Spring Cabbage in December

Successional sowings can be worthwhile.

Click here for more

New Search Facilty

If you wish to search for something particular on our blog - try out the new search facility on the sidebar.

Mantis Tiller for Sale

One of our plot holders has a small Mantis tiller for sale. He will take offers starting at £15. The money from the sale will go to our allotment fund. If you are interested then see the site secretary or email us
Anyone interested should make contact by 3 December 2006

Blue Tits on the Plot Part Two

You can view more blue tit video on the web site click here

Grass Head is back for now!

Grass Head is back but may suffer some interruptions! Technical difficulties with that page are being investigated by the software company who are being extremely helpful.
The PDF for printing out instructions is not available at the moment so please bear with us. Fingers crossed and click here to access.

It's not just for pickling

Braised red cabbage is an excellent accompaniment to your Christmas roast. Click here for recipe.

Over two dozen toads found in compost heap!

On Sunday we decided to move the pile of well rotted compost onto the beds. In doing so we uncovered over two dozen toads which were carried lovingly to a new winter bedroom in a pile of straw. They really earned this treatment as all summer they will have been munching their way through as many slugs and other pests as they could get their little webbed feet on.

Sweet dreams!
Click here to read more

Fence Application

The new fence application has now been sent to Steve Slade, for more information follow the link..

http://www.wakefield-allotments.co.uk/Green%20Lane/index.htm

Don't Forget to get your raffle tickets!

If you haven't already managed to buy some raffle tickets - don't leave it too late! See the site secretary who will be delighted to part you from your money. Remember all proceeds from the raffle are for your benefit!

Blue Tits on the Plot

Even if you haven't noticed blue tits on the plot you will almost certainly have heard them. The blue tit is very much an ally or the gardener. To read more click here For those of you on a broadband connection there is a video clip too!

Children's area on the web site

Grow a Grass Head
Grow a Grass Head and send us a photograph of it and you may see it features in the children's area of the web site

Click here for instructions

Even if you don't qualify as a yound seedling you may want to have a go - there are no age limits!

Green Lane in the 1980's

Found some photographs of the Allotments from the 1980's and added them to the web site. Rather surprisingly they show that many of the plots were cultivated. It's the era of The Shay Man winning prizes. Has he told you about the olden days?

Want to see more click here

Livestock

I'd like to create an area on the website for livestock issues but have absolutely no knowledge of this area. If any one who keeps hens, pigeons, quails, ducks etc and would like to write an article for the web - preferably with photos. Could you use this link to email the article (please use MS Word or Notepad or Wordpad) and image files to me and I will transfer them to the website. If you wish to be acknowledged by name then please state this in the email.

New puzzles page on website

Click here for a variation of a popular puzzle - SUNFLOWER SUDOKU

Growing and Storing Carrots

We’ve just finished protecting our dahlia tubers for winter using straw and this year we’ve decided to try a couple of ways of using straw to protect our carrots for winter. Most of our carrots have been grown under fleece to protect them from carrot fly and its worked well.

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Smoky Bacon and Lentil Soup

For recipe for soup served at the bonfire party

Click here

or scroll down to Alloment News posting

Click here for a translation

Sponsorship page on web site

I've added a sponsorship page to the web site. In return for a donation to the fence fund - companies can have a free ad. If anyone knows of any company who may support us in this way please email me.

Today (7 Nov) Chilterns Seeds made a donation
Today (8 Nov) Mrs Fothergills Seeds have made a donation

Details will be posted on the notice board.

Dahlias - To Lift or not to lift, that is the question

Every garden magazine that I pick up at the moment is debating whether or not dahlias can be left in the ground over winter. The consensus seems to be that you can but that it depends where you garden and the soil that you garden in?

As we grow quite a lot of dahlias, about 30 plants on the allotment, we decided a few years ago to leave them in the ground for winter. We just didn't have anywhere dry to store that number of tubers. This experiment was very successful and one that we have repeated over the years. We have lost one or two plants over this time but probably no more than we would have lost if we had lifted them. Indeed previously when we did lift them every year we actually lost more tubers.

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New Sister Web Site

As you have probably noticed blogs can get very long and difficult to find your way around after a while so I have started a new web site to link to the blog.

Green Lane Allotments site

New articles etc will still be posted on the blog but sometimes there will be a link to the web site where more information or longer posts will be stored. The web site will also allow you to easily navigate around articles. Please continue to use the comments areas of posts to add comments.

If you wish to have an article/posting on the web then please email it to me as a Word doc and I will transfer it across. Please also attach any image files that you wish to have posted