January Newsletter 2008
Whitehouse Allotment and Garden Society
January 2008
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR MEMBERS.
Rent
Please don’t forget that it is time to renew your rent. As I wrote in last months’ newsletter, we are pleased to be able to tell you that the cost will remain the same at £20 per plot,. Please feel free to pay this on a sat or sun morning when the shop is open between 10.00 and 11.30. If you are unable to make these times, please contact me for a convenient time. Please fill in the details in the newsletter, and bring it along with you.
Onions
If you would like some Maincrop Onions, please let Ernie know, as we need to order them soon.
Skip
You may see that we have a skip on site. This is for ALLOTMENT WASTE ONLY. We are allowed most things in the skip, but not asbestos, hard core and metal. Try to use its space wisely, as skips are in high demand.
We also have a metal only skip on site should you have any metal to dispose of.
Tips for January
A quiet time in the vegetable garden, but you can dig if the soil is not too wet. Rhubarb can be planted now – cover established crowns with an upturned bucket to force an early crop. A few crops may be sown – leeks, onions for exhibition, and tomatoes for a heated greenhouse are started this month under glass indoors – radishes can be sown outdoors under cloches.
“In Season” food can have health benefits, why not eat some of these, and give your health a natural boost!
Beetroot: Try roasting it in olive oil. It is packed with immune – boosting vitamin C and contains betacyanin. Magnesium boosts nerve and muscle function
Celeriac: mash with spuds. It is high in antioxidant vitamin C. magnesium, potassium and phosphorous help the immune system and bones.
Red Cabbage: eat raw or slightly steamed, its full of iron and indole 3
Purple Broccoli: contains as much Vitamin C as oranges, and a good source of vitamin B6.
Weather by Dave Morgan
|
|
Dec-06
|
Dec-07
|
|
max temp degrees C
|
13
|
15
|
|
min temp degrees C
|
-2
|
-3
|
|
Average temp degrees C
|
6.7
|
4.8
|
|
rainfall this
|
61.5
|
61
|
|
total rainfall this year to date
|
740
|
812.5
|
|
average temp this year to date
|
10.8
|
10.8
|
|
there were 4 frosts last dec.
|
|
|
|
there were 12 frosts this dec.
|
|
|
Scarecrow Competition
We shall be running our own scarecrow competition. We are encouraging all plot holders to have a go, and we are intending to approach a local dignitary for the judging.
The more that enter, the better the competition will be. Please feel free to have as many scarecrows on your plot as you like, so why not get the family involved,? Maybe the children would like to make one?
There will be a £1.00 entry fee, and the prize will be one years’ free rent for a plot, and a children’s prize of a voucher. Judging will hopefully be on the weekend of our open day.
GOOD LUCK.
Other Competitions
There are a number of competitions running this year. As normal, all individual allotments within the city are judged for the “Best Kept Allotment”, and each society gets its own top three.
West Area Allotment Forum, will be holding its second annual Horticultural Show in August. Now is the time to start planning if you think you may wish to enter some vegetables for the show. Personally, I have just purchased some exhibition onion seeds, and am hoping that with a little TLC, they will turn out to be good enough to win.
Open day
Our open day is on Sunday August 3rd. I know it sounds a little early to be mentioning this, but the committee is already planning for it by starting to clear two plots ready for produce to sell on the day. (Last year it was one of our most productive stalls). Any help with the clearing, planting, and weeding up to the event will be greatly appreciated. Please see any member of the committee.
Hour a Month
Early in the season, we will be restarting the “Hour a Month” where we ask all members to help with the site maintenance by helping in some small tasks such as clearing, and rubbish removal , for one hour per month. If everyone can please help, then it makes our allotment site an even more pleasant place to be, and makes it a more inviting place for new members. Details to follow in future newsletters, and in the Tea Hut.