As well as the newsletter this blog will be used to keep you up to date with what's happening on the plots. You can use the RSS feed button or just visit this page regularly for updates.
Let us know if you have anything you want to put on the blog.
AGM 2012
72nd
Annual General Meeting
of
The Fairfield Allotment Holders’ Association
will be held at The Borough, Dalton Square
On Thursday 23rd February 2012
At 7.30 pm
All are welcome
All Officers and Members of the committee are willing to remaim in post unless other nominations are received before the AGM.
The AGM has been moved from the original date of 02nd February to allow the association and the council to finalise amendments to new rules and tenancy agreements. These will be circulated as soon as possible prior to the AGM.
Potato Day 2012
Saturday
Jan 28th 2012
Café from 11.00
Potato sales and stalls 12 - 3pm
Many varieties of organic heritage seed potatoes to buy, also apple trees; delicious Potato Café, children’s activities, stalls, music and loads more . . free entry!
NEW – SWAP STALL – BRING YOUR SPARE SEEDS, PLANTS, PICKLES, JAMS, GARDENING BOOKS/MAGS OR SMALL TOOLS TO SWAP!!
At the Friends Meeting House, Meeting House Lane, next to Lancaster train station
Growveg.com
Click on the link above to have a look at some garden planning software. If you sign up the allotments get a small commission!
New Lease
The committee have now signed the new lease.
The first thing this means is that we will pay a peppercorn rent to the council for the land. This allows us to invest rental income on site improvements.
As part of the terms of the lease we will need to review our rules, constitution and individual tenancy agreements with each plot holder. We'll keep you up to date with these changes as they happen.
Global Bee Emergency?
Click on image to go to website
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/?cl=895565137&v=8114
Follow this link to sign an article and e-petition calling for the ban of potentially harmful herbicides.
AGM Notice
71st
Annual General Meeting
of
The Fairfield Allotment Holders’ Association
will be held at The Borough, Dalton Square
On Tuesday 08th February 2011
At 7.30 pm
All are welcome
Agenda & Papers are available from the secretary in advance by request or at the meeting
Further details will be published with the rent request.
Potato Day Lancaster 2011
Potato Day
Saturday January 29th
12 ‘till 3pm
Organic and heritage seed potatoes to buy, delicious Potato Café, children’s games, Lancashire apple trees and loads more . . . free entry!
At the Friends Meeting House, Meeting House Lane, next to Lancaster train station
For more info see www.transitioncitylancaster.org
Potato Day Skelmersdale
SUNDAY 6th FEBRUARY 2011
POTATO DAY
to be held at
Woodley Park Centre,
Woodley Park Road,
Ashurst,
Skelmersdale,
Lancashire,
WN8 6UQ
Less than 5 mins from M58
Ample FREE Parking
10.00a.m.- 3.00p.m.
BBC Radio Lancashire - live on site program 11am – 1pm with horticultural expert on hand to answer questions
West Lancashire Food Initiative - on hand giving away recipes, potato tasters and nutritional advice
Up to 100 varieties of potato tubers will be available for purchase. You can buy them in any multiples e.g. one or a dozen or more.
Why not get your children growing their own. You’ll only need a plant pot, some compost, and a bit of watering to harvest potatoes in your garden.
Also available Seeds, Onion sets, Garlic and plants
Refreshments
For more information call
Margaret on 07909660077
or Steve on 07876442341
SHSociety@tiscali.co.uk
Gardening for Resilience (A Transition Café)
Please see the following invitation from Transition City Lancaster
Tuesday, 9 November, Gregson Centre: Alan Schofield -Gardening for Resilience (A Transition Café)
We will be meeting in the Gregson at 6.00 pm to order food and have a chat before the talk which will begin around 7.15 pm.
Free (donations invited)
The major challenge for the future as our climate changes and natural
resources begin to deplete is going to be how we produce good quality food in sufficient quantity locally. This talk will explore some of the options open to us as gardeners to produce at least some of our needs.
Alan Schofield is Chair of the Organic Growers Alliance and has been
producing organic vegetables in Pilling for nearly 30 years.
A Transition Café aims to create a social atmosphere to get together, have a drink and a meal, if you wish, and talk about a specific topic. Each Café kicks off with a short(ish) talk from a speaker. Then there will be chance to ask questions - of the speaker or other people. All welcome. We hope you’ll enjoy it!
www.transitioncitylancaster.org
email: info@transitioncitylancaster.org
Allotment Shopping Bag and Surplus Sale
By all accounts the surplus sale was a really profitable & enjoyable day making almost £500 for the allotments.
If you missed out on buying one of our 'limited edition' Fairtrade Fairfield Allotment cotton shopping bags on the day then don't worry you can still buy them for only £3 a piece. How about giving some for Christmas...put a present inside...tie it up with garden twine...sustainable, resuable wrapping!
Click here, or on the image title to the left, to send us your details and how many you want. Alternatively they'll be an opportunity to buy some when you place your seed scheme order this year...coming up soon.
Surplus Sale!!! & Newsletter
The very belated (sorry John's fault!) Summer Newsletter 2010 can be downloaded by clicking here...
& don't forget the surplus sale this Saturday.
August Surplus Sale
A date for your diary!
On Saturday 28 August 2010, the Fairfield Allotments are having a sale of surplus garden produce. The sale would be between 11am and 2pm and, like last year, would take place just inside the allotment gates near the white farmhouse.
Nearer the time, there will be posters advertising the event but, in the meantime, please put the date in your diary.
To make the sale a success, donations of the following items would be particularly welcome:
· Fruit and vegetables
· Cut flowers
· Herbs and other potted plants
· Jams and chutneys (get making!)
· Home-made cakes (to be sold whole, or in slices with cups of tea or coffee)
· Home-made biscuits
· A giant vegetable (for example, a marrow, pumpkin or cabbage) for a “Guess the Weight” competition
· Folding tables
· Gazebos
· And, of course, your time. We will need volunteers to pick, price and sell on the day.
Last year’s sale raised about £350, and we are hoping to do even better this year. The proceeds will build on the success of the Fairfield Allotments’ stall at the Fun Day on 3 July which raised a very useful £355 for allotment funds.
Funday 2010
Fairfield Fun Day -
Produce & Volunteers Needed!!
“Fairfield Fun Day” is on the 3rd of July.
This is a great opportunity to help the allotment association raise funds. Last year we made a profit of around £300! This year we are aiming to do even better.
There are all sorts of ways you can help:
- Pot on spare seedlings or split bigger plants. Herbs sell very well but also flower cuttings, tomatoes, peppers etc. These can be given on the day or leave them in advance by the greenhouse of allotment 12b.
- Donate some spare produce from your allotment‐ rhubarb, new potatoes, soft fruit, sweet peas, cabbages, courgettes all sell well. If you aren't around on the morning of July 3rd, let me know your allotment number and we'll collect. If you are, please leave produce at one of the gates.
- On the day itself we need help in the morning to collect produce and carry it over to the marquee We also need helpers to sell the produce‐ it can be a bit hectic, but is great fun. If you can spare an hour, let me know and I'll put you on the rota.
If you want to know more or want to help, please contact me on 12B
Jean Laurie
Warning | Contaminated Manure
Potatoes
Broad Beans
If you've been looking at the website you'll know we've posted a couple of things about problems with weedkiller/ herbicide contaminated manure on allotments across the country.
Unfortunately it seems that the problem has arrived at Fairfield.
At least one manure delivery seems to be contaminated. We are in the process of contacting the supplier to make sure they stop offering manure to allotments and veg growers. (At the moment we do not think the free bagged stuff is the problem.)
The best advice we can find is available through the following links. If you believe either your manure is contaminated after testing, or your crops are showing symptoms, please let us know & take some photos please. (There is a simple way to test your manure outlined below). We won't be able to do any more than the websites we've mentioned say to do, but we will alert the NSALG, chemical company and government about how we've been affected.
Here are a few links about the problem:
RHS IPhone App
How many times have you been at the allotment and thought...
"if only there were a really informative app for my iPhone which would tell me all the basics I need to know about growing veg and fruit"
...well now there is!
Follow this link:
Please don't annoy the neighbours!
It seems spring is officially here and everyone is creeping out of hibernation to clear their plots for the season ahead.
For some this means bonfires.
If you are going to have a bonfire can you please be respectful of our neighbours and make sure the wind is blowing away from the houses.
I've already received one complaint from a normally very tolerant neighbour and would not want this to escalate.
· Keep fires small if possible and do not leave to burn unattended.
· Make sure the wind in blowing away from houses.
· Try not to light fires when people are likely to have washing out, or windows open.
· If other people have fires lit, don't join in!
Good Allotment Guides
Have a look at these links on the left to thebookpeople.co.uk
If you're looking for a good quality, informative allotment guide...these are well worth having in your shed!
...& a bargain as well.
Lost - - - - - -
Hi Everyone,
One of our members has lost a 1/2 inch chisel between the gate at the white cottage on Sunnyside and plot 27b last Saturday 20th Feb.
If anyone has seen it/ found it/ picked it up please let me know and I'll get it back to it's owner.
Many Thanks
John
URGENT AGM POSTPONED
URGENT!!!
Fairfield Allotment Holders’ Association
Our venue for the AGM 2010 has just been unfortunately (and accidentally) double booked!!
As they have 100 paying customers, we lost out.
At such short notice we have no choice but reschedule.
NEW AGM DATE
THURSDAY 11th FEBRUARY 7.30
The Borough, Upstairs, Dalton Square.
Hope to see you there. John & your committee.
PS: If you have got this through your letter box it means we don’t have your email recorded. It may mean we are slightly fitter for delivering it - but if you use email - please, please, please let us have it. It really helps out with newsletters and very occasional notices like this.
We’re very sorry for such late notice but the Borough have only just let us know. However, they let us meet at the venue free for all our committee meetings so we have to be flexible.
National Vegetable Society
