If you can’t buy manure or make compost, why not grow your own? If you have a space on your plot that will be bare for the next six weeks or more, try growing a crop of green manure such as clover, mustard or phacelia. When it is time to use the ground , cut down the crop and dig them in to recycle the nutrients they have brought up from the soil. Having the crop there will keep the weeds at bay and encourage the bees and butterflies into your plot,
Joan and Ernie have been working hard to clear the weed on our community pond. To help them they have asked for pond snails, Any will do but Staghorn snails are their preference. If you have any or know of anyone who could donate some please let us know.
Why not go along and have a look at the pond, it is looking good. As is the community plot itself. Go along and have a break.
Along the side of our shed we have left a row of strawberry plants. They are Marshmallow and very good croppers. The jam I made from these strawberrries last year is the best I have ever tasted. If you would like to give them a try, please help yourself to the plants. Any that are left will be donated to the plant swop on Saturday 3rd April.
1. Plant onion sets: We got ours at the allotment shop at Inverleith Allotments for £1 for 1lb
2.Plant early potatoes: We are using Duke of York
3.Sow early crop of lettuce,radish or salad leaves in cold frame
4. Sow summer turnip: we are using Solo from Marshalls
If you would like to comment on our site you can contact us by e-mail on findlayalloments@hotmail.co.uk.
MINUTES – March 2010
Present; John and Monica McKinlay, Tom Cashman, Katie Ferguson, Ernie, Rod, John Maule, George, John Roberts, Joan and Michael.
1. It was noted that the key exchange had been completed but not without a few hitches, in particular, ‘ the prisoner of Plot 49’. Ian Woolard did not change the locks on the Clubhouse or the Toilets and I will chase him to do that.
2. Despite urgings the leaking toilet roof and consequential jamming toilet door has not been attended to.
3. Plots 40/41 which had been flooded are drying out – there is still a suspicion that the drainage work carried out by Edinburgh Leisure is directing water to these plots. Ian Woolard is talking once again about digging a ditch outside the boundary fence.
4. Our new bucket is in place. (Sadly, it has not been emptied since its arrival, either of weeks 8 or15 March) I have complained about this to Ian and stressed that with the reduced capacity we will not have the situation that developed last year were the buckets went unemptied on a regular basis. We are charged 600 pounds pa for this ‘service’ so we need to get it.
5. Our site now has a waiting list of over 200 plotholders eager to get allotmenting. There are new tenants in Plot 1 (tenancy given up) Plot 7a (move to full plot) Plot 14 (tenancy given up) and plot 48 (tenancy terminated – plot abandoned).
6. John Maule advised that there are free slabs available at Portobello- see Notice Board and web site– subsequently we are hoping to get a free delivery. Thanks to Rod/George. If we can manage this just help yourselves.
7. Norma arranged a Spring manure order. DELIVERY SATURDAY 27MARCH ABOUT 11 AM.
8. John Maule had noticed that other sites had a site map on their Notice Board with plotholders’ names and it was thought that this would be a nice sociable thing to do. Joan has an enlarged site plan and individuals can add their names if they wish. Thank you Joan.
9. There had been another case of a plotholder getting abuse when they had a fire. To recap we are able to have fires any Sunday when the wind is not blowing to the houses. The plotholder had adhered to these rules but still got abuse. We would be glad to know of any similar incidents. Ian Woolard will send the resident a letter reminding him of our arrangement.
10. Following the success of our B-B-Q last year we are holding another one on Saturday 15 May, same style as last year, an hour light community work then bring your own food and drink. John Roberts, your fruit Gin and Vodka was most appreciated! We can also chat about another B-B-Q in August.
11. The allotment Shop at Inverleith is open for the next few Sundays 2-3:30 – End of April.
12. We have decided to run 2 Site competitions this year. A children’s tallest Sun Flower, seeds from Monica and anyone’s best picture taken within the precincts of our site. Fruit, flower, weed, sun rise/set or my face after I have had too much of John’s fruit gin! This should provide some nice pictures for our web site. If you haven’t had a look, it is www.craigentinnyallotments.org John Maule’s true confessions of a serial vegetable grower is well worth a read.
……… and finally I am trying to put together an entry for the September flower show on behalf of the whole site. The theme would be Costa Craigentinny so I would be looking for exotic looking vegetables. There is a trophy to be won which I undertake to fill with an appropriate spirit. Anyone interested give me a shout.
Next meeting Saturday 3 April at 11 am.
Fruit! Glorious Fruit!
Of all the crops I grow on my plot, by far, the ones that give me the best return in terms of cost, time and harvest are the soft fruits. So if you don’t grow them just now or are taking over a new plot and wondering what to plant, here are my Fab 4 which will provide you with delicious fresh fruit throughout the growing season. They share some common traits; they provide an abundant harvest; are not particularly prone to pests or diseases, and they require a minimum of maintenance and pruning – I estimate 7 hours a year. Each requires similar ground preparation i.e. fork the ground over thoroughly, remove all traces of perennial weeds, apply a couple of handfuls of bone meal per square meter and add some well rotted manure. Be generous, the plants will be there for years and years. After the preparation I promise you, your hardest work will be picking the fruit!
Rhubarb: April – June.
Although technically a vegetable, as we eat the stalk and not the fruit, I include it as most regard it as fruit and mainly we eat it as a dessert.
Leave the plant for the first year to allow the root to develop. In the second year you can crop stalks from early April until the end of June. Thereafter, leave so the plant will build up its strength for the next year. When the leaves die down mulch them with your own compost or manure. I grow an early and late variety, to extend the season, but I don’t know what they are called as I inherited them from the previous plot holder 15 years ago! Timperly Early and Victoria are two well known varieties. Well before the rhubarb is finished you will be cropping gooseberries, the second of my Fab 4.
Gooseberries: June – July.
The bush will not produce much in the first year. In the following February apply a mulch of your own compost and a good couple of handfuls of Sulphate of Potash. By June you will have a good crop of berries. To thin out the crop take some of the unripe berries for pies and jams. This allows the remaining fruit to fully develop and ripen, green varieties will develop a slightly yellow colour and be yielding to the touch.
Gooseberries are the only one of my Fab 4 which requires a bit of pruning but don’t let that put you off as the plant is tough and won’t pass away if you make a mistake. From planting allow a leg – a central stem of about 6 to 9 inches – to develop. From that aim for a cupped hand shape with 4/5 up stretched fingers. After fruiting, reduce the side shoots to 5 leaves- this is where next year’s fruit will form. Keep the fingers to a reasonable length by snipping the tips. That’s all you need to do-as easy as that! I grow Careless, a traditional variety and Pax , a red one which is nearly thornless for easy picking. By late June you will be picking your first strawberries.
Strawberries:Late June – July.
These fruits are the easiest to grow and arguably the best. Nothing like sinking your teeth into a luscious ripe strawberry freshly picked on a warm June morning! They crop June into July and even in the first year you will get a reasonable crop. Use mats or a mulch of straw to keep the berries off the ground. In an established bed you need to pick them every 2/3 days even if there is no sun. If there is sun get ready for an avalanche of fruit. After fruiting cut the leaves back to within an inch of the crown and give them a sprinkling of Sulphate of Potash. I grow Marchmello from Marshalls. Don’t over order as the young plants send out so many runners they will double in the first year. Next are the autumn fruiting raspberries.
Raspberries: Mid August- Mid October.
Although there is a slight gap between the strawberries and raspberries you can take advantage of the rock bottom prices in the shops due to summer glut. Autumn fruiting raspberries are called Primocane as they fruit on the canes that have grown that year. There is no need to tie in, provide supports or netting. The birds seem to have enough food elsewhere and leave my berries alone. To be frank the raspberries crop so abundantly the birds are welcome to a taste! In the winter you cut the canes right down to the ground and in February mulch them with compost or manure and some Sulphate of Potash- then watch them shoot away. Too much growth will result in too many small berries. I restrict the new shoots to 4/5 when the young canes are about a foot long. I grow Autumn Bliss, a traditional variety with a truly gorgeous flavor and Joan J a more modern variety, very good flavor with some of the biggest berries I have every seen. The raspberries send out roots everywhere so you will be very popular with other plot holders as you can supply them with near endless root cuttings!
So there you go, the Fab 4 will give you a stream of delicious healthy fresh fruit from April to October. Adding a late cropping apple tree will take you into November. Freezing your summer surplus will take you into the New Year. Just as the early rhubarb bulbs appear, heralding next year’s abundance of Fruit! Glorious Fruit!
Note: As summer ends and clear spots develop on your plot now is the perfect time to do the preparation for any of the Fab 4. If you can lay your hands on the plants they all benefit from autumn planting. If you can’t source the plants, do the work, sow green manure and just dig it in prior to spring planting.
John and Monica McKinlay, Craigentinny Allotments.
As we have a few new plot holders again this year, it has been suggested that we share our first names as a way of introduction. If you are happy to do this please add your name to the plan of the site (placed on the notice board) next time you are down.
Enterprising plot holders have arranged for a possible delivery of free slabs from Portobello – please help yourself. Many thanks to Rod and George for arranging this. We can imagine lots of neat paths now!