Waiters on site?

OK - sad I know taking a photo of a sign! But this officially marks a new stage in the life of our site. All the plots are more or less cleared of rubbish. No more rubbish will be permitted to be dumped on our reclaimed car park as our brand new sign states. All plots are now rented and we have a waiting list! Just one question though is the sign straight? Sorry just couldn't resist that.

Wild Flowers on Derelict Plots

Does anyone know the name of the wild flower photographed below? I can't find it in any books or on the Internet!


During the time that there were many derelict plots on Green Lane, I took lots of photos of wild flowers growing on the overgrown plots. - OK well maybe they are weeds to you but many of them provided a bit of interest and colour. Click here to view a slideshow of the photos that I took over that time. Well there weren't many people to take photos of so I had to film something!

Be warned the slideshow takes a while to view and the music may start to annoy you after a while but you can always turn down the volume. I'll post the names of the plants that I can identify in the comments, attached to this post, later but click on the photo above for a better look and try and help me to identify the plant.

I suppose that I'll have to prepare myself for some daft suggestions!

March Video Diary - updated

The March diary has been updated click here

MOLES?

Email Addresses

Hello everyone on Green Lane Site.
If you were not present at the meeting yesterday you will not be aware of my request for email addresses of any tenant who possesses such a thing!

One of the association's aims is to keep you fully informed of any news about what is going on, on our site.

All notices will continue to be posted on the noticeboard and the blog, however we would also like to create a distribution list so that we can email you personally any infomation that is relevant as soon as possible. We can also use the distribution list to canvas any views as and when this becomes appropriate.

I know not everyone is an email convert and for those who require it a paper copy of important newsletters will be also available - if you feel that this is appropriate - maybe you can let me know your thoughts on this.

Newsletters will not be sent out at any specific time but as and when information needs circulating.

Three bits of news that are hot off the press is that I have had an email from Steve Slade today saying that No Tipping and Speed Limit signs will be with Jan some time this week. See car park posting where he left us a message today.

Jan also tells me that we have welcomed two new tenants to the remaining vacant plot today (plot 52 - I think!) So welcome Alex and husband (sorry Jan didn't tell me any names just had Alex on the email that I received requesting a plot)- has anyone warned you about the mad woman with the camera?

Thirdly I have just sent an email today to Councillors, Holmes and Councillor Sharp asking if we can make a bid for a Community Chest award to enable us to replace the main gate. So watch this space and keep fingers and anything else crossed!

Sue

Election Result

The public count for the election for chair of the Green Lane Association took place this afternoon.
The new chair of the association is Sue on plot 41 (and assisting husband on plots 28, 29, 30 and 42).

The following posts were made without election as there was only one nominee for each:

Secretary of the association is Phil - plots 24 and 49
Treasurer of the association is Simon - plot 23 (who has asked me to point out that he has been a considerable help on plot 24!)

Extended management committee:
Paul - plots 57 and 58 representing the hen men (and women)
Martyn - plots 28, 29, 30 and 42 (and helping Sue with the digging etc. on plot 41) - co author of the website and blog
Alastair plot 56 (and helping Karen on plots 33 and 34)

Out of 40 possible votes, 38 were received which is really great! It was also really good to see so many people attending the count - I hope that we can keep your interest going.

I want to keep everyone included and informed as much as possible so will be creating periodical newsletters. It would really help if most of these could be emailed to you, so if you have access to email would you send me your address using the link on the blog. The email sent to this address is only accessed by Sue who will pass on any email intended for the site secretary.

Jan, the site secretary and I look forward to working with all of you to make Green Lane a site to be proud of!

Sue

View March photos.

Photos taken in March are now available on the web. To view in larger format click here.

PS: If you look closely at some of the photos you may notice recently dug plots with car tracks running across the edges. I really feel for the people whose plots are affected like this. Maybe we could all just take a little more care and also make sure we park our cars well enough to the side of the roadway to allow space for other vehicles to pass without this happening. You never know it could be your plot that suffers next!

Yes - this IS Simon!

Sorry but as the photo clearly shows - Simon is most definitely taken! His fans will have to find another idol!

More plotters have been captured on camera. Click here to meet them!
Only two more plotsworth to get yet - if you are one of them watch out!

Take part in our new poll.

Read Sarah Raven's comments click here. Let us know where you stand on growing maincrop potatoes by taking part in our new poll on the sidebar of the blog. Tell us which variety of potatoes you grow by making a comment on the post! Do you have any trade secrets (that you are willing to share) when growing potatoes?

The results of our last poll on the most hated pest was:Slugs were top of the hate list, however whitefly came close behind. Not many votes though considering how many visitors we have. If you have an idea of a subject for a later poll then post a comment here.

Update to March video diary

The video diary for March has been updated. Click here to view. The photographs taken last weekend will be placed on the web later in the week. Bet you can't wait!!

Allotments Association Election

If you haven't already voted in the election of chair of the Allotment Association you still have time to do so!

Jan has the voting slips and envelopes, so see him if you still haven't registered your vote. Each official plot tenant is entitled to one vote regardless of the number of plots being rented.

All voting slips must be returned to Jan in time for the count at a meeting of the Association this coming Sunday March 25th at 2:00 p.m.

The count will be held on Jan's plot and all plot holders are welcome to attend.

Could you please pass on this information to plot holders who do not have access to the blog.

Man at Work?

If you would like to meet some of our merry band of plotters then click here to view our slideshow of photos in a larger format.

Some were hard at work whilst others - well - they were just enjoying life.

I'll be adding more photos to the slideshow as I track down my quarry! If I have made mistakes with names or plot numbers please email me and I'll make any corrections. If you already have a favourite photo taken of you and your family on the plot at Green Lane and you would like me to include it on the web and blog then please email to me stating the names of those on the photos and your plot number and I will happily include it!

Do you agree with Sarah Raven?

Quote below from the Telegraph article click here.

(The article is also availabe from the RSS feed - Roots of Wisdom, on this week's sidebar).

Sarah says:
"I don't think it's worth growing the majority of maincrop potatoes as you can buy good organic ones easily now and, on the whole, commercial growers store them better than we can at home. Lots of mine end up rotting or sprouting and I have to chuck many away".

What do you think? Tell us by making a comment to this post. You can also take part in the vote on the side bar!

The Telegraph RRS feed links on the sidebar change weekly and some are worth a read so don't overlook them

Update to March video diary

Updated for weekend 10th & 11th March. Click here to view

Guess Who?

Guess who this young lad is? Click here (if you dare!), to read what he was up to in the 1980's

We've got our car park back!

Neighbourhood action have now cleared up the car parking area. This area had been used to enable new tenants to dispose of all the rubbish that they had unearthed but must now be treated as a car park again so please do not dump any more rubbish there. It is unlikely that the council will clear it again for us. Thanks to Janet and Brian Holmes, John Sharp and Steve Slade for supporting us in getting this work done!

Episode 2 - Simon's back!

For those of you who had started to worry - Simon is back! But ... ... ... Phil's still digging!

For those of you kind enough to let me take your photos today - they will be popped on the web site soon - I'd like to take a few more first.

If you haven't managed to sign the form to give permission for you or your plot to be photographed then please do this for me. You will have to unpin the pocket to be able to manage this - alternatively you could just email me!

March Video Diary

Click here to view

We have started a video diary for March. As we anticipate the start of the season and an increase in activity on the plots, the monthly diaries will be updated with video, notes and photographs throughout each month. Videos are presented in two formats. The first is a higher quality format and the second a lower quality hosted on YouTube. Some computer administrators prevent access to YouTube.
The diary is just what we have noticed or done on our plots, in our garden or when out and about. It would be really interesting if people added their own information by commenting in this post. I know that you can do it as proved by the Simon - Missing You post!

New Notices on Site Notice Board

This weekend - weather permitting! I will post up to date information on both notice boards about commission earned to date from affiliated links and also details of further companies offering various types of support.

On the notice board by the main gate, I will post a letter received by Councillor John Sharp from the council on the subject of allotment funding together with my response to it.

Thank you to those of you who have already given permission for photos of you and your plot to appear on the blog and web site. Could anyone else who agrees to give permission for this please add your name and details to the notice on the notice board near the main gate. Can you make sure people without Internet access are aware of this too. A pencil is provided in the pouch.

If you would like to receive notices, such as those that are posted on the site secretary's notice board, direct to you via email then please email us using the link on the sidebar of the blog, giving your name and plot number and I will create a distribution list for this purpose. This offer is for tenants of Green Lane only.

Don't be ruled by the calendar

Some new plot holders are getting a bit worried about not being able to plant potatoes etc due to the wet soil conditions. Don't worry - we have planted potatoes as late as the end of April and they have caught up!

Books, TV programmes etc often give advice based on ideal conditions and can give the same advice regardless of where you garden. The basic rule of thumb is that if the planting of seeds etc. is delayed then they do catch up. If you plant when conditions are poor then the seeds will not grow and will either rot or die!

Forecasts don't look too promising yet but lets all keep our fingers crossed for some dry weather!

If you want something to do you may like to browse the following links:

The National Vegetable Society
Doctor Greenfingers
Garden Organic
Garden Action

Simon - Missing You!

The taming of plot 41!

Possibly a misleading title as I don't think you ever really tame an allotment plot. The best that you can hope for is to maintain a balance which is slightly in the favour of the gardener. You just have to let down your guard for a few short weeks and the balance soon swings the other way.

Click here to read how we attempted to restore some sort of order to a derelict 'new' plot!

It would be really great if some other plot holders from Green Lane Horbury would share their experiences with us on the web site and blog. Some of you have made a far better job of clearing a derelict plot than we have. If you would like to include an article about how you and your plot find some sort of harmony then please email your text as a Word document and any photographs that you wish to include. If you don't feel like doing it yourself then see Sue on the site and I will take some photos and if necessary do a write up. (Your article needn't be very long!) If you don't garden at Green Lane then maybe you could share some of your experiences of clearing a new plot and the strange things that you have found in the undergrowth by posting a comment here.