Autumn on your allotment

We hope you've had a good growing season this year, in spite of some extreme weather at times.  As we go into Autumn and winter, it's a good time to think about some essential jobs on your plot. Hedges should be trimmed and any saplings cut down. 

YACIO and others did a lot of work on the site earlier this year to cut trees, remove saplings and cut back unmanageable hedges.  If your boundary has had trees or saplings or hedging cut back, please make sure you cut down any regrowth, which should be relatively thin and easy to cut and may be soft enough to compost.  If possible, other woody waste should be taken to the recycling centre on James Street. If that's not possible for you, YACIO will be lifting the ban on bonfires from October, but please only burn dry woody waste; think about your neighbours and local residents and bear in mind that reports of smoky fires will be followed up by YACIO.

Autumn is also a good time to plan for next year.  You may want to dig over beds or cover weedy areas ready for clearing in the spring.  The majority of plots have been very well cultivated this year, but there are still some allotment holders who, in our view, should be much more ambitious about the proportion of their plot that is actively cultivated; fifty percent is the bare minimum!  We shall be carrying out another full inspection this autumn, and we're very aware that we now have a waiting list for plots on the site of over four hundred people.

And lastly, we'd like to clear up a possible confusion that we've come across from time to time about the roles of YACIO and of Scarcroft Allotments Association, which we're actively involved in, as well as volunteering as site secretaries for YACIO.  The full title of the association is Scarcroft and District Allotment and Amateur Gardeners' Association - no wonder it ends up being shortened!  But it is an association for local gardeners, regardless of whether or not they have an allotment.  The association does a lot of work to support gardeners, but it doesn't have any formal role in the management or maintenance of Scarcroft Allotments.  If you have any concerns about your plot or about any aspect of the management and maintenance of the site, please contact YACIO.

All the best,

Claire and Graham

Site Secretaries