Patrick Cairns

It is with great sadness that we share the news that long term plot holder, allotment shop volunteer, allotment association committee member, Leeds United fan and friend, Patrick Cairns, died suddenly on August 16th 2011.  He was only 47.  We wish his mother, Pat, who gardened his plot with him, and the rest of his family, strength and comfort at this difficult time.

2009

For many years, Patrick was a familiar face on Sunday mornings in the Scarcroft and District allotment association shop, which he ran with Tom Walters.  He will be sadly missed. 

Patrick's Funeral Service will be held on Friday, September 2nd at English Martyrs RC Church, Dalton Terrace at 11am, followed by a Burial in Fulford Cemetery. Family flowers only, donations in memory of Patrick will be gratefully received to support St Leonard’s Hospice. A plate will be available at the Church.

Harlow Carr

Thanks to everyone involved in the visit to Harlow Carr, especially to Katy, who did so much of the organisation.  It was a great day out with near perfect weather! 

Expect to see adventurous features on our allotment plots soon...?

End of Summer Feast

Potato Blight Information

Recent rain and mild weather have produced ideal conditions for potato blight.

The link below takes you to some useful information on recognising the symptoms of blight, dealing with infected foliage and choosing blight resistant varieties for next year’s crops.

http://www.potato.org.uk/department/knowledge_transfer/fight_against_blight/index.html?menu_pos=knowledge_transfer

The following link leads to The Blightwatch service, a management tool which is available to farmers and other users free of charge.

http://www.blightwatch.co.uk/content/bw-Home.asp

Harlow Carr Visit - 2011

Hello all,

We are organising a trip to Harlow Carr on Wednesday 24th August.

Attendance will be via "car share", so let us know if you will be a driver of if you will need a lift.

If you would like to attend please contact Katy Brierley: katy@hookhouse.fsnet.co.uk, by Wednesday 17th August, specifying if you require transport or can offer space in your car.

More details about Harlow Carr can be found via the following link: http://bit.ly/re0hxR

If you wish to attend, we will be setting off from the shop on Scarcroft Allotments at 09:30 on the 24th and will be meeting at Harlow Carr at 10:30.

You may wish to bring a picnic, otherwise refreshments can be purchased on site.

Best Plot Competition 2011

The winners of this year's Best Plot Competition were presented with their certificates and prizes at The Guildhall on Wednesday 10th August.

The winner on the Hob Moor site was Valerie Warren,

and the Scarcroft site winners were Katy and John Brierley. 

 Congratulations to all the winners! And thanks to everyone who took part - the standard of entries this year was very high. Particular thanks to Judith Ward and Sue Harvey at City of York Council for organising and running the event, and to Site Secretaries who judged the plots.   

End of Summer Feast 2012

Come along to the Scarcroft and District Allotment Association End of Summer Feast

Scarcroft Allotments - Sunday 4th September

12:30 till 15:00

Everybody is welcome, and we hope you all enjoy sharing the benefits of a healthy 2012 harvest.

Bring your own food and drink, made from your own produce, to share on what we hope will be a fun day for all.

You may also want to bring some folding chairs (if you don't have far to carry them!), or even some instruments if you want to provide a home-made soundtrack to go with the home-made food on offer.

The feast will be at the Alotment Shop on Scarcroft Allotments, so there will be some shelter available if the weather is a little less that bright.

 Attractions and Distractions will include:

Plot on a Plate, show off the variety of your own personal harvest

Vegetable Monsters, creative fun for kids (and grown ups)

Apple Bobbing

Jam and Chutney swap

And more...

Most of all, this will be a chance for Plot Holders and Home Growers to get together to discuss the ups and downs of another year of gardening, to swap tips as well as treats and to catch up with one another.

Please come along to join the fun and to share in what promises to be a lovely afternoon of food and drink and harvest festivities.

The Allotment Shop - Opening Hours

There will be a few changes to the opening hours at the Allotment Shop on Scarcroft over the coming months.

At present the Shop opening hours are as follows:

Saturdays 13.30 - 15.30

&

Sundays 10.00 - 13.00

From 1st September 2011, the Sunday opening hours will be 10:00 - 12:00

Saturday opening will remain 13:30 - 15:30

Throughout the winter months - November, December and January - the Allotment Shop will be open on SUNDAYS ONLY, but we will be returning to Saturday and Sunday opening from February 2012.

Please make a note of these changes and times, so you are not caught short of your winter supplies!

Full details about the shop can be found on its Blog Page:

http://scarcroftanddistrictallotments.blogspot.com/p/allotment-shop.html

Hedgehog News

Thank you to Sara for this lovely photo of a Hedgehog which she spotted out on the Scarcroft allotments.

As Sara pointed out, this photo shows why it's not always a good idea to have a fence that goes right down to the ground, as although you might deter the rabbits the hedgehogs can't get in or out to eat your slugs!

The Scarcroft and District Allotment Association 2012 Calendar

Calendar Submissions - last chance

A reminder that you might all wish to take photos of your plots for next year's Scarcroft Calendar.

The deadline for submissions is this Sunday, 16th October



 The suggested theme for the 2012 Calendar is Vegetables, Fruit & Flower from Seed & Blossom, through Growth to Harvest.

We hope that each page in the 2012 Calendar might be devoted to a particular vegetable, fruit or flower - showing all stages of growth from seed to harvest.

The calendar is open to submissions from plot holders and home gardeners.  There is still time to get out in your plots and gardens to get photos of your own produce, or if you have any photos saved which you feel might be worthy of submission, please dig them out and send them in!

 

It's nearly time to begin the selection process for the calendar, so start collecting your photos together and send them to:

sk.austin@btopenworld.com

The closing date for submissions is Sunday 16th October.

Happy Snapping!

Allotment Plot Competition 2011

Posted on behalf of Judith Ward, York Allotments Officer

Dear Allotment Gardeners

Thank you to those people who have sent in nominations for this year's Allotment Competition.  If you've not done so yet, there's still time to nominate plots or to enter your own plot for judging.  Entries and nominations will be accepted up to Friday June 24th.

You can send your nominations by e-mail to allotments@york.gov.uk 

The competition celebrates the skill, hard work and imagination of York’s allotment gardeners.   Is there a plot near yours that cheers up passers by with its flowers, or keeps  several families in fruit and veg?  Have you overcome brambles, docks and thistles on your plot to establish a garden you can be proud of?

Plots will be judged in June and July by a team of allotment site secretaries.  The judges will score each plot on variety and health of the crops, the layout and maintenance of the plot and any special features.  If you’d like a copy of the score sheet please contact Sue Harvey on (01904 553433).

This year the judges have also been invited to recommend plots that deserve special recognition; maybe a new tenant who has transformed a derelict plot in a single season, an older gardener who has kept up high standards over many years or an outstanding community garden.    If you’d like to nominate a plot for special recognition, please give the reasons why this allotment garden is out of the ordinary.

Once again we are very grateful to the competition sponsors.   Brunswick Organic Nursery, Deans Garden Centre and Vertigrow Plant Nursery have all donated vouchers and Nick Milner will be supplying a set of traditional bean poles for each of four area winners.

Prizes will be presented at a special event at the Guildhall, during National Allotments Week in August.

Working Party July 3rd

Help to improve the Shop and the area around it and have a party at the same time (well, just after...)

On Sunday 3rd July from 2 p.m. we'll be working to lay on a water supply to the Shop and to improve the appearance and the amenity of the area around the shop and car park.  the work will be followed by a share of food and drink at 4.30 to reward ourselves for the hard work.  Come along and join in if you can - the more people, the better the party and the lighter the work!

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Hedgehog Preservation

Local gardener and Hedgehog Rescuer Toni Bunnell will be featured in a report about how to make a hedgehog-friendly garden on the new Alan Titchmarsh programme, Love Your Garden, on ITV later this month.

It will be screened on Friday June 17 at 8pm and will show her hedgehog rescue centre in York, as well as her wildlife garden and two of her hedgehogs being released at York Minster Gardens.

This is a fantastic local interest feature, and I hope you can all tune in.

If, like Toni, you have a soft spot for hedgehogs you can find out more about how you can help the preservation effort at: http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/

Toni's own website can be found at: http://www.tonibunnell.co.uk/hedgehog_menu.html

Butterfly Conservation, Yorkshire Branch, upcoming events.

There will be a series of events in and around York over the coming weeks and months organised by Butterfly Conservation.

The events will involve guided walks through local areas of environmental interest, with a view to spotting all forms of wildlife and interesting plants, as well as butterflies of course.

The locations and dates of the upcoming events are as follows:

West Bank Park, York

Saturday, 4th June 2011 from 11:00

"Dalbyology" Forestry Commission Event - Dalby Forest Visitor Centre

Sunday, 5th June 2011 from 10:30 - 16:00

Clifton Backies, York

Sunday, 5th June 2011 from 11:00

Shipley Station Butterfly Meadow

Saturday, 18th June 2011 from 13:00

 Spurn

Saturday 18th June 2011 from 10:30

Bastow Wood

Sunday, 26th June 2011 from 10:00

Upper Newtondale

Rapers Farm Picnic Area

Saturday, 9th July 2011 from 10:00

St Nicholas Fields, York

Saturday, 30th July 2011 from 10:00

Hob Moor, York

Saturday, 30th July 2011 from 14:00-16:00

The Whins and Bridle Butterfly Walk

Shelley Whins and Bridle and Thunderbridge Meadows

Saturday, 6th August 2011 from 10:30

(or Sunday 7th August 13:00 if weather is poor)

Gunnerside and Low Row

Rowleth Great Wood, Swaledale

Saturday, 13th August 2011 from 10:30

And of course...

Insect Festival 2011 - Yorkshire Museum Gardens, York

Sunday, 3rd July 2011 from 10:00 to 16:00

As well as BC Yorkshire There will be a wide range of exhibits and activities, including:

Live insect displays (bees, hoverflies, aquatic insects and more)

CSI: Crime Scene Insects

Minibeast hunts around the Museum Gardens with experienced entomologists

National and regional natural history societies

The National Insect Week award-winning photographic display

Entomology book and equipment sellers

A Chance to build your own insect home for your garden

Face painting, creepy-crawly cupcakes, insect art and much much more...

The public are encouraged to bring their insect specimens or photos to be identified with the help of our team of IDENTomologists.

Come along for a day of insect fun in the beautiful Yorkshire Museum Gardens. Entry is free for under 16's and only £1 for adults.

Full details of all of these events, as well as contact details for the organisers, can be found at: http://www.yorkshirebutterflies.org.uk/events.html

Please note - dogs are not allowed on field trips.  Children are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult.  Most walks follow rough tracks and require strong footwear.  Be prepared for all weathers.  Sun protection is advised.

The above field trips are open to all, you don't have to be a member of Butterfly Conservation, but if you are interested in joining the required information can be found here: http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/text/20/join_butterfly_conservation.html

Tree Warden Training Day - Saturday 14th May

A Tree Warden training day with Derek Austin takes place at York Cemetery on Saturday 14th May and with bright weather forecast it should be a splendid day.

Derek promises a packed agenda including sessions dealing with the latest on tree law, pest and diseases, arborcultural tools and instruments, tree ID plus plenty of tree TLC.  Something for everybody!

Bring a packed lunch, outdoor gear for the day and small hand tools including handsaws, secateurs and loppers.

You may invite members of other environmental/conservation groups - its for free!

The day begins at 9.30 am and will end around 4.30 pm.  See you there.