Birmingham Gardeners’ Show 2010 at Kings Heath Park, 4th-5th Sept.

For the last two years, we have entered displays at Kings Heath Gardeners’ Weekend (now called Birmingham Gardeners’ Show).  This year, we are going to enter a stall  for competition again.

We are looking for people to volunteer their time and produce to compete in the allotment section.

Everyone who has been involved in previous shows have volunteered their time and energies for free, so it would be wonderful if more plot holders could help this year.

So if you are plot holder at Court Lane and would like to help, then please feel free to contact us.

You can see some photos from last year on our Flickr site.

Court Lane Allotments Newsletter

There will be a newsletter available via the wonderful medium of email.  It will differ from this here blog as the information will be aimed primarily at plot holders.  It will also be a way for plot holders to communicate back any ideas they may have.

It simple terms, the newsletter will be about subjects within the confines of the allotment (but not exclusively) and the blog will be a way of communicating more general information to the wider world.  However, if any non plot holder would like to get the newsletter then feel free to sign up.  In the future, you could a have an allotment plot of your own, so why not find out what goes on.

Here is the link to sign up and to subscribe to the newsletter.*

*Some of you may already be on the mailing list due to giving your details at events.  The form will let you know that you have done so in rather loud red text.  Apologies for such rudeness, but we can’t change the form to something a bit more genteel.

Spring Fair – Sunday 23rd May

UPDATE – Veg Talk on 15th May.

Our planned Veg Talk has been postponed and will now take place on Saturday 15th May at 1pm. All are welcome and is a free event.

Spring Fair Planning – Sunday 9th May

We are planning this year’s Spring Fair which will be on the 23rd May so we are holding a meeting on Sunday 9th May at 3.30pm at the plots.  We would like as many plot holders as is possible to attend  that we can discus and plan the work that needs to be done.

The Spring Fair is always well attended by the public and is an integral part of raising funds for the maintenance of Court Lane Allotments.  We would welcome any help no matter how small and it is also a great way to meet and get to know other plot holders.

Thank you to all for your support.

Lord Mayor’s visit 12th May and Open Day 23rd May

Here are another two dates for your diaries.

On 12th May at 11am, the Mayor is coming to open the Community Garden. If you can help with the preparation of the borders and weeding over the next 10 days, please do so. Every little helps. We hope to get quite a bit done over the Bank Holiday weekend, so please do spare some time (even an hour or two) to help us get it looking nice. The local press will be in attendance, so it should be good publicity for Court Lane Allotments.

The planned date for the Spring Open Day is Sunday 23rd May. We urgently need volunteers to prepare items for stalls, bake for the cake stall and volunteer to help set things up and help run stalls on the day. Please see a member of the Committee if you are able to help.

And then there were bees!

Some of you may have noticed a bit more of a buzz around the allotments in the last couple of days. We now have bees in the apiary and I’m sure Shirley will confirm that her plot was the first to benefit from their hard work . The first hive has come from a swarm of Ming’s bees. A second hive has now gone in with an “artificial swarm” from Lin’s hive. This will take longer to get going as the queen is still a larva at present and needs to hatch and mate before she starts laying. It will be interesting to compare how the two colonies develop over the summer.

Some people have shown interest in planting specific plants that the bees will love. As a general guide, bees love daisy and bell shaped flowers. Always choose single flower varieties, double flowers don’t provide nectar for insects. The flowers on many fruit and vegetable crops are firm favourites of bees – beans, peas and fragrant herbs are loved, as are apples, currants and raspberries. If you have space in or around your vegetable plot, try to include flowers from the list below.

Companion planting, a traditional method of growing different plants together for mutual benefits like extra nutrients, protection from harsh weather and pest control, can make your plot particularly good for bees that will in turn benefit your produce. For example, nasturtiums grown among your brassicas will protect them from caterpillars – caterpillars will choose to eat nasturtium leaves rather than your cabbages, while their flowers will attract bees. Chives or sage amongst your carrots will ward off aphids and again their flowers will be great for bees, which in turn are then on hand to pollinate your other crops.

Although there are lots more, here is a list of just some of the bee-friendly plants you could choose from (* denotes British native plants):

Alyssum, Annual coreopsis, Annual scabious, Azalea, Bluebell (English)*, Borage, Candytuft, Catmint, Chives, Clover, Comfrey*, Common poppy*, Corn chamomile*, Corn marigold*, Corncockle*, Cornflower*, Dahlias, Deadnettle*, Devil’s bit scabious*, Field Woundwort*, Forget-me-not, Foxglove*, French marigold, Goldenrod*, Greater knapweed*, Larkspur, Lavender, Lesser snapdragon*, Lungwort, Lupin, Meadow clary*, Mexican hat, Mint, Nasturtium, Primrose*, Round-leaved fluellen*, Rosemary, Sage, Sea holly, Sedum, Spiked speedwell*, Sunflower, Sweet William, Teasel*, Thistle*, Thyme, Tobacco plant, Viper’s bugloss*, Whorled clary*, Wild clary.

Happy planting!

Veg Talk at Court Lane Allotments – Date changed to Saturday 15th May at 1pm

Christmas Fair Sunday 6th December

This year’s Christmas Fair will be on Sunday, 6th December and open to all. Entrance is free and there will be a free glass of mulled wine and mince pie as well as homemade produce for sale.

christmas_09

If you are not sure where we are here is a map.

Meeting To Plan Autumn Fair

Next Sunday, 20th September at 12 noon, there will be a meeting to plan the Autumn Fair.

The Autumn Fair is to be held on Sunday 4th October.

We urgently need more volunteers for help in preparation and with new ideas for stalls etc, so if you are able to attend, please do so.

If you are not able to attend the meeting but are still willing to help,  please let Julie or one of the committee know.

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