Author: joan

Minutes from the last meeting below:

JULY
Craigentinny Plot-holders’ Meeting
Saturday 14th July 2012

Attendees:
Tom (chair), John M, Norma, Monica, John Mc., Ernie, Joan, Rod, George (Minutes)

1. Chair. Agreed Tom would chair the meeting.
2. Matters arising from the last minutes.
A) Path spraying. Had not been done because of the weather.
B) Toilet Roof. Toilet still very damp inside. Tom had sealed around the ventilator and John M. will seal around the concrete at the bottom.
C) Main path. Needs resurfacing. This was identified as one of our priorities. George will emphasise this when he sends Ian W. the minutes.
D) Strimmer. Petrol now supplied and new line purchased. Thanks to Alec and John M.
3. Scaffolding Planks. John Mc. has collected £13 so far. Plot-holders who have taken planks and not yet paid are reminded to pay 50p. per plank.
4. BBQ. Agreed this would take place on 4 August. Monica will put up a notice.
5. A.O.B
A) The lawn mower. On occasions it is not being cleaned after use. Norma will put a reminder on the machine.
B) The weather. We had a general moan about the weather and expressed concern about plots that were flooded.
C) Leaky tap. Norma reported that a tap on the stand-pipe near her plot was leaking. Rod offered to try and fix it.
6. Date of next meeting – Sat 11th August. George gave his apologies. Monica agreed to take the minutes.

NOTICE TO ALL PLOT-HOLDERS
If you haven’t been sent a copy of these minutes & would like a regular copy in future, then please email me at rubiensk@waitrose.com

Seasonal Tips.

Now that the season is drawing to a close you will probably find that you have uncultivated areas on your plot. Why not sow some green manure?
Green manure is a crop that increases the fertility of your soil, while at the same time, as it grows so quickly it smothers weeds. Double benefit.
There are different types of green manure for different times of the year but they all do the same basic job. One’s that I have tried are Tares, Mustard, Hungarian rye grass and Phacelia. The latter has the added benefit that if you save a little of the seed and sow it in the spring and let it flower (you don’t usually let the plants flower otherwise you get them everywhere!) you will get an attractive blue flower that the bees adore.

So have a go and let me know how you get on.
John McKinlay

Welcome Weed

Some of you may know I have a mild affection for the dreaded Horsetail. When I first got an allotment I was very excited to find I had a great crop of asparagus, only to find it was an invasive weed, which had been around since the dinosaurs. You have to respect something that old and if the dinosaurs couldn’t eradicate it, I decided I’d better try to live with it. You’re unlikely to get rid of it, but provided you pull it out when it appears and improve your soil it will reduce over time, and it really doesn’t interfere too much with your crops. Horsetail has an amazing range of medicinal uses, notably for rebuilding connective tissues, skin, hair and nails. The stalks used to be used to make whistles to ward off spirits, perhaps we could try it to scare off our allotment thieves
Joan Pisanek

Eat the Glut

Courgette Muffins
225g (8 oz) wholemeal flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 175ml (6 fl oz) skimmed milk 2 egg whites 4 tablespoons vegetable oil 4 tablespoons honey 4 oz grated courgette
Preheat oven to 190 C / Gas mark 5. Grease muffin tin or line with paper cases.
Combine wholemeal flour, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon, mix thoroughly.
Mix the milk, slightly beaten egg whites, oil, honey and grated courgette together. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir until just barely moistened. Batter should be thick and lumpy. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full with batter.
Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Looking for a distraction from those allotment weeds. Why not go along to Duddingston Kirk’s Flower Show? Held in the Kirk Hall Sat and Sun 1/2 Sept 2 till 5 Saturday, 4 Sunday. On display you will find plants, flowers, fruit and vegetables as well as jams and handicrafts. Afterwards enjoy a cup of tea with some scrumptious home baking.

www.duddingstonkirk.co.uk/

Contributed by John McKinlay

 Proof that the sun does shine on Craigentinny!!!

Thanks to all those who attended the annual BBQ, I really hope everyone had a great time, the sunny weather and fantastic company made for a great day. It was lovely to see wee John who arrived with a trolley load of his homemade fruit wines and the arrival of a regal couple was an unexpected surprise. Thanks to all those  who cleaned up you did a great job……..