning of the year to allow for a cleaning of the allotment site. Please note that compostable materials should not be placed in the skip, but should either be composted on the allotment-holder's plot or in the communal compost bins behind the communal shed near the trading hut.
Please also note that loose glass, carpets and sharp metal objects are no longer allowed on site. Although it may once have been common practise to use old carpets as ground cover, we can now easily obtain the proper material that is used by the commercial grower. Glass is really far too dangerous to continue to have spread around an allotment site like ours which is accessed by so many people and especially children. Greenhouses are allowed, with written permission. Metal such as angle iron also becomes dangerous when it is sharp and rusty.
Recommended Reading
The only gardening books that I can confidently recommend to all allotment holders are “The Vegetable Expert” by Dr. Hessayon and its companion book on fruit. Although the original books were written about 20 years ago the basic information on growing and caring for crops cannot be bettered but the recommended timings of sowing and cropping no longer matches up with what is happening today on our allotments.
Some crops are now being sown up to four weeks earlier and additional crops are now being grown at the end of the season on into our milder autumns. When the books were written many crops such as aubergines, peppers and even tomatoes were considered too tender to be grown successfully in the open and had to be either under cloches or in a “warm spot in front of a south-facing wall”. These are all now grown successfully without any special protection.
Availability
To inquire about availability, please email society@wadags.co.uk
| Full Plot | Half Plot | Quarter Plot | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plot Rental Rates | £15 | £10 | £7 |
| Water Rates* | £15 | £8 | £5 |
| Fence Surcharge‡ | £5 | £5 | £5 |
*The water charge is calculated from the previous year's water consumption
‡The Fence Surcharge is to repay the loan granted to replace the fence in 2007