Reviewing your allotment

Our site secretaries Claire and Graham have just done another full inspection of the site.  They report that

"Many plots are being well maintained, but we think that as many as a quarter of the plots on the site could be much more fully cultivated. We’re not thinking of badly neglected plots that have been taken on by new tenants in the past few months – many of these new tenants are doing a great job of bringing their gardens back to full cultivation.  We’re thinking of full or half plots that are established, but could be much better gardened. 

YACIO wants to raise the standard of cultivation on allotment sites across the city. We have particular concerns, which we shared with you in our recent e-mail, that there are still some allotment holders on the Scarcroft site who could be much more ambitious about the proportion of their plot that is actively cultivated.  YACIO’s expectations of the standard of cultivation that we should regard as satisfactory are set out in the tenancy agreement: The allotment must be well maintained with the majority used for growing crops with weeds and other excessive vegetation kept in check.

We’re writing to you now as this is a good time to take a considered look at your plot. Are the beds large enough to be productive?  Is too much of the plot given over to grass – apart from narrow paths for access and a small area for relaxation or for young children to play, most of the workable area of your garden should be actively cultivated.  Is your plot bigger than you can look after?  

If you want to downsize to a smaller plot if that is possible, or give up your allotment, please contact YACIO.  If you recognise that your plot needs more time and work, but you’re keen to keep it and improve it, now is a good time to make plans and do the groundwork to make them a reality next spring. Our experience shows that it's usually far easier to work the soil on plots before Christmas than into the New Year.

We’ll be doing our first inspection next year a little earlier than usual, towards the end of March.  We shall be asking YACIO at that time to send out letters to the tenants of any plots that are not being gardened to the standards that YACIO is setting."

Lost any keys?

Have any of you lost any keys on the site?  Several sets of keys have been handed in over the past year to Scarcroft Allotments Association.  If you think any of them might be yours, just pop in to the association shop and ask.  The shop is open from 1.30 to 3.30 p.m. on Saturdays and 10.00 a.m. to 12 noon on Sundays."

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

Allotmment shop news re garlic potatoes etc

Here is the latest news on...

 Garlic - 

Our supplier is expecting their first delivery in w/c 3rd October, then will begin to dispatch. So - we may expect to see it arrive in early-mid October.

 

Potatoes - 

This year, we will be ordering the following varieties in bulk, for general sale in 1kg bags:

First Early - Red Duke of York (20kg)

Second Early - Charlotte (60kg) 

Maincrop - Desiree (20kg) 

Maincrop - Maris Piper (20kg) 

If you would prefer a different variety, then please fill in and return the downloadable order form by 21^st October latest to pre-order your choice of 2kg bags.

You can also use the form to pre-order the 1kg varieties above, if keen to ensure that you get your first choice - or, first come first served, when they arrive in February. 

Microsoft Word version of the form can be dowmloaded here

PDF version of the same form can be downloaded here

It's our hut Jim, but not as we know it

 

Erebus Pictures have been filming locally for a new production, Flotsam, Jetsam and George.  

Last Wednesday, they transformed part of the Association shop into the set for scenes centred on an adventure camp and here are some pictures of the amazing results.Cocoa and ghost stories anyone?

Summer update

Heatwave precautions

We hope you're all keeping well, especially during the heatwave this week.  

If you have a pond on your allotment, please try to keep it topped up during hot, dry weather; if you don't have easy access to rainwater from a butt, tap water left to stand in an open container for a couple of days will become gradually less alkaline and can be used to top up.  If you're planning to make a new pond on your allotment, please contact us first to ask for a permission form to fill in - it's a simple process similar to the one used to get permission for structures such as sheds and greenhouses.

Plot inspection

We've just done our fourth inspection of the season.  While the majority of plots are being well gardened, and a number of previously neglected plots have been transformed by new tenants, we have found some cases of neglect recently. On a well-established plot (rather than a neglected plot you've only recently taken on as a new tenant), YACIO's stipulation in the tenancy agreement - that the allotment must be well maintained with the majority used for growing crops with weeds and other excessive vegetation kept in check - should be seen as a basic requirement; if the majority of the plot (i.e. over half) is not under cultivation, YACIO will issue a warning letter.

On some plots at this time of year, there can be an issue with tall, seeding grasses; please cut these down and compost the cuttings - any vegetation cleared from your plot must be composted or taken away. We have seen several places recently on the site where tenants are dumping material cut from their plots.  This is not acceptable and YACIO has followed up instances of this in the past.

Sadly, there have been a few reported instances of vandalism, anti-social behaviour and the theft of plants or crops.  Please continue to report incidents to the police via 101 or the North Yorkshire Police website.  It's also a very good idea to mark your plot number on the underside of any garden furniture on your plot, so that it can be returned to you if anyone takes it to another part of the site.

The Collective Sharehouse

We'd like to pass on a message from a local charity that some of you have supported in the past:

The Collective Sharehouse would welcome donations of fresh fruit/veg if people have a surplus and would like to contribute to this community food support, in the heart of the Micklegate ward. 

‘Robust’ fruit & veg would be most suitable and it can be dropped in to The Sharehouse whenever it’s open – Tues & Fri 9:15-11am or Weds 5-6pm. 

The Sharehouse is located within Clement’s Hall and accessed via the rear entrance on Cygnet St (at the bottom end of Swan St). 

We continue to share food on 80+ occasions every week with families and residents who are facing financial hardship and we are encouraging cooking and using fresh produce as much as possible. So any and all help/donations will be gratefully received! 

AGM coming up soon!

The Association 2022 AGM will take place on Thursday 16th June at the Hamilton Panthers Clubhouse, Little Knavesmire.

The meeting starts at 7:30pm and memeber of the current committee will be there well before that.

This is your chance to hear about the Association's activities during the last year and to vote (and, perhaps, to stand for!) the committee 

You can view the papers for the meeting here.

Clearing brash and saplings from the Scarcroft site

 

In March, YACIO approved the cutting of several overgrown hedges and about twenty-five self-sown saplings on the site. 

Last Monday, 11th April, twenty volunteers from Good Gym brought down masses of the brash and cut timber to the car park.  They did a fantastic job, moving in 45 minutes, what would have taken the site secretaries days to achieve!

They added a huge heap to the pile that site secretaries had moved down at the weekend.  The material was all shredded on the following morning, so wood chippings are again available as they were after the Association’s hedge and site care day in February: Help yourselves!

Coming soon to Scarcroft: the mighty Mikron Theatre Company

 "Through the chronicles of history people have gazed up and marvelled at the mysteries of the weather."

The weather, talking about the weather and planning for the weather occupy a central place in British hearts and minds - perhaps even more so for allotment holders and gardeners. 

Come and enjoy Mikron Theatre Company's production of Red Sky at Night at Scarcroft Allotments. Curtain up at 2pm on Sunday 22nd May.

Job Vacancy

We are looking for a personal assistant/support worker to support a Hob Moor allotment holder with gardening and other activities as part of a small, friendly team

Thursdays 9.30-3.30pm; 2 or 3 Saturdays a month 10-4pm; and 1 or 2 Sundays a month 10-4pm.
£10.20 per hour, 5.6 weeks holiday

For details and an application form email pa.recruitment30@gmail.com or text or phone Emma on 07930 609355

Come along to our Site Care Day

Sunday 6th February 2022

2-4pm

Come along and help us tidy up the site, do a litter pick,
and clear mud from the paths.

There will be a chipper to deal with hedge clippings and branches.

Meet at the allotment shop at 2pm.

Annual General Meeting coming up!

 You are warmly invited to attend the Association's AGM.

This year we're holding our AGM online, using Zoom on the evening of Wednesday 24th November at 7:30 pm

Holding an AGM now is necessary to comply with our constitution, which requires an AGM be held within thirteen months of the last one. Regrettably we are not able to arrange to hold an in-person meeting at this time. We do intend to hold our next AGM in person in the spring of 2022, to get back to our usual routine.
 
The agenda and draft minutes from 2020 are avaialble to download from this link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1na0EzmMuje65TvUVKK0dwGrM7zs8Wb6G/view?usp=sharing

We intend to send out the audited accounts balance sheet and the Chair's Report before the meeting.   

If you would like to attend this Zoom meeting, please reply to Association scarcroftallotments@live.co.uk to let us know.  We will then forward you the necessary link and joining information.

We are always pleased to welcome members onto the committee.  If you are interested in joining the committee, please let us know.

Logs and saplings

As a result of some tree work on the site, there are a lot of sycamore logs near the top of the site: the majority are stacked neatly alongside the path that runs along the back of Wentworth Road, and there are a few more stacked just above the point where this path meets the main path that runs diagonally through the site.  If you have a use for these logs, please help yourselves!

Early autumn is a good time to check for any self-sown tree saplings in your hedges or on your plot.  Most of these are ash or sycamore, and if they're left to develop, they will cast unwanted shade and reduce the growing potential of your allotment where the roots spread.  Cutting these saplings now while they're small will save you major (and potentially very expensive!) problems in the future.  Once you have cut any saplings down, check the stumps every year for spindly re-growth, which should also be removed to preserve a well-managed hedge.

More news from the allotment shop

 
A brief update to let you know that we now have garlic in at the Scarcroft shop, at £18 a kilo. 

We are open for one hour, both on Saturdays 2pm and on Sundays 11am.  

We hope to see a manure delivery arrive in the next couple of weeks !

Clieck here for some RHS news of community projects in the running for their 2021 awards.
 

York Allotments Newlstter flags draft new tenancy agreement

           

York Allotments Charitable Incorporated Organisation (YACIO) which manages the 16 allotment sites previously run by City of York Council has published its September newsletter. It includes an article on a proposed new tenancy agreement designed to replace the current agreement which YACIO describe as "a hotchpotch of clauses some of which are outdated." You can read the draft here

The newletter also has articles on Site Maintenance and Development, Winter Onions, Safety on Allotments, Reporting Issues to the Police, and Green Manure. You can download it here

Welcome to Autumn!

SHOP HOURS ARE CHANGING IN OCTOBER

We're pleased we have managed to continue the shop service through recent difficulties. While we remain resurgent, there has not been quite so much footfall this year, and our merry band of volunteers have plenty of other interests to keep them going. However - many of you have asked about the return of Sunday opening..

So, to best serve everyone, we have decided to change our shop hours to:

• SATURDAY  14:00-15:00 - ONE HOUR ONLY  
• SUNDAY  11:00-12:00 - ONE HOUR ONLY

This will apply from October to end of this year (5th Dec).

(For September only, it will remain Saturday only, 13:00-15:00.)          

In the New Year we will then review and see how this change has been received.
 

POTATO ORDERS - UNAVAILABLE VARIETIES

Please download the form for your seed potato orders this year here

Due to ongoing concern about limited seed potato availability this year, we are asking you to return and place your orders by end October latest.

We are keeping prices at last year's levels (except pink fir apple).  

NB: Several potato varieties, and all red onions, are NOT AVAILABLE this year due to bad harvests. 

ASSOCIATION AGM

The annual general meeting for 2019- was held late (via Zoom) in Nov 2020. Under the constitution we must hold the next AGM by Nov 2021, to review year 2020. To do this we propose to hold the AGM again via Zoom and perhaps on Nov 24th. This will be confirmed in due course. (We then intend to restore the next AGM to its rightful place in April 2022.)   

RHS NEWSLETTER

Click here to read RHS September newsletter